Anyone ever tried a Lock Right diff in a D 60?

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Dartish

Dartish

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Looking at replacing my worn out spers in my dana 60 with a lock right diff from Richond.Anyone have any experiance with these? Pros and cons. Going in 3/4 ton 4wd i haul my car to strip with as well as off road playing. Motors a mild 360. Tall skinny mud tires and auto trans. No one ive talked to has any experiance with them
 
If the power trax lockright, I ran one of those for years in my dakota. They do work, however they are jerky and noisy. I have heard the changed the angle of the teeth a bit to reduce the noise, but I don't know anyone who has one currently. I changed it out for a oem trac loc
 
Thanks for the info. Ive been looking into one mainy based on price and the fact that my spers are loose and clunk. How severe was the noise and jerking? Something severe or easy to get used to? Itl mainly be used for hauling dart to the strip a couple weekends a year but mostly driving to work. Btw i live in the sticks and the 4 mile trip to work doesnt get plowed much in winter. I also do alot of playing in the mud. Just wondering if they really work as claimed. I can get a new one for less then $400 dollars and basically just replace the spiders with it, or spend over $600 sore a real unit and have to mess with ring gear
 
I have used one in my old wrangler. Not a Dana60 but it worked well. I got used to it . There was a ratcheting sound around turns and at times was twitchy but I was in a short wheel base Jeep. They are a little twitchy anyway. I would run one again.
 
Thanks. Nothing like trying to run a spool on the street though right? U dont drag and squeel the inside tire when youre turning? Not gonna see alot of in town driving. Mostly non paved roads,mud, snow, cutting wood in the timber and when i go racing its a 50 mile drive down interstate but i litterally only have to make 3 turns. They dont do anything quirky in a straight line do they? Would u recommend them on snow and ice? I know the company does but id rather hear from people that have actually used them instead of the people that sell them
 
They do unlock during turns as advertised. Just have to be mindful during slick conditions to avoid fishtails in ice/snow. For offroading it should be good.
 
Glad to hear that. Ever had any reliability issues?
 
I ran it for 8 years in my daily driver. 2003 dakota 2wd. A little over 150,000 miles with that power trax. Just got tired of it was all. When I had the oem limited slip installed, I also had the ring/pinion gears changed as over time the jerky motion of the locker put a little extra wear in the teeth. This was at 225,000 miles so new limited slip, new gears and bearings. If I'm going in there, might as well eebuild everything. By the nature of your driving and mileage, i'd say that locker could last a very long time. On a side note, the slot for the c-clip to be inserted in the right hand side of the locker, it should be a slip fit. If you have to tap it in, it will be nearly impossible to take it back apart. A dremel to clearance as necessary till the c-clip will just slide in.
 
What kind of jerking are u referring too? Turning corners or in a straight line under acceleration? My driving style is pretty tame on the street, but every now and then i have to show a camaro or mustang that a 5200 lb truck can do a burnout too. Tired of leaving a single stripe though.lol. Mainly if im on the gas alot its in real deep mud or snow. Ive got the option to pull the lever and put it in 4wd but since the spiders are wore and clunking, i figured replacing them with the lock right would eliminate the need for 4wd alot of the time, and those rare occasions when i want to leave 30 bucks worth of those mud tires on the pavement, itlbe from BOTH OF THEM.lol. Ive ran several old 2wd half ton dodges with 8 3/4 axles with sure grips that got around just as good as alot of 4wd trucks so thinking that extra wheel getting power on my 4wd would b a big bonus
 
The jerking of when they unlock and then lock. It depends on howyou accelerate from a stop as well as how your tires grip has a lot to do with it
 
racerdan80 said:
The jerking of when they unlock and then lock. It depends on howyou accelerate from a stop as well as how your tires grip has a lot to do with it
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So basically hard on the throttle, hard off is when the jerking occurred? What about in the mud? R they a little less forgiving to the hard throttle usage when they can slip and spin?
 
Accelerating from a stop on pavement can be a little jerky if it was unlocked. It's the sudden lockup where the jerk comes from. In the mud, not sure you would even notice
 
I have a powertrax locker in my 90 Dodge w250 CTD and have mixed feelings about it. It's great for putting power to both wheels and it was cheaper than a limited slip diff and it was fairly easy to install, but it absolutely sucks when turning while off throttle like in parking lots or going around a corner, it feels like it snaps the driveshaft back and fourth when it locks and unlocks.
Oh and every so often when taking off from a light one half will slip and will give a loud pop like someone hit the driveshaft with a sledgehammer, and a few times I've had both side slip on me and that feels like I just got rear-ended by someone.
 
