Interested in fitting an Auto Diff Locker to the rear of the old MK (currently standard diff). Had a quick search but nothing specific.
Second hand if available around Sydney.
Any ideas as to pros and cons in first sourcing one and then fitting up appreciated.
Anybody had any problems with them, fitting, not work as expected, or maintenance, specific oils etc
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Auto Diff Locker in MK
Fitted a detroit e-z locker to the front and rear of my old cruiser. $650 a pop from memory.
Fitting it to the rear was pretty easy. Took around half a day.
Absolutley awsome offroad.
Had to change my driving style around town a little, as when they engage and disengage they tend to clang a bit. Scares the shit out of you every now and then.
Had them in for a couple of years running 35's and no real problems.
Just the harsh ride every so often.
Put them in and have a ball.
Fitting it to the rear was pretty easy. Took around half a day.
Absolutley awsome offroad.
Had to change my driving style around town a little, as when they engage and disengage they tend to clang a bit. Scares the shit out of you every now and then.
Had them in for a couple of years running 35's and no real problems.
Just the harsh ride every so often.
Put them in and have a ball.
Here are some comments based on an article I wrote for our local club a few years ago.
The "Detroit" works brilliantly off-road especially rock hopping but does have some idiosyncrasies. I have one in the rear and an ARB in the front. When engaged the Detroit acts as if the axles were welded together. When you lift a wheel 100% of the torque goes to the other wheel. However because of the backlash built into the unit (which equates to about 1½" at the tyre tread) the locking/unlocking action can be quite abrupt and with all the torque suddenly going to one half-axle there is a definite risk of axle breakage. If you break one you may not notice immediately (apart from the bang) as the other continues to drive. My instruction book recommends you check periodically to see if you have a broken axle by driving against a bank and checking both wheels are turning! The fact that they are always on is an advantage except on a cross-slope. Like all lockers they tend to push you downhill in these conditions.
On road, as hillbilly says, they can be a bit of a bore, particularly around town. I have found two main problems. The first is when negotiatng a sharp turn on a dry pavement such as in a car park. All the torque goes to the inside turning wheel as the outer one cams out and free-wheels. The inner wheel is inclined at times to break traction in a series of small leaps and squeals leaving much rubber on the pavement. The second is that the unit sometimes seems to "lock up" unnoticed and then "unlock" with a loud bang and a disconcerting sideways hop! This second problem can be minimised by ensuring that the tyre diameters, pressures and wear are the same, that the axle end play is adequate and that the vehicle is evenly loaded. But it still happens occasionally and usually in an embarrassing place such as the starting line of the South Island Coast to Coast safari.
On the highway it is more a question of adjusting your driving style. For example the back of the truck may "twitch" due to the inbuilt backlash when going from "drive" to "coast" in a corner as the torque flow is reversed - inside wheel during acceleration, outside when decelerating. This occurs as the torque to the wheel changes abruptly from 50% to 100%. In vehicles with permanent 4WD this twitchiness is, I understand, not so noticeable as the change in torque at the wheel is only from 25% to 33% (3 wheels driving rather than 4). The solution in my case (with part-time 4WD) is to avoid torque reversal by neither changing gear nor switching from acceleration to deceleration in a corner, which after all is only good driving technique.
There is another slightly disconcerting feature with vehicles such as mine which have the handbrake on the transmission. After the handbrake has been applied and the footbrake released the vehicle can roll back slightly as the backlash in the unit is taken up. It feels like a mile but is in reality only a couple of inches. You just have to learn to be patient with well-meaning bystanders who call out that your truck is " getting away"! To be honest, my truck did nearly get away once when I noticed it moving but stood watching, assuming it was the backlash! This handbrake problem can also be tricky when winching up a hill and driving the wheels at the same time. If the wheels take over so that the rope goes slack and you then stop and apply the handbrake the run-back of the vehicle before the brake takes effect can put quite a shock load on the rope if you are not careful. I got myself in a spot of bother recently when this happened and the rope jammed itself between the sheave and the cheeks of the snatch block. (It was raining too of course).
My conclusion after 10 years?
