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Where to find differential lockers?

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welldigger

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Well I'll still be the guy who disagrees. I'm not talking about wide sweeping turns. Now this is just me and my personal needs for my truck, but I do a lot of tight maneuvers both on dirt and concrete/asphault. I have plenty of infuriating experiences with rear lockers pushing the front instead of allowing the truck to steer. When I'm trying to squeeze a deuce between pine trees to drag a trailer or other piece of equipment out of a homeowners yard a detroit locker or spool is not an option for me. Been there done that. Your experiences may vary.
 

patracy

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I wonder how spools would handle in the rear of the deuce.... Although for the price difference it doesn't seem worth it.
I have a spool in a rwd car I own.

And...

I hate it!



There's no way I'll ever own another spooled vehicle. Unless it's in the rear of a 100% trail 4x4.
 
862
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Location
Reading Pa
I've driven spools in pick ups and granted they weren't the best on road. Like I said for what they cost compared to a detriot they aren't worth it.
 

gimpyrobb

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I have ruined a couple front axle 3rd members. 99% of my paved driving is with de-splined caps on the front axle. I'm thinking I might weld up a set of gears on an old 3rd member and see how much I do/don't like it. All it would cost me is time, I have everything else.
 

gimpyrobb

dumpsterlandingfromorbit!
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I like it. It takes about 10 min to swap them out. I have a set of new caps if you decide you want a set, they still have the splines though.
 

DavisM38

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I`ve made up my mind... Ouverson`s it is. And there not far from me. An hour. Finally something for my deuce in my own state. Thanks to all for the input!
 

M-1028

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Just to throw a stick into some spokes

I've owned 5 vehicles with welded or spooled diffs and work at an off road shop that deals with this on a daily basis. They drive similar or exactly the same as a mechanical locker, if you coast around every turn it may help a little, but not enough to justify changing the way you drive or spend more $$$ on a locker.

My bobbed deuce is welded in the rear and I challenge anyone to drive it and say they can tell the diff is welded, full lock on concrete is welcomed.

A good friend of mine owns a gear and differential company and he will tell you the same thing. He also sold me a Grizzly locker for the front of my deuce because he's sold so many and the failure rate is less than the detroits.

We see more failures in open diffs due to the violent torque transfer when off road. If your axle breaks because it has a locker I suggest never allowing tires to touch dirt. Driving style, weight etc... have way more effect on an axles durability than if its locked.

Like mentioned I do this on a daily basis, most people in this industry will tell you exactly the same thing. Heck, Steve is by far the most experienced guys on this forum with axles and diffs and he's saying the same thing.
 
862
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18
Location
Reading Pa
I think I'm going to try a lincoln locker in my bobbed deuce since I'm keeping the spare axle for parts. Can't be that bad considering like you said detroits dot unlock half the time anyway
 

M-1028

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- Can you clarify this statement? - it's a bit unclear. - Thanks in advance
Sure. Adding a locker will not cause and axle to fail, plain and simple. If the axle shafts can't handle some tire scrub caused by being locked then it must be super weak How that axle is used, weight, and tire size are more of a deciding factor if your axle breaks. Like I said I see just as many open diffs break and twist axles due to shock load. One tire spinning fast then grabbing traction, sending it to the other tire is **** on parts.
 
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