beginner locker/LSD question

[discoverover]

I plan on having my diffs rebuilt with 4.11 gears and am thinking of adding a little more traction while the diffs are already out. If you were only going to use one truetrac would you put it in the front or rear? I drive in a lot of snow on-road so I'm not sure about a detroit locker in the rear. I figure the one TT might be better in the front for the same reason front wheel drive cars do better in the mud/snow (pulling instead of pushing and traction for the wheels that are steering). Plus I have read how the truetrac in the front helps lifted vehicles track straight. Is this correct thinking, or would you put the one TT in the rear? Dave

 

[marc olivares]

dave,

the obvious answer you'll hear from a lot of folks on the board is do both diff when you do your gear sets. you'll be money ahead with the labor.

as far as your questions:
yes, you can put TT in front only and it will mask (not correct) the lift related castor issues.
most run rear locker/lsd first because weight transfer issues (especially when climbing)
i have had no issues running a DT (rear) in the snow/ice.
a DT (rear) will give you the most bang for your buck (but axles will be life limited)
dual TT's would be nice, but being locked in the rear is better.

sooo, bite the bullet and do both, then you won't have to mess w/ it again, and you'll simultaneously be stimulating the economy...

 

[p m]

simultaneously be stimulating

damn I love alliterations...

 

[marc olivares]

damn I love alliterations...

seriously!

 

[Disco Mike]

David,
Do you have ETC and CDL, what year truck do you havee???
Mike J.

 

[discoverover]

sorry Mike, it's a 96' discovery 5 speed, no ETC. -Thanks for the advice, Marc

 

[Axel]

What is your reason for adding 4.11's?

 

[Disco Mike]

So since you at least have CDL then I would say put a TT in the rear for now, you should be real happy with that. It sounds like that is all you'll need to get wgere you want to go.
And yes, I went crazy with mine and did the Detroit/TT, gears and axles, but I did it to keep me out of trouble and all I do is get in more trouble.
Mike J.

 

[LostInBoston]

What is your reason for adding 4.11's?

Cuz they're trendy, DUH.

Id put a TT up front. I have the TT/detroit combo. The TT does help with the highway wander onthe highway, as far as offroad performance, its good but not great becasue its not a true locker. The detroit does not affect handling in snow, the tires will affect snow performance more.

-Rick

(im drunk while watchign the game, does any of this make any sense?)

 

[Axel]

Cuz they're trendy, DUH.

Wrong answer. But I wasn't asking you.......

 

[Gumarcel]

Cuz they're trendy, DUH.

Id put a TT up front. I have the TT/detroit combo. The TT does help with the highway wander onthe highway, as far as offroad performance, its good but not great becasue its not a true locker. The detroit does not affect handling in snow, the tires will affect snow performance more.

-Rick

(im drunk while watchign the game, does any of this make any sense?)

it does. And I think he is right, I only want to get them because all the cool kids are doing it these days. And I despreatlly want to be seen as a cool kid, just like in Billy Madison when they all pee their pants...

 

[Milan]

Since you have the manual, you may not even like the detroit in the back. I'd put dual TTs in there. But if you're going to only use one, put it in the back.

 

[LostInBoston]

Since you have the manual, you may not even like the detroit in the back.

Why are a lot of people saying that detoit in the back is not a good idea?

If someone has had problems with a detoit, fine, then say what your problem was. saying you may nto like it does no one any good, becasue you dont explian what might be the problem. Maybe they will like something that you dont.
Why not just say "youll hear a clicking sound when making sharp turns at slow speeds" (or whatever reason you think they might nto like it) and then they can decide if they will like that or not.

so thast my rant for now
-Rick

P.S. im doing a lot of case writing and analysises (sp?) now so im all about the objective point of view, but it makes sense here too.

 

[Shawn M]

I have a '96 with a 5 speed. My front pinion bearings were failing so I had to pull the front gear carrier to fix it.