If you do a lot of offroad work and don't drive much around town then a "Detroit" or similar is well worth a try. If you only go offroad occasionally then a limited slip differential or a locker which can be disengaged (such as the ARB) would be my choice. However it may be that with more recent units Tractech have solved the problems related above in which case ....ummm?
As for maintenance - I have done none to the unit in the 10 years. I had it set up originally by a professional as I am not up to adjusting gear clearances. I just use the diff oil grade recommended by Nissan. SAE 90 gear oil. I don't think it matters too much which brand as with the frequent river crossings I do I change the oil regularly.
Cheers, David
The "Detroit" works brilliantly off-road especially rock hopping but does have some idiosyncrasies. I have one in the rear and an ARB in the front. When engaged the Detroit acts as if the axles were welded together. When you lift a wheel 100% of the torque goes to the other wheel. However because of the backlash built into the unit (which equates to about 1½" at the tyre tread) the locking/unlocking action can be quite abrupt and with all the torque suddenly going to one half-axle there is a definite risk of axle breakage. If you break one you may not notice immediately (apart from the bang) as the other continues to drive. My instruction book recommends you check periodically to see if you have a broken axle by driving against a bank and checking both wheels are turning! The fact that they are always on is an advantage except on a cross-slope. Like all lockers they tend to push you downhill in these conditions.
On road, as hillbilly says, they can be a bit of a bore, particularly around town. I have found two main problems. The first is when negotiatng a sharp turn on a dry pavement such as in a car park. All the torque goes to the inside turning wheel as the outer one cams out and free-wheels. The inner wheel is inclined at times to break traction in a series of small leaps and squeals leaving much rubber on the pavement. The second is that the unit sometimes seems to "lock up" unnoticed and then "unlock" with a loud bang and a disconcerting sideways hop! This second problem can be minimised by ensuring that the tyre diameters, pressures and wear are the same, that the axle end play is adequate and that the vehicle is evenly loaded. But it still happens occasionally and usually in an embarrassing place such as the starting line of the South Island Coast to Coast safari.
On the highway it is more a question of adjusting your driving style. For example the back of the truck may "twitch" due to the inbuilt backlash when going from "drive" to "coast" in a corner as the torque flow is reversed - inside wheel during acceleration, outside when decelerating. This occurs as the torque to the wheel changes abruptly from 50% to 100%. In vehicles with permanent 4WD this twitchiness is, I understand, not so noticeable as the change in torque at the wheel is only from 25% to 33% (3 wheels driving rather than 4). The solution in my case (with part-time 4WD) is to avoid torque reversal by neither changing gear nor switching from acceleration to deceleration in a corner, which after all is only good driving technique.
There is another slightly disconcerting feature with vehicles such as mine which have the handbrake on the transmission. After the handbrake has been applied and the footbrake released the vehicle can roll back slightly as the backlash in the unit is taken up. It feels like a mile but is in reality only a couple of inches. You just have to learn to be patient with well-meaning bystanders who call out that your truck is " getting away"! To be honest, my truck did nearly get away once when I noticed it moving but stood watching, assuming it was the backlash! This handbrake problem can also be tricky when winching up a hill and driving the wheels at the same time. If the wheels take over so that the rope goes slack and you then stop and apply the handbrake the run-back of the vehicle before the brake takes effect can put quite a shock load on the rope if you are not careful. I got myself in a spot of bother recently when this happened and the rope jammed itself between the sheave and the cheeks of the snatch block. (It was raining too of course).
My conclusion after 10 years?
If you do a lot of offroad work and don't drive much around town then a "Detroit" or similar is well worth a try. If you only go offroad occasionally then a limited slip differential or a locker which can be disengaged (such as the ARB) would be my choice. However it may be that with more recent units Tractech have solved the problems related above in which case ....ummm?
As for maintenance - I have done none to the unit in the 10 years. I had it set up originally by a professional as I am not up to adjusting gear clearances. I just use the diff oil grade recommended by Nissan. SAE 90 gear oil. I don't think it matters too much which brand as with the frequent river crossings I do I change the oil regularly.
Cheers, David
1982 Patrol K160 SWB (MQ) 4L P40 Petrol with Megasquirt fuel injection and EDIS ignition. Warn 8274 winch with Gigglepin head
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