Detroit or Air locker

[bulldogy]

Yo longlegs
take a chill pill mate Fuksake.
Ive got detroits front and rear and wouldd never go to anythin else so ther ya go .Ps had a arb didnt like em .
Relax

[ISUZUROVER]

The dispute was what a front detroit was like to drive on when the rear axle has no drive. This post (from another thread) seems to support what Bill said - not a detroit but still an auto locker.

I tried to drive my 2A from LCMP back to Brisbane in Front WD with a Lockrite locker after braking the rear axle & diff. Gave up just after Kilcoy, the steering wheel kept wretching from my hands and taking me across the double yellow lines on corners at 60kph, got towed home.

[daddylonglegs]

Thanks Ben for reclarifying that for me. I couldn't remember where I saw that other post. I don't blame these guys for standing by their Detroits. I too got sucked into spending $2300 by all the bullshit and advertising hype about detroits 10 or more years ago. After trying to live with all the compromises I removed them a few years and made my own airlockers. I tossed the detroits onto my junk pile and they are slowly rusting away, that is how disgusted I am with them.
Bill.

[ISUZUROVER]

Personally I can't understand why anyone would even consider a detroit if it is cheaper to buy an Air locker. Any selectable locker is far superior. Just look at what all the US guys are running (mostly ARB's - especially in comp trucks) - and detroits are made in the US.

Bill if you had sold your surplus bits off rather than add to your "junk pile" maybe you wouldn't be claiming to be so poor now??? I'm sure lots of people would be interested in buying your old "junk".

[bulldogy]

ARB
Alan Roots Brian is what ive herd arb stands for LOLOL
and you can drive in front wheel drive just unlock the right hand freewheel hub . It helps keep the load off.
If we live on the same planet ARB does not cost more than a detroit.
And a lot of US guys run detroit frotn and rear but some do use ARB front but most are trailer rigs .

[daddylonglegs]

I don't like selling off dangerous goods Ben. Just because I made a mistake doesn't mean that I am going to inflict them onto someone else.

[2DOORSURF2]

On ya Bulldoggy
Allan Roots Brian loolololool fuk thats a good one ahhaaha

[ISUZUROVER]

ARB
Alan Roots Brian is what ive herd arb stands for LOLOL
and you can drive in front wheel drive just unlock the right hand freewheel hub . It helps keep the load off

Yes that was an intelligent reply keep it up... Read the post below (follows on from quote in above post). Then if you don't believe it, pull out your rear tailshaft and go for a drive. Just because you like them doesn't mean we all have to.

I assume you had FWH? Why not just lock one hub and drive home with one-wheel drive?

Tried that, it was worse, the lockrite unlocking & locking at nearly random, I had drive one minute none the next, pulling hard to the side locked in.

[ISUZUROVER]

I don't like selling off dangerous goods Ben. Just because I made a mistake doesn't mean that I am going to inflict them onto someone else.

Yes but look above and below - plenty of moronic wank€rs who think they are the best invention since the wheel - it isn't your problem what they spend their money on.

[2DOORSURF2]

When i got a quote for my truk, the Arb's where a fukn shitload more expensive and they try to flogg ya off the heep of shit compressor aswell
Just sound like a bunch old girls that fukn knowall
Each to his own i guess
And NO the Detriots are not dangerous, just sound like you spinning shit
Longlegss

[2DOORSURF2]

Fuk everyone needs to chill we all like weelin so just relax.
lololol oh yes its all good!
at the end of the day aslong as ya got a lokka its beter thaan bein open
ahahahloolololol

[duncan]

Actualy rang Russel at OppLock Balcata today as Locked Drive systems keeps telling me that a rear Detroit is unavaiable for a Patrol.Aparently they modify a Detroit and then sell it on to Opp Lock but wont sell to the public .I told Russel that I could get a Air Locka for 600 cheaper and could he do a better deal as I would realy like a rear Detroit he could only knock of $50 and his comment was that it realy made the Air Locka look good but Detroits are just expensive and left it at that.Dose anyone no of a cheaper price on a rear Detroit even a good second hand one otherwise ill go get a Airlocka at the end of the week just because of price

[bulldogy]

I will try and find 1
Looked up in US and they dont do the rear as russ said but OL do sell the moded 1 ill post moro.
chow

[TUFFRANGIE]

the only reason i could see people choosing a detroit over a selectable locker is if
a)They were cheaper (but they obviously aren't)
b)The driver lacks the intelligence to know when to lock and unlock the diffs

[duncan]

Im thinking more along the lines of no electrical failures or phneumatic failuers all leaving you stranded in a place that maybe you had to have working lockers to get to and also to get out of what do you do then if you dont carry the correct spares to fix the problem .I can under stand that its possible to carry some spare hose and joiners even a new olive for the connection into the diff but were dose it stop do I also have to carry spare fuses presure switches or solinoids incase they fail.Or worst case i have seen ARB compressors fail all leaving you stranded and with no air no locker as with no air the locker unlocks.

Were as with a Detroit nothing can break if your useing it sensibly ie no burnouts and is always locked no worries only down fall is price and drive the vehicle normaly on the road.