I swapped the good stock carrier from the back and rebuilt the front with a rear TT from GBR (Thanks Bill!). This I installed in the rear and have been happy since.

Why not the DT? An automatic transmission masks some of the nasty street manners a true locker will exhibit. With a 5 speed you get the full benefit of binding, banging and jerky behaviour a solid axle provides on pavement.

I intend to put a front TT in at some point, but it's not the first priority. I also didn't want my rear axles to be consumable parts as they would be with a locker and a truck that sees 90%+ street time vs off-road.

The final straw was a user on this board who said (off board) he wouldn't let his wife drive their Disco in snow/ice after putting in a rear Detroit.

 

[Milan]

Why are a lot of people saying that detoit in the back is not a good idea?

If someone has had problems with a detoit, fine, then say what your problem was. saying you may nto like it does no one any good, becasue you dont explian what might be the problem. Maybe they will like something that you dont.
Why not just say "youll hear a clicking sound when making sharp turns at slow speeds" (or whatever reason you think they might nto like it) and then they can decide if they will like that or not.

so thast my rant for now
-Rick

P.S. im doing a lot of case writing and analysises (sp?) now so im all about the objective point of view, but it makes sense here too.

What Shawn says. I did say "since you have the manual". That was supposed to be a clue. DL behaves quite differently behind an automatic ****** than a manual one. Behind an automatic you hardly know it's there. Behind a manual, it will make you realize all the slack in your driveline. "Bucking" along locking and unlocking is quite common. It can be helped by altering your driving style to very "soft" driving, coasting thorugh corners, etc. But it's nothing like an automatic and DL. There is no problem with the DL as such. Satisfied?

 

[discoverover]

Thanks for all the advice guys. Axel, the gears are more important to me than the traction diffs. I was fine with my gearing until the bigger tires (245/75-16). The weight and diameter seems to make a larger difference with the manual trans. I have to slip the clutch more on hills from a stop, and feels like I am starting off in second compared with the stock tires. Also, off-road I cannot crawl as slow as I'd like especially when its rocky- once again an automatic would not have these problems with this tire size. So Chris, the gears are not done just to add to a list of modifications to be cool (how would you know they were there otherwise). I wouldn't spend the money if I didn't think it would help the driving. Dave

 

[discoverover]

Shawn and Milan, That's exactly the route I want to take with the 5 speed. If I decide on it, a truetrac in the rear will be perfect for my mix of on/off-road driving. Thanks

 

[LostInBoston]

What Shawn says. I did say "since you have the manual". That was supposed to be a clue. DL behaves quite differently behind an automatic ****** than a manual one. Behind an automatic you hardly know it's there. Behind a manual, it will make you realize all the slack in your driveline. "Bucking" along locking and unlocking is quite common. It can be helped by altering your driving style to very "soft" driving, coasting thorugh corners, etc. But it's nothing like an automatic and DL. There is no problem with the DL as such. Satisfied?

yes, thats much better. had no idea that a locker with a manual trans was like that.

 

[Sergei]

Just get gears if you really want them, and then later on you can add lockers/LSDs if you feel like you want it.
Its not that hard to drop 3rd case and put new diff in, as to withstand all those sling and arrows on ye age old debate

If you also adding lift - you may want to stick TT upfront to help with steering wandering (it does help tremendously).

At current exchange rates you can get TT/TT TT/DT for price of one ARB, not to mentioned compressor - if price is in consideration.

 

[Axel]

David; sounds like you are on the right track. I have the DT/TT combo myself, but I have an automatic. Like Milan said, a DT in a manual will not behave that well, so a TT will probably be a better solution for you. If you are only getting one, I would put it in the rear.

As for the 4.11 gears, true, it will give you the ability to accelerate a little faster, and crawl slower. It will also make your entire drivetrain spin faster at highway speed, so don't be surprised if you notice some new vibrations after a while.