Anybody here ever heard of Lock Right differentials? It seems like you wouldn't be able to go in reverse with them. Can anyone tell me how they keep from slipping in reverse?

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I have read about them in magazines. They are supposed to be more highway friendly than the hardcore Detroit locker. I'm not sure if they make one for the Xterra. There are several of these so called soft lockers (the EZ locker, Lock right, and I think a couple of others). I'm not sure what the differences are. I read that the EZ locker is supposed to be easy to instal and can be installed by a person of moderate mechanic skills with ordinary tools. A pretty common combination seems to be a Detroit locker in the rear and a Lock Rite in the front. I quess the Lock right allows more slipage for turning than the Detroit. I assume it works in reverse, what makes you think it doesn't?

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Do they have an application for the front diff?

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2000 Xterra White
4x4 3pack w/xtras
SWXC Member# 2
TMTC (Texas Motorized Trails Coalition)Member # 653
KD5MQO

Carlton_McMillan@swxc.org
www.swxc.org

I saw a blown up mechanical drawing and the way they were described to work makes it hard for me to understand how they work in reverse. I know that they must work in reverse, I just want to know how.

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I know they are a locker similar to the Detroit. But they don't replace the entire carrier assembly. Because of this, they are not to be used in high horsepower applications. (I think the X doesn't fit this category, eh?) They are working on one for the front of the X that is supposed to be released in June. I am waiting for my front until then. If it appears it is going to go the same route of the Rancho lift, I am ready to put in an air locker. We will see what happens.

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Gordon "The Warmonger" White

There is no problem in reverse. My brother had one in his wrangler. It broke, he replaced it with a detroit locker. I've also seen one break in a cherokee. I believe you have to have an "open" diff. to install one. He ordered his wrangler front the factory with limited slip diff., and he had to replace with with an open one before it would work. I doubt there is one for the front diff.

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'01 Yellow SE 4X4 w/leather, stock so far.
'96 Dodge Ram 4x4, 318ci, 5spd., 33X12.5 Mickey Thompson Baja Claw Radials, 3.92 gears True-trac LSD front axle, Auburn LSD rear axle.

Lock Rite is working on a rear No-Slip locker not a front, they have been giving 6 month time frames for the last year and a half so don't get your hopes up.

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No problem! If they yank my crank like Rancho, they lost my business, it's as simple as that. A day late and dollar short doesn;t pay the bills, eh? Besides, I left room for a third switch for a front air locker just in case...;-)

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Gordon "The Warmonger" White

Detroit is just now producing a limited-slip that can be fully locked electrically with a switch just like an ARB. Anyway, by the time I'm in the market, I hope there's a Nissan application for it. Should be cheaper than an ARB (no compressor too), with the added benefit of limited-slip when not locked.

Locking Truetrac info

Brent

[This message has been edited by OffroadX (edited 04-30-2001).]

Lets bombard them with requests by e-mail and show some interest.

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I wouldn't bet on anything but two things. First, don't bet on them getting it done within a reasonable time, second, you can kiss their consideration of Nissan good bye. The fact is, no one gives a #$%^ about Nissan owners for some reason.

But most important of all, don't count on it costing less than the ARB. The only cost you will save will be the cost of the compressor. But it won't matter because I have little faith in the fact that they will EVER release anything for the Nissan. Nissans are the Rodney Dangerfield of 4WD.

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Gordon "The Warmonger" White

Well, let's see what kind of noise we can make:
Contact info for Tractech

Take a minute, let's make this happen.

Brent

Done

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I have a Detroit in my other 4x4 (FJ-45 Land Cruiser pickup). Yes, they work fine in reverse... the ring-gear and carrier actually drives pins. These pins cam up on ramps, which forces the driven "gear" outwards to mesh with the axle-"gear".

There are two implications to this:

-to get the driving pins to cam up the ramps takes some rotation. You might find as much as 45-deg of rotational slop at your pinion.

-around a corner, the outer/faster wheel "over-runs" the driving pins, and free-wheels. However, if you give enough gas to cause tire slippage, you'll cam the gears out and lock up the diff. This can produce some surprising handling

The things which help keep a locker manageable are:

-weight. An Xterra is probably OK in this regard
-wheelbase. The Xterra is probably OK, 'cuz it's sort of mid-length for a 4x4.
-auto tranny. It doesn't "shock" or oscillate the driving pins up the cams the way a standard tranny does.

If you put a locker up front, be aware that your steering becomes extremely difficult, and you'll definitely need a p/s cooler (plumb it into the low-pressure return side).

Hope this helps,
-GordP (hoping for a Detroit for the X)

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A friend of mine has the Lock-rite on his Toy truck. From what he told me, it works on pavement too. While turning in the parking lots, you can actually hear it clicking as you're turning. Maybe something you'd have to experience.

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G - Xcalibur and Li'l P-nut too

'01 Khaki XE-V6 4x4 3-pk
SWXC member #35

Yes - these autolockers (Lock-Rite, Detroit) work just fine on pavement. Simplistically, you could picture them as being like a ratchet; as you go around a corner, the outer/faster wheel is allowed to overrun.

It's a bit more than being a "ratchet" (read above, about pins ramping up on cams), but conceptually, that gives you the idea.

One great thing with auto-lockers like these is that they're (as the name implies) automatic. When there's some wheel slippage, they simply do their job, and the axleshafts are turned in synchronism. There is no need for driver intervention.

ARB air lockers (and McNamara vacuum lockers, and electric lockers, and cable lockers) all require that the driver actively choose to lock the diff. Sometimes this is fine, other times not. But these manual lockers are all unhappy on pavement, when engaged.

-GordP

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