Just wish they were cheaper or in a perfect world i could by a OX locker its a 4 pinion selectable locker but cable activated worst case you snap the cable so get under the car tie it up so its locked and keep driving unfortunatly they are only avaiable for Dana diffs

[zzzz]

You are talking absolute crap zzz, and you dont even read the posts properly. I said I had detroits front and rear so obvousely I have tried it.
Attempting to drive in frontwheel drive with a detroit is bloody dangerous and virtually impossible without putting yourself and other road users in danger. And the same goes for lockrights too. I have also tried these personally and fitted them for other people and nobody keeps them for long before switching to selectable lockers in the front at least.
You can go back to sleep now!

Mate all I did was ask if you had personally driven with only front wheel drive and a detroit. You didn't mention that in the post, just saying it was impossible. You did mention you had detroits, but I wanted to clarify whether you had personal experience as a lot of people come on these boards and crap on about stuff they don't have first hand knowledge about.

My first hand knowledge says it is not a problem in a jeep.
Your first hand knowlegde disagrees when you were driving whatever it was.
Fair enough that is what we are all here for to engage in discussion and give opinions.

I have done it before and will do it again, and feel I am not putting anyone on the road at risk at all.
Certainly wouldn't want to spend too long driving like that, but it is easy enough to get back home after a breakage.

Back to the topic.
If ARB's are cheaper then get them.
For jeeps detroits are cheaper so I went with them instead
cheers

Z

[manwith40series+guitar=:)]

hey, you guys say that you go to 2lo to turn if u hav a detroit, does the lack of drive disengage theese styles of locker?? i have been thinking of going an EZ in the front (cheap,and u can kinda steer cant u?), and an ARB in the back, so i can turn it off on road... cheers.

[FireTruck]

wow... something in the water around here...

*personal experience and opinion coming up... flame suit enabled*

Sticking with the topic - I have driven front wheel drive with detroit... no major dramas. Now I wasn't hauling ass along the highway - I was limping home with a broken rear end, so I didn't want to get anywhere near normal driving speed. I can personally vouch for the fact that it didn't drive like a V8 supercar in this configuration.

Again, this was in a Jeep - no experience driving like this in another rig.

I used to run air lockers, but after a bunch of failures switched to detroits. Failures were mostly air compressors and electrical, and airlines... yes, I'm sure a better setup may have fixed these problems. The biggest problem I had with all of this is that when they went out I didn't know and was on a steep ass trail wondering why I was getting crossed up...

I did a fair amount of driving in the USA with guys who had both - most had detroits, but some had airlockers. The airlockers tended to bind up on the rocks and had some trouble engaging and dis-engaging... otherwise they worked fine.

Mate of mine in CO is hooking the solenoids up directly to his powertank to avoid compressor issues - this only leaves potential air hose and solenoid problems, which I think are less common than the compressor problems (although I have had a solenoid failure once).

So, I switched to detroits. It's a personal preference. I have heard bad stories about Ox lockers and REAL bad stories about the electrac thingy (electric selectable locker)... but no first hand experience with these.

If I thought I could rely on the airlockers I would put one in the front - even with a twin stick t'case it adds flexibility. Not willing to switch back at the moment though.

[FireTruck]

yes - lack of drive (or torque more specifically) dis-engages an autolocker...

If you put one in the front and disengage your hubs, or have no drive to the front, you don't know its there (oops - I mean I can't tell it's there).

S.

[duncan]

I have a car aircon compressor for the air side of things hooked up to a air tank so shouldnt be a problem with air but still have to hook up the presure switch which i have had fail once before and the solinoid all before i can get the locker to work worried about the air lines .I no what i want its just justifiying 600 dollars extra to get it .Surely some one else in Australia can supply me with a rear Detroit have email 4 or 5 companies in the east but so far no replies maybe they just arent looking for sales .Even if they cant supply one would be common curtacy to at least reply

[bulldogy]

Duncan
Rang a few Diff places that i use and there are no second hand 1s available apparently they are not that common and seems like you will need to buy from OL.
Id go for the detroit if it where me but its ultimately upto you.
Just think if you pay less and have dramas then you may end up going for the detroit . LOL or at least end up wanting it lol.
Hope you decide for brunswick

[duncan]

Finnaly got the truth today about rear Detoits for GQ Patrols .After being told twice by Russel at Opposite Lock that you can get them and twice by Locked Drive Systems the inporter of Detroits to Australia that they dont exist.The story gose that Locked Drive Systems did supply Russel with 5 Detroit lockers that were front lockers that had been taken apart and had new side gears machined up for to change the spline count from 31 to33 to suit the rear axles in a H233 diff.These will then fit right in and work fine they no longer do this conversion as they said it was to expensive and that Detroit in America were not happy with the modifying of its product.So at the moment Russel is trying to find a set of side gears to fit into a standard front to convert it to beable to be used in the rear of my car .This is after much thought the preferrd way that I would like to go but I dont see it working out and this only leaves me with one opton if i want to have a rear locka a Airlocka .All this is being done to hopefully stop me from bracking front CVs as quite a few people have told me thatthe front end is doing to much work now with the 38s and the rear needs to pushto half the strain.The last option open to me is to fit a GU front diff with larger CVs but at a cost of $2400 disc to disc which is still only another $800 more than a Detroit .Ill wait till Friday and make my mind up then as with the amout of damage the car is collecting it might end up getting wreck and turned into a tube buggy anyhow

[duncan]

Thanks to all for there comments on this subject .If I go the GU front diff ill be selling my GQ front with 5 link and locrite anyone interested let me no as it might sway my desicion one way or the other