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Front diff (locker) opinions

Brian1

Elite Explorer
Joined
February 2, 2000
Messages
5,384
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City, State
Albuquerque, NM
Year, Model & Trim Level
1991 XLT
Callsign
KG5BAQ
In the very near future I am going to re-do my whole front end (new shocks, coils, axle seals,etc.) I am going to have the front diff out to replace the oil seal and I want your opinions about if I should install a locker. I have manual hubs and run 29" tires with 31's in the near future. I am mostly stock and I do every type of terrain (rocks, mud, sand, snow). I have a stock l/s in the rear which still works good. I am thinking about either a powertrax no slip or lock right. I dont want to spend too much on it (<400). What is everyones experiences? Does the clicking of the lock right get annoying? Do you usually have to unlock a hub when making tight turns on switchbacks for example (I like the mountain trails in CO). What about snow? I usually gas it through snow and sometimes turning i gas it or else i will stop because of my clearence and plowing up the snow. Will the front locker severly limit turning through the snow? An ARB and limited slips are out of the question unless there is a lunchbox l/s but i havent heard of one. Lastly who has the best price on the lock right & no-slip as well as part #'s for a 91 front open diff? Thanks.
 



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i would say get it..... they are both decent units, turns arent to great, unless you unlock a hub...... but a locker will make your truck much more trail worthy
 






love my EZ locker on my 94 daily driver cause you can unlock hubs, but on the street it is noticable but not bad, on the trails the benifits totally outweigh the bad and I sheared my pins(bad cause I have to pull it all apart) where it was constantly locked up and that sucked big time for turns, but made me appreciate how well it worked for turns when it would lock and unlock.
 






Originally posted by Dannyboy
love my EZ locker on my 94 daily driver cause you can unlock hubs, but on the street it is noticable but not bad,

Even though the front is totally unlocked with no power to it? I dont see how you would even know it is there.

Originally posted by Dannyboy
I sheared my pins(bad cause I have to pull it all apart) where it was constantly locked up and that sucked big time for turns

Why would it be constantly locked up unlees you are on the throttle all the time? Does anyone else have problems breaking stuff with a front locker and smaller tires? (u-joint axle etc.)?

Originally posted by Dannyboy
made me appreciate how well it worked for turns when it would lock and unlock.
That is what the no-slip and lock right are supposed to do right? Unlock for turns?

Anyone know the best place for price? Thanks.
 






sorry, I guess I was in a hurry and didn't get my point across clearly. When hubs are unlocked, it is non existant. When I have had the hubs locked in a situation like snow, then it is a little more squirly and you have to keep a firm grip on the wheel. As for shearing the pins, well I don't know what the hell to expect. It was over a weekend trail run, I exploded 3 manual hubs, had a hell of a time steering at some times, and also had trouble getting it to lock in, just clicked but it could possibly have been from a borrowed manual hub. Point of what I was saying is I have loved it, don't know it is there when on the street, definitly know it is there when hubs are locked and using 4x4 on or off road, and benifits of it are awsome. It hasn't caused me any problems making turns while accelerating in snow(trust me I've tried to break them loose just to see) but as of right know it has been acting crazy and I have to pull the works apart which is a time consuming task.
 












I'll throw in some of my thoughts on the Detroit EZ Locker as well. I decided on an EZ Locker partly based on cost ~$250 and because I decided that I did not want to fool with an ARB and it's related problems. I haven't experienced any of the breakage that Danny described above and I am running the unit on 35's and 4.56's just as he is. I just returned from Moab where I absolutely hammered on the truck. The locker performed beautifully. It should not give you a single problem with 31's. I only experienced a few occasions where I had to make a three or four point turn instead of the normal turn, not a big deal at all. I'm happy enough with this drop in style of locker that I am going to use it in my Dana 44 when I swap that in down the road.
 






Michael and Dannyboy, how hard was the detroit EZ locker to install in the front? I will already have the 3rd member out. I found one for $240 which isnt bad at all. I am starting to consider the EZ locker over the powertrax models. Is there alot of clicking or noise to it? Thanks.
 






I purchased an entire 3rd member from Diff Wack Daddy so I don't know about install but getting the third member out is the biggest pita of it all in my opinion. As for my breakage like Mike I beat the piss out of this and never had a problem, all the clicking was nothing too noticable. Like I said I am tearing mine down in the next day or two and we will know then what is going on.
 






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