Re: What is a Detroit locker


[Follow Ups] [Post Followup] [Dodge Power Wagon Forum]


Posted by R. Reavey on Thursday, January 29, 2004 at 10:03PM :

In Reply to: What is a Detroit locker posted by Dave on Thursday, January 29, 2004 at 2:11PM :

Briefly: A detroit locker is an automatic UNlocking differential lock. This means that during normal operation with the wheels turning at roughly the same speed, the diff is locked. Only when the wheels, in full surface contact, turn at a different speed in cornering (and in practice there is some minor scrub before it kicks in) does the locker automatically UNlock to allow each halfshaft to turn at a different speed. They are solid, well built, tried and tested and low maintenance. Install and forget.

There is really no reason that one wouldn't want one. One might prefer manual vacuum, cable, or electric lockers for more extreme applications like rock crawling where precise driver control of over the locker might be more desireable. They can be a bit disconcerting at first as the noise of it unlocking in a corner is fairly loud but if a PW is anything like a Land Rover, you won't hear it over the gearbox/t-case whine anyway. They can be a bit twitchy in snow and on loose scree over a hard surface (gravel on tarmac for example)and are a best applied IMHO in a rear axle on a full-time 4WD. In my personal experience they are not as good as a torque biasing differential in deep sand, but for trails, light rock, and mud they are very good units.



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