Detroit locker for the street?

[cazsper]

First of all, I have a 73 Mach-1 that is a daily driver (freeway and suburbs, rain or shine). Though this is a work in progress, my plan for it is 400-450 hp, 5-speed, suspension upgrades, 3.50:1 gears...

A friend of a friend is selling his newly installed Detroit locker for a good price. I have a TrueTrac in my '68 but I've never driven a car with a locker. How are they in the street?

 

[Luke]

Firstly they work fine and are tuff. As a young bloke I loved how you could feel it engage disengage click and make other noises and generally feel very mechanical. if the detroits cheap you could give it a go and if you don't like it flip it for some cash toward the True Trac. True tracks really are the way to go as you would be aware yourself. Just my few cents worth.

 

[cazsper]

Well, the price is right. Is there anything I should be aware if with a locker in the street?

 

[Luke]

they dog in and out and can be noisy if you can live with that then no not really. I like them better then regular lsds as there are no clutches to frag, there is a bit of an art with stick shifted cars and detroits when driving them through the twisties heel toeing it a bit to keep them engaged but that's sort of boy racer stuff. if the price is right then by all means give it a go

 

[mdan575]

What he said I have one in my car. If you can deal with the clicking noise they work great. Mine came with a rebuilt 9" center section I got on ebay at a great price.

 

[1972MustangSVH]

I had one and hated it. Perhaps mine had an issue but if I got back into the throttle coming deep out of a curve the damn thing would lock and push me off the top of curve if I kept it under power. I did dig all the noise though.

 

[Luke]

I had one and hated it. Perhaps mine had an issue but if I got back into the throttle coming deep out of a curve the damn thing would lock and push me off the top of curve if I kept it under power. I did dig all the noise though.

Yep that would be the trick with heel toe braking

 

[turtle5353]

They are something you definitely have to get used to when driving. I had a set in my bronco II with 35" super swampers and it was a handful getting on and off the ramps on the highway. If you let out of the throttle around the corner then roll back into it, it would lock again and push that little bronco all over the place. But you get used to it. As far as performance they are great and are damn near indestructible. I got lucky and picked up a 9" chunk with a set of 4.11's and a Detroit soft locker for my 9 inch for $450. Which I though was a great deal then.

 

[Mister 4x4]

Got 'em in my Jeep CJ-7 with 33" TSX Swampers, and as turtle5353 mentioned, it can become a little unnerving and quite a handful when turning and getting back on the gas. I had my transmission grenade on me while rolling down the highway at 70mph - which [initially] sounded and felt A LOT like the weirdness of a Detroit Locker.

Mine didn't just click and pop... it was more like clunk and POW (just like my transmission ripping itself in half - literally)! Scared the livin sh!t out of me the first time it happened - I stopped and crawled under to make sure nothing had blown up. Sometimes, the inside wheels of the turn will 'scootch' around the corner before the click & pop (or clunk & POW depending on speed).

When I accelerate [straight line] in the Jeep, the rear end seems to squat down toward the passenger side... and when I clutch-in/let off the gas, it returns to the middle, and goes through the same motions when back on the gas (hard to explain). I believe it has something to do with lateral torsion movement that simply isn't noticed with an open differential.

But that's "normal" with a locker on the street. None of that happens on a surface that has any slippage (like dirt, mud, snow, ice, etc...)

 

[sdstang]

What he said I have one in my car. If you can deal with the clicking noise they work great. Mine came with a rebuilt 9" center section I got on ebay at a great price.

I put one in my old 05 and the clicking noise gets annoying. I'm sending my third member out this weekend. Putting in a Currie limited slip plus for my 73 vert. Not sure how limited slip holds up to 400hp. In my 05 I had 430rwhp with the stock limited slip for 9 month before doing the Detroit and it seem to hold up ok. Not sure what the clutch plates looked like though.

 

[turtle5353]

What he said I have one in my car. If you can deal with the clicking noise they work great. Mine came with a rebuilt 9" center section I got on ebay at a great price.

I put one in my old 05 and the clicking noise gets annoying. I'm sending my third member out this weekend. Putting in a Currie limited slip plus for my 73 vert. Not sure how limited slip holds up to 400hp. In my 05 I had 430rwhp with the stock limited slip for 9 month before doing the Detroit and it seem to hold up ok. Not sure what the clutch plates looked like though.

I have a 8.8 out of an explorer in my 71. It has the factory limited slip in it and its been good for probably close to 4-5 years now. It held up to 400+hp with my old motor and now im around 550hp with my new motor and its still going strong. As a matter of fact I just did a nice big smokey burnout last night on way home from picking my son up at vacation bible school. he liked it

 

[mjlan]

The Detroit Locker 'idiosyncracies' are more noticeable with a lighter vehicle- the more weight the less ornery they are... I had one in a pickup and then moved the entire center section over to my 69 Cougar. The truck didn't have enough weight over the rear axle to unlock the diff on dry pavement, driving in the rain was exciting. I never noticed that tendency after I swapped it into the car.

The locking/ unlocking is a quirk of the mechanical ratchet that is most noticeable if you get in and out of throttle while in a corner...

 

[cazsper]

So, if I put this locker in my '73, I would have to make sure I am off the gas coming out of a corner? That just seems backwards..

 

[turtle5353]

So, if I put this locker in my '73, I would have to make sure I am off the gas coming out of a corner? That just seems backwards..

Or never let out of the gas, LOL!!!

 

[cazsper]

Lol..

 

[jorgem2]

Here is a copy of the warning sticker that comes with Detroit Lockers

In case its not legible the last line says. "May cause a mishap leading to injury or death"

All kidding aside, its a handful in the rain, rear seems to move around a bit too much in curves as you let off the gas, or on uneven roads. Makes it almost feel like it started to slide out from under you.

I have the soft locker in mine that has a clutch pack to smooth out the engaging. Not very noisy at all, but you can feel the Lock/unlock cycles.

I also got it because it was cheap, but a true limited slip would be better for a street car.

 

[cazsper]

I'm thinking I'm just going to save for the TrueTrac. Thank you everyone..

 

[1972MustangSVH]

I think thats a better plan, the locker was great on the track (straight line) but It sucked learning to play out a curve until the end before you got back into it.

Notably, my first experience with it was really bad. We have a deep long curve locally that empties onto a 2 1/2 mile straight stretch across open plain. It's just irresistible to dive into it fast then power out of it onto the stretch for a good run. I had done it a million times, but, not long after I put in the locker I was deep in the curve and laid into the throttle liked I'd done 1000 times before. The damn car snapped straight and over the edge I went and luckily down a forgivingly shallow ditch. It didn't hurt anything but my feelings and stuffed a buncha dirt and grass in my undercarriage. Lesson learned, the locker went bye bye.

 

[Luke]

I like these posts where people look at options get good real world input and end up making a great informed decision like buying a true track. Well done gentleman.