How bad is it to drive with a Detroit locker on the rear?

diggerwolf

TJ Enthusiast
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I'm a cheap SOB and trying to keep my Jeep costs down so I'm looking at auto-lockers as opposed to ARB or e-lockers. Front & rear.

I know Jerry swears by Detroit lockers, but he has also said you need to learn how to drive with them.

Am I going to regret my decision? What is your experience?

2005 4.0 6-speed, 33s, Dana 30 & 35. 90% street but I hope to hit more trails soon.

ETA: I've never driven with lockers of any flavor.
 
Not bad. I have one. You get a little chirp chirp sometimes in sharp turns, occasionally it’ll lock up mid turn and make a thunk sound but it’s never felt dangerous or scary. You learn the behaviors pretty quickly.
 
I drove a CJ-7 with a Detroit Locker for years. It takes a little bit of to get used to one, but the learning curve is quick and effortless.

It gets really fun when you learn how to use the throttle to lock and unlock a Detroit at will on a curvy road. It scares the bejesus out of your passengers. :LOL:
 
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A Detroit Locker is perfectly well behaved on the street so long as you're not trying to accelerate through turns or using engine braking to decelerate through turns. Even/neutral throttle during turns is all that's needed to keep it well behaved. My previous TJ with its Detroit Locker was a daily driver for me too. It's not a good choice for where the streets get slick from snow or ice but...
 
A Detroit Locker is perfectly well behaved on the street so long as you're not trying to accelerate through turns or using engine braking to decelerate through turns. Even/neutral throttle during turns is all that's needed to keep it well behaved. My previous TJ with its Detroit Locker was a daily driver for me too. It's not a good choice for where the streets get slick from snow or ice but...

Thanks. I'm in north Texas so snow & ice are quite a rarity.
 
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I also had a Detroit locker in my prior CJ-7. For me it took getting use to accelerating and the Jeep would have a slight pull and same with deceleration but opposite of accelerating. But if it was me and had a choice and my Jeep was a daily driver I would go with a selectable locker rather than a Detroit. Now if the Jeep is significantly trail than heck ya go Detroit to save some nickels for other Jeep necessities.
 
I also had a Detroit locker in my prior CJ-7. For me it took getting use to accelerating and the Jeep would have a slight pull and same with deceleration but opposite of accelerating. But if it was me and had a choice and my Jeep was a daily driver I would go with a selectable locker rather than a Detroit. Now if the Jeep is significantly trail than heck ya go Detroit to save some nickels for other Jeep necessities.
One thing to keep in mind is that older Detroit Lockers were not well behaved. Their reputation then was that they were a handful on the street. Then it was redesigned years ago and came out as the Detroit Softlocker which is what is now being sold as the Detroit Locker. Night and day difference on the street. Those that are Soft Lockers being sold as a Detroit Locker will have SL in their part numbers.
 
One thing to keep in mind is that older Detroit Lockers were not well behaved. Their reputation then was that they were a handful on the street. Then it was redesigned years ago and came out as the Detroit Softlocker which is what is now being sold as the Detroit Locker. Night and day difference on the street. Those that are Soft Lockers being sold as a Detroit Locker will have SL in their part numbers.

Great point, that CJ-7 I had probably was an early Detroit and it was awesome off road but hard surface occasionally was not exactly desirable.
 
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One thing to keep in mind is that older Detroit Lockers were not well behaved. Their reputation then was that they were a handful on the street. Then it was redesigned years ago and came out as the Detroit Softlocker which is what is now being sold as the Detroit Locker. Night and day difference on the street. Those that are Soft Lockers being sold as a Detroit Locker will have SL in their part numbers.

Jerry is there one you recommend? As far as I can tell, Eaton is it.
 
I'm a cheap SOB and trying to keep my Jeep costs down
This is pretty much the worst place to save money on a build. Get a selectable locker front and rear, it is a massive upgrade. You can pick when you stress your drive-train components, that's not a small deal. Picking what is locked is nothing short of massive insurance on the trail if you have any common sense at all.