Alright guys, my tires are coming tomorrow and I have my 4.56 gears. Before I re-gear I want to put in a locker for the rear...or an LSD. I've read alot on the Detroit truetrac, not too much about the Detroit soft locker. What do you guys think would suit me best? My truck mainly sees highway driving, with alot of beach wheeling and the occasional trip to an offroad park in Pennsylvania. Thanks in advance!

 

I put in an Eaton E-Locker (selective at the push of a switch). I love it and it doesn't engage till you want it to. I am sold. Been in for 40,000 trouble free miles and lots of offroad use.

 

I would love this or an arb but I am trying to keep it under 600 for the rear

 

I'm leaning towards the true trac because of everything I hear about them locking up when changing gears or going around a turn. What about a spool I would assume it would be more predictable but would that eat up my tires in the rear?

 

A spool is just like welding your spider gears its locked all the time every time. Everyone has their own opinion but if you live in PA slippery roads and lockers don't mix well.

 

I'm from New York, same conditions more or less as penn, less snow though. But yeah I see what your saying, maybe the truetrac is the way to go

 

I think a TrueTrac will be perfect for you. I have them front and rear and love 'em.

 

Have you looked into the Auburn ECTED Max? Kinda like a limited slip that you can lock. It will run you more money, but might be a perfect combination of what you're looking for. Personally, I'm saving up for an OX locker. Those things will survive an explosion.

 

The Detroit Locker is a great product for a rig that sees a lot of time off road but isn't always the best choice for a DD. Rigs with AT trans are effected much less by the lock/unlock action of the locker. I have run them for many years and they are perfect for what I do but some find them a bit 'twitchy' for DD use.

The Truetrac is a great choice for the moderate wheeler that sees a lot of DD time. The traction is far superior to any factory offering and is great in ice and snow. They're a great off road diff if you're not lifting tire frequently (for pretty much anything but rock crawling, they're pretty damn good). I have them in my current DD (5 years) and ran one in my old DD Cherokee. I was a beta tester for Tractech's (Detroit Locker's parent Co. now owned by Eaton) when the Electrac was developed. It was a Truetrac to full lock 12V electric selectable. I ran them in my well equipped CJ. They were a great locker and the Truetrac function was very, very capable off road. The Truetrac is a gear driven LSD that never needs a rebuild and doesn't require special fluids. There are no 'wear' parts.

Regarding the off topic lockers suggested, the Auburn Ected SOUNDS like a great option but lacks in function. The LSD portion is clutch driven. Clutches wear out as most know if they have ever had a factory Trac-Loc. If a single tire is allowed to free spin it is wearing the clutches. The Ected locks by adding pressure to the clutch pack to achieve 'lock'. The 'lock' function can be overcome by a large torque load or worn clutches. Additionally, the side gear design adds uneven loads (in the unlocked mode) to the axle opposite the ring gear and stripping the axle shaft splines is not uncommon.

The Eaton ELocker (Dana 44 and 60) is a 2 pinion selectable compared to a 4 pinion design used in both in the factory Rubicon locker and ARB. It is not as strong as the other units and should really only be used by very moderate wheelers. Aside from the inherent pinion design weakness, the ball ramp actuation method allows the unit to go from lock to unlock to lock when the rig is rocked. This motion is known to destroy the locker quickly under the right conditions. Dana 30 and 35 models are much different than 44 and 60 models and have 4 and 3 pinion designs, respectively. The ball ramp systems highly revised and don't suffer the same issues as larger models. They are both highly capable selectables that can be considered for any application.

 

Hmm unless I stumble upon some money for an ARB I think Detroit truetrac will be in my rear very soon! Thanks guys for the input