diff locks......again!!

[emkate]

Hey guys, I'm going mad trying to search through all the past posts to figure out what is the best kind of locking system to put in my diffs.... Most of the off roading I do is beach work, and some forestry/mud tracks. And the main things I'm concerned about is reliablity, performance, and cost.
My sierra is my daily driver , so I'm not completely sold on welding my diff(although I haven't ruled this out) as I'd hate have it crap itself and not get to work... I'm sort of swaying to fitting an air locker system to just the rear diff as this should be good enough for the off roading I do, cost is the killer though.... any other suggestions/ advice for a better or cheaper system that'd be suited for the off roading I do would be appriciated...

thanks again...Em

P.s I've got a 92 sierra, 2in lift, and 31s

[xtreem]

As somebody else said here AIR LOCKER is the civilized way. I was looking to do it cheaper aswell but in the end its the only option really, if you want the thing streetable, reliable and CIVILIZED. just do it.

And its less than double the price of a detroit or lock right if your buying in Australia.

[greg]

Em,

Air lockers are definately the way to go if you want something that will be unnoticeable for street driving.

If the cost of the air lockers scare you, here a little trick. Do an engine conversion first, then the air lockers will seem much cheaper.

Plus with the air lockers you score a little air compressor for airing up your tyres after the beach runs too

[christover1]

locked up is often a bad thing on sand (saps power a little, and digs a little when cornering), so air locker is probably best.
But money decides most things..I think you would get annoyed by the handling and noises made by lockrite/detroit type lockers (constant maintainance and shimming can solve this), but they are much cheaper. So in my opinion, weld it up, or air lockers (air be my choice if I could afford, but both my diffs are welded), you won't find the welded rear to be much trouble on the road, and I havent personally seen a welded diff break, yet (tho in theory it could occur)

[Guy]

weld it, while you save for a locker .. the centre gets replaced anyway ...

welded is not that bad on 31's just air up a little bit higher on the road and it's not that bad (depending on the rubber you run, I found that with the hancooks MT's it was very transparent)

Thwn when you have the $$$ get an airlocker installed .. you never know you may be able to live with the welded rear and get the locker put in the front ...

[-Mick-]

My mate has a coily that has grenaded 3 welded centers in about 6 weeks, though he is a boy racer and it has a 4age

AFAIC with hamster power a cig locker should last ok, I haven't seen any problems with my mates on the street.

That said I'd probably just go a rear airlocker, no steering dramas, no chance of power slides on a wet road unless you want too and a compressor, however slow they may be

[greg]

Another cheap option could be a spool then? Can't you buy them from places in the states for as little as 90 US or something?

[Guy]

My mate has a coily that has grenaded 3 welded centers in about 6 weeks, though he is a boy racer and it has a 4age

AFAIC with hamster power a cig locker should last ok, I haven't seen any problems with my mates on the street.

That said I'd probably just go a rear airlocker, no steering dramas, no chance of power slides on a wet road unless you want too and a compressor, however slow they may be

Tnen whoever is welding it is doing a crap job IMHO .. I could not bust mine with 35's, LJextreme could not bust one with 36's (managed to bust both rear axles though) pretty sure Sam is running welded and not busting on 37's and 42's ... (that's on a vit centre) ..

And Joey was running welded with an SR20 and not breaking em .. (no offece to your friend .. bit thats why I say they are being poorly welded)

[antt]

lockrights aren't too bad, i've got one in the back of my vit

i hated the thing for the first few weeks, but now that i've gotten used to it, it feels natural to coast around corners or slowly power around them to keep the locker disengaged.....driving normal manual cars now is what stuffs me up

i've never had a drama with it locking up in the wet and causing a slide with the mud terrains (unless i severly provoked it of course ) and on the beach it was great fun in 2wd for powerslides

[greg]

Tnen whoever is welding it is doing a crap job IMHO .. I could not bust mine with 35's, LJextreme could not bust one with 36's (managed to bust both rear axles though) pretty sure Sam is running welded and not busting on 37's and 42's ... (that's on a vit centre) ..

And Joey was running welded with an SR20 and not breaking em .. (no offece to your friend .. bit thats why I say they are being poorly welded)

LJ Extreem has busted the welds out of a rear diff that was welded up by a 4WD shop in melbourne. However, once another one was installed (properly welded) it didn't happen again.

However, I'm pretty sure that BigSteve has cracked a bit of the welding off one of his diffs.

[bigsteve]

Tnen whoever is welding it is doing a crap job IMHO .. I could not bust mine with 35's, LJextreme could not bust one with 36's (managed to bust both rear axles though) pretty sure Sam is running welded and not busting on 37's and 42's ... (that's on a vit centre) ..

And Joey was running welded with an SR20 and not breaking em .. (no offece to your friend .. bit thats why I say they are being poorly welded)

However, I'm pretty sure that BigSteve has cracked a bit of the welding off one of his diffs.

