Air Lockers, lsd, Detroit, truetrac advise needed

[Davidl13]

Originally Posted by carringb

YES! You can have the best of both!

Sounds like you need an Auburn ECTED. It's a traditional clutch-based limited slip with an electric locker. Previously it was only available for light-duty axles, but they have a Dana-70 and Ford 10.25/10.5" version now.

Auburn Ected Locking Differentials │ West Coast Differentials

Thanks, I will look into that...

[DerPo]

Just throwing in my .01. I just got a Detroit full time locker on my d60 in the rear. Cant even tell it's there on the road. Just put 360 miles on a mountain trip and the locker went unnoticed...until I hit the dirt then it was amazing! For 2wd I was pleased.

[Davidl13]

Originally Posted by DerPo

Just throwing in my .01. I just got a Detroit full time locker on my d60 in the rear. Cant even tell it's there on the road. Just put 360 miles on a mountain trip and the locker went unnoticed...until I hit the dirt then it was amazing! For 2wd I was pleased.

Thank you... Is it new? Have you tried it in snow or ice?

[MountainBikeRoamer]

I'm still hunting for a solid rear LSD/locker choice as well.

Having done my share of research, I agree with carringb.....the Detroit/Eaton True-Trac certainly looks like a solid choice for at least a light-to-medium-weight 2WD rig.

* acts like a normal "open" diff on pavement all the time (allows rear wheels to move at independent speeds all the time, no worries about it "hopping" when entering a tight turn (or of locking up both rear wheels on slippery surfaces such as snow/ice)

*supposedly "maintenance free" - no clutches to wear out.

However --- in my case (and probably a fair number of the rest of you here?) --- having an E250-based SMB, I'm saddled with the fairly-common Dana 60 rear with 32-spline axles. And it seems like a large percentage of the attractive rear-differential options are only available for the Dana 60's that have the 35-spline axles.........

As such --- the Detroit/Eaton True-Trac is currently not an option. (No version is produced for the 32-spline Ford Dana 60....only the 35-spline, which apparently is what the F-trucks got.)

If someone is feeling particularly determined, however, they could swap out the 32-spline for 35-spline axles ---
----and then a ton of options open up.

Good article (from 2011) over here on the ford-truck forum about doing just that:
Truetrac Possible For The 32 Spline Dana 60! - Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums

They quote a total cost of around $1500 in parts for the axle swap and the TrueTrac.

[carringb]

FWIW - Napa has 35-spline axle shafts available. I don't remember the cost but not bad in the grand scheme of diff upgrades.

[TheLetterJ]

About $350 will buy a pair of 35 spline shafts from Dutchman.

[Abitibi]

On mine I also have a Detroit Locker at the rear and a Powerlock LSD at the front. The only times I notice the Detroit is in the rain if I give too much right foot while turning from a dead stop. Otherwise I don't notice it at all. Haven't tried in the snow yet so time will tell. I think the Detroit works best with heavier trucks...

I haven't heard many using the Powerlock LSD. I got mine from Nitro-gear.com in WA as they like it better than the Truetrac. Plus it fits in my TTB setup and was free (won as a rafle price at the NWOR). BIG THANKS to Carl and his crew at Nitro for supporting our overland community! So far it does its job. It's a tight LSD but you only know once off road. I need to put more trails under its belt to give an objective review but again just a matter of time

Cheers
David

Sent from my SGP511 using Tapatalk

[MountainBikeRoamer]

Originally Posted by TheLetterJ

About $350 will buy a pair of 35 spline shafts from Dutchman.

Thanks TheLetterJ! (and carringb for the Napa lead.)
Will have to dig into that.

Do you happen to know offhand if the Dutchman 35-spline axles are "one-size-fits-all" axles that will require shortening to fit?
Or are they a pre-sized-to-fit option (by application) that is plug and play?

A buddy just installed a True-Trac in the rear axle on his 2WD 1-ton Chevy-based SMB, and he's been reporting great things about it so far. If the conversion to 35-spline on these 32-spline Ford Dana 60's is reasonably straightforward (and cost-effective) --- then it's looking a pretty attractive route. (vs. swapping to another rear end entirely.)

(*** Hope all this info applies to the OP Davidl13's question about differentials, as he indicated he had a partial-floater Dana 60 (32-spline) rear as well.)

[DerPo]

Originally Posted by Davidl13

Thank you... Is it new? Have you tried it in snow or ice?

Haven't found any snow in this heat wave in socal...

[joefromsf]

Originally Posted by MountainBikeRoamer

I'm still hunting for a solid rear LSD/locker choice as well.

Having done my share of research, I agree with carringb.....the Detroit/Eaton True-Trac certainly looks like a solid choice for at least a light-to-medium-weight 2WD rig.

* acts like a normal "open" diff on pavement all the time (allows rear wheels to move at independent speeds all the time, no worries about it "hopping" when entering a tight turn (or of locking up both rear wheels on slippery surfaces such as snow/ice)

*supposedly "maintenance free" - no clutches to wear out.

However --- in my case (and probably a fair number of the rest of you here?) --- having an E250-based SMB, I'm saddled with the fairly-common Dana 60 rear with 32-spline axles. And it seems like a large percentage of the attractive rear-differential options are only available for the Dana 60's that have the 35-spline axles.........

As such --- the Detroit/Eaton True-Trac is currently not an option. (No version is produced for the 32-spline Ford Dana 60....only the 35-spline, which apparently is what the F-trucks got.)

If someone is feeling particularly determined, however, they could swap out the 32-spline for 35-spline axles ---
----and then a ton of options open up.

Good article (from 2011) over here on the ford-truck forum about doing just that:
Truetrac Possible For The 32 Spline Dana 60! - Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums

They quote a total cost of around $1500 in parts for the axle swap and the TrueTrac.

That article looked promising, but is that axle swap just for full-floating rear axles? Anybody know of any traction options/solutions for the semi-floating rear axles (with AdvanceTrac & RSC)?