locker in your diff?

[BADPURPLE70CHEVY]

Anyone put a locker in there rear end? I have done alot but i have not done this. How bad is it?

[Fenny]

Mine had a detroit locker in it when I had a dana 60 in the rear. I had no problems with it.

[Fitz]

No different than installing an Eaton Posi. Took 10 min. to get the unit in and 2 hours to get it correctly shimmed for pattern and backlash. Don't try it unless you have a dial indicator to measure the backlash and when you put it together tighten the nut on the pinion just finger tight or you'll be making a trip to the parts store for a new crush sleeve each time you have to change a shim. If the backlash isn't right you'll be breaking gear teeth. When correct the backlash should be somewhere between 0.003 and 0.007 inches and the pinion gear teeth should leave neat little half moons in the CENTER of the ring gear teeth as shown in the photo. Then you can tighten the nut on the crush sleeve on the pinion. Get the pattern marks too near the outside of the ring gear and same result as poor backlash...broken teeth the first time you back off the throttle then get back on it!

[LONGHAIR]

If all you are doing is changing the carrier to install a Detroit Locker, you don't even need to touch the pinion....but you do need to get the backlash correctly re-set. It should be set to Exactly where it was....pretty much reguardless of what that actual number measures to be. So to that end, you must check it before you take it apart. Swap the ring to the new carrier and adjust the shims to get the same measurement as before. Do not bother the pinion, as far as that goes, you don't even need to disconnect the drive shaft.
The "contact pattern" is irrelevant at this point. It will have worn into whatever it has now and you must not change that....damage will occur if it does.
I said "pretty much", before in the pre-removal measurement stage of backlash...because there is alimit here. If your pre-removal backlash measurement is too big, I wouldn't spend the time or money on these gears. You cannot "just tighten it up"....That will destroy it even faster.

Did I mention the backlash has to be exactly where it was before?

One more thing......Synthetic gear lube

[hayhauler71]

I have been using a lock rite locker in my 71 for 3 years now with no problems or noise. One hour to install.

[BCOWANWHEELS]

Hope you have alot of money to replace back tires, a locker is hard on em also on wet roads it will spin you out quick if you break em loose oh did i mention your fuel milage will go "down "

[Pont406]

I just got this one in tonight. I'll try it out tomorrow.

[69TowRig]

I have a Lock-Right in my K5 and a Detroit in my Nissan. Both work great. The Lock-Right, had my carrier not had issues, would have been a breeze to install. The Detroit required a carrier replacement and that took some time to do properly.

I cannot imagine how fuel mileage would suffer noticeably with a locker installed. Under power the carrier will drive the inside tire in a curve and let the outside tire over-run the carrier. There is no loss of energy here. If I drive like "a normal human being", which isn't often, I cannot even tell there is a locker in either truck, except in tight turns in parking lots. I will say that the Lock-Right does make itself known a bit more often in normal driving though.

[hotrod 80]

Originally Posted by Fitz

When correct the backlash should be somewhere between 0.003 and 0.007 inches and the pinion gear teeth should leave neat little half moons in the CENTER of the ring gear teeth as shown in the photo. Then you can tighten the nut on the crush sleeve on the pinion. Get the pattern marks too near the outside of the ring gear and same result as poor backlash...broken teeth the first time you back off the throttle then get back on it!

On a new install pinion depth and preload get set first . 0.003 is to tight you'll find the ring gear to have "tight" spots when that tight . I try and stay around .008-.010 . On a used gear the backlash must be set back to where it was before disassembly .

[special-K]

I love them.You just have to drive like you have a locker...drift the corners and be aware of why these aren`t in every vehicle,your average driver.it takes paying attention to what you`ve got and that`s alot to ask of most people,it seems.I`m all about what I`m driving,so that`s second nature for me.
i`ve never noticed any difference in fuel consumption and my tires never suffer.I rotate every 5,000 miles anyway.I had two `72 3/4t 4wds,a Chevy (No-Spin/locker) and a GMC (Lok-Right/limited slip).The Chevy had 4.10s,35s,4spd,and SBC400.The GMC has 3.54s,33s,TH350,and 350.Both trucks got 12.5 mpg.If I hit the throttle a bit heavy (just a bit) pulling out while turning in my GMC,the inner tire chirps.

[LONGHAIR]

I ran a Detroit in a 14bolt FF with a 454 and SM465 4 speed for several years. I drove it on the street and off road with 40" Regul Trailblazers and pulled with it a few times with some 35" Ground Hawgs. It never got what you would call good mileage, but I wouldn't say it was the locker's fault. It would growl the tire if you didn't "coast" a turn on the street, you always knew it was back there. I just had to drive it like it was there. I can be done, it's just not the greatest thing for a daily driver.

[turp mcspray]

If you corner with enough throttle to "lock" it , both tires will be turning at the same speed, which means that one of them binding on the pavement. This extra drag is what hurts fuel mileage. On tires it is most noteable on the right rear because right turns are tighter than left, causing your right tire spin on the pavement when it's turning at the same speed as the left, but traveling a shorter distance. I wouldn't run anything but a locker in my 4wd. You just need to adjust your driving habits to cut down on tire wear and other "quirks" associated with a locker.

[MikeB]

I just installed a Auburn posi in my 60 C-10. Even though I used my old R&P, I replaced the pinion bearings and races, as well as the carrier bearings and axle bearings. Had I not done that, it would have been fairly easy.

If you've never done it before you will need to read, read, read, all the articles you can find, like those on the Richmond Gear and Randy's Ring & Pinion websites.

I have lots of specialty tools and a 12-ton press, and I don't know how you'd install carrier bearings w/o a press. If you replace the pinion bearings and races, count on another 3-4 hours. You will need a very long pipe wrench to hold the pinion yoke in place while you hit the pinion nut with enough torque (300-400 lb/ft) to compress the crush sleeve to set pinion bearing pre-load. You'll also need a 0-60 in/lb torque wrench to measure pinion bearing pre-load.

The easy part is setting backlash, and I just spent 2-3 hours earlier today doing that until I got the shim packs just right.

[MikeB]

Originally Posted by hayhauler71

I have been using a lock rite locker in my 71 for 3 years now with no problems or noise. One hour to install.

One hour???? Are you bionic?