Shhhhhh..........................It never happened

[zookjedi]

if the diff is welded correctly with 16tc rods and strips of steel (or bolts ) welded between the spider gears it shouldn't break ! unless its all surface weld and not enough penetration , but even still with the spider gears welded to one another via the strips it should hold together very well even with crap welds , making sure not to get weld into the top of the spider gears were the side gear sits , or grind down the teeth and weld the side gear to the cover .

if ya got the money go the air locker you know you want to , but remember theres more parts hence less reliablity , from such small things as blown fuses cracked air lines , failed compressors etc , don't make the mistake thinking they are problem free! no matter how appealing a girl is she's alway's got issues

[emkate]

Well now I'm well and truely bamboozled....lol. perhaps I'd be better off just getting my rear diff welded up, and putting the money I've been saving towards some rock hopper gears..... now that would be a good combo.

[muppet_man67]

are there any switch on/switch off difflocks apart from airlockers that you can get for suzukis, my dad used to have a diff lock in his series land rover that you put on by pulling a cable on a hand break type mechanism.

[xtreem]

are there any switch on/switch off difflocks apart from airlockers that you can get for suzukis, my dad used to have a diff lock in his series land rover that you put on by pulling a cable on a hand break type mechanism.

Yeah I have wondered about that, something like a tractor one with a lever. But have never heard of anything like it. I know toyota have a electric locker.

[greg]

There's a company in the states that makes an aftermarket switch-on-able electric diff lock... i don't know if their range would include little suzukis though...

Check out a Petersen's or Four-Wheeler for their advertisement. (easily recogniseable because they have a switch that has a bolt of lightening on it)..

[Guy]

The other selectable lockers for a Suzuki is a KAM out of the UK, it also avaliable with beefed up axle shafts and operates on vacum ..
Or the factory suzuki diff lock .. yes they made em operated by a cable with a chunky 4 tooth dog clutch thing that sild in and out of the axle (only avaliable in germany I belive and only on models equipped with the T/case hand brake so that both rear wheels would be locked by the handbrake when the car was parked on a slick icy surface)


And as far as I know thats is it ..

[Zack]

A little off the topic but anyway

Can someone explain to me how exactly a lock right diff works??

[greg]

A little off the topic but anyway

Can someone explain to me how exactly a lock right diff works??

www.arb.com.au has a very good explanation of it.

Go to the link, click on 'Enter', then click on 'ARB Air Lockers' for a full explanation.

Note: at this moment the last link is returning an error for me - perhaps the site is down or something...

[christover1]

A little off the topic but anyway

Can someone explain to me how exactly a lock right diff works??

lock rights and other similar lockers work a bit like a ratchet that allows movement when needed...in their resting state, diff is locked up, but when a wheel tries to go faster than the other, over a rock or round a corner, it forces the drive away from that wheel...hense sometimes can be noisey, jerky or ruff. so really they are an automatic unlocker..christover

[greg]

Another cheap option could be a spool then? Can't you buy them from places in the states for as little as 90 US or something?

Found it...

From www.trailtough.com

It's FINALLY here! A TRUE mini-spool for the Samurai AND the Sidekick! The spool is an extremely strong and economical method of achieving 100% lock up of the rear differential without the quirkiness associated with automatic lockers. It is manufactured from SAE 8620 alloy bar stock material and is heat treated for superior strength.

Item #SMS-400 Price $ 99.00

Obviously welding up the diff would be much cheaper.

[grimbo]

I think also the Scandinavian Suzukis had elctric lockers available, but this may be one of those urban legends but you do hear it alot

[christover1]

manual rear locker operated by a cable, wasnt designed to be used in motion, only as assistance for parking brake like grimbo said, a legality for the tailshaft handbrake type) in some countries..
I have spoken to new zealanders who have used them in competitions with out much drama. (dont know if it was standard in nz tho) christover

[muppet_man67]

how does a mini spool work?

[greg]

how does a mini spool work?

Same as a spool only smaller.

A spool is the same as a welded diff... it forces both wheels to spin at the same speed all the time. The difference being that the spool is built to do this from the start, whereas a welded diff is modified to do it.

[muppet_man67]

the difference being that if you ever want to go back to standard you wont have to replace the diff center?

[deRanged Rover]

Has any body got an instruction book or some info on LockRite's.

And what's this that i hear that you can get 2 spider gear or 4 gear diffs for zooks?

Which model came with which?

[Beastmavster]

What about the Vitara front LSD option? Is that compatible with the rear of a Sierra?

[nelligen]

Has any body got an instruction book or some info on LockRite's.

And what's this that i hear that you can get 2 spider gear or 4 gear diffs for zooks?

Which model came with which?

From mid 89 the sierra front diffs only have a 2 pin carrier, to fit a lockrite you need to get a 4 pin carrier from early model ,rocky road outfitters sell a 4pin carrier for $75 extra with there lockrite lockers

[xtreem]

Somebody was selling a 4 pin carrier in the for sale section the other day. Cant remember who Germo or mattzookie maybe.