Whats your opinion on lockers?

[strvger]

that's the name... Detroit. they make several, but only one for the 7.5. yes, my truck is a dd for sure. i'm building it up for my retirement vacation next summer (2011) driving the ALCAN highway to Alaska and back. after having a LockRight in my trail/dd rig (GEO Tracker) for the past 4 years, wouldn't own a truck without a locker really. most of the time i can get away with just 2wd with a locker and only use the 4wd when the snow, ice, or mud get really bad. no matter which one you get, they pay for themselves many times over. if you live where there are 4 seasons or even just 2 seasons like here in Minnesota, winter and getting ready for winter, they are worth their weight in gold, imho.

 

[4x4junkie]

"Detroit Locker" is the name. This is a full-carrier replacement differential. (I think they called it "Detroit-C-Locker" or something years (decades?) ago to denote it was for a c-clip axle. I don't think I've seen it called that anymore lately though)

The others are the "Detroit TrueTrac" (a limited slip), and "Detroit EZ-Locker" (drop-in locker much like the Lockright, but not as durable).

 

[bduke23]

Is it difficult to swap in a detroit locker and then set up everything again in the rear end? I've never done anything on an axle before, actually until this last year I had really never done anything but change oil till the engine and trans needed swapping. I guess what I'm getting at is I'm fairly mechanically inclined (im a mech. eng student as well) and a quick learner, would this be something I could do myself?

 

[Ranger44]

Buy it! I'll agree. A locker is way better than an open or l/s diff. Any side effects are small compared to the advantages of having one.

 

[4x4junkie]

Is it difficult to swap in a detroit locker and then set up everything again in the rear end? I've never done anything on an axle before, actually until this last year I had really never done anything but change oil till the engine and trans needed swapping. I guess what I'm getting at is I'm fairly mechanically inclined (im a mech. eng student as well) and a quick learner, would this be something I could do myself?

It's not overly hard to do, but it does require a fair amount of patience.
You'll need to measure the ring gear backlash before you take the old carrier out so you know what to set it to with the new one. Failure to do this correctly can cause the gears to fail a few hundred miles down the road.

I would do a little reading on setting up gears before you tackle it. Check the Axle FAQ post at the top here for some links.

 

[bduke23]

Ok will do. I have an apprenctice mechanic as a brother in law as well, and I have yet to get myself into a mess he couldn't fix so I'd be up for giving it a shot

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

Swapping a carrier is not that hard to do. Take a pattern check before you take it apart, swap the carrier and put everything back together the way it came out. 9 outta 10 times it will be bang on still. Check your pattern again afterward to confirm this.

 

[MountainMike]

ti'm building it up for my retirement vacation next summer (2011) driving the ALCAN highway to Alaska and back.

Been a while since I heard someone call the high way that. If you're looking for a really cool adventure I wold try the Dempster highway up to Inuvik, not paved and gentle though

 

[strvger]

if you're on the way to Fairbanks, lets keep in touch and i'll look for you when i get up that way!!

 

[MountainMike]

if you're on the way to Fairbanks, lets keep in touch and i'll look for you when i get up that way!!

Definetly, you have to cut right through my town on the Alaska Highway. Fairbanks is an amazing drive