I do not recommend any automatic Locker for ice. It becomes an instant crash machine. Deep snow is fine If you think there is ice on the road do not drive a vehicle withat automatic lockers. Just my opinion.
 
Not in a 3/4 ton truck. Not driving on the street all the time.
 
You are basically turning your open differential into a Detroit Locker. It is the exact same internals. The Detroit Locker is a pretty violent setup. It was designed for balls out performance in a straight line behind high horse power. They are not for the meek. If you cannot stand the locking and unlocking action, I would look at another option.

I ran one on the street in a pro street Monza with a blown small block in the early 80s with a Muncie 4 speed. That carrier was so loud, my coworkers could hear it when I pulled out of the parking lot. It shook the whole car when it disengaged.

All that said, if you want something that's totally badass and will not fail in almost any circumstance and you do not mind the noise, then go for it.
 
RustyRatRod said:
You are basically turning your open differential into a Detroit Locker. It is the exact same internals. The Detroit Locker is a pretty violent setup. It was designed for balls out performance in a straight line behind high horse power. They are not for the meek. If you cannot stand the locking and unlocking action, I would look at another option.

I ran one on the street in a pro street Monza with a blown small block in the early 80s with a Muncie 4 speed. That carrier was so loud, my coworkers could hear it when I pulled out of the parking lot. It shook the whole car when it disengaged.

All that said, if you want something that's totally badass and will not fail in almost any circumstance and you do not mind the noise, then go for it.
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I ran one in a hot 406 small block vega for a while. it was tubbed, and had 14x 32`s on it. the powertrax locker wouldn`t hold up under the power I had. went to a full spool.
 
Thanks for the input guys, apreciate it. This motor isnt a trick hi strung piece. Mildly built 360. Idles smooth at 600 rpm in gear.The only hard throttle usage it sees is in mud and deep snow, With an occasionall stop sign burn out, or a quick burst down the highway. Mostly a gravel road truck. Was looking for an inexpensive option to a true posi unit since il be replacing those clunking spider gears. Getting tired of hearing them for about 10 yrs now. Figured if im ewplacing them, i could throw a few bucks extra in there and get the lock right if its somewhat well mannered and doesnt break every 1000 miles
 
famous bob said:
I ran one in a hot 406 small block vega for a while. it was tubbed, and had 14x 32`s on it. the powertrax locker wouldn`t hold up under the power I had. went to a full spool.
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That's true. They are nowhere as strong as a Detroit Locker.

I will say that the Monza I had that Detroit in was also tubbed with 33 Mickeys on the back. Because the sidewall was so tall, it muted the locker's noise to a degree, but it was still loud.
 
RustyRatRod said:
That's true. Theytrong as a Detroit Locker.

I will say that the Monza I had that Detroit in was also tubbed with 33 Mickeys on the back. Because the sidewall was so tall, it muted the locker's noise to a degree, but it was still loud.
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Were these the older ones when they first came out? Ive heard they make a couple different ones and changed tbe design a little bit. Dont personally know anyone thats used one. I know a sure grip unit is really what i want, but i dont have one for a 60 and not gonna spend $600+ on one and totally disassemble everything. May just have to put new spiders in eventually and live with a one legger and keep using the4wd. Figured id see what all your thoughts are on the power trax
 
Just FYI to install mine in a Dana 70 w/3.54 gears I had to remove the diff from the housing and pull the ring gear off to get all the locker pieces in.
 
daliant said:
Just FYI to install mine in a Dana 70 w/3.54 gears I had to remove the diff from the housing and pull the ring gear off to get all the locker pieces in.
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Thats the reason i was looking into them. Their claims say simply pull spider gears and replace with lock right. Isnt a 70 just a 60 with bigger carrier and ring gear?
 
I didn't have to remove the carrier on my stock 8.25 with open differential. Just removed the spiders.
 
Dartish said:
Thats the reason i was looking into them. Their claims say simply pull spider gears and replace with lock right. Isnt a 70 just a 60 with bigger carrier and ring gear?
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Yeah the D70 is pretty much a slightly bigger version of the D60, it might have been because of the 3.54 gears, your results might vary. It wasn't the end of the world, just an extra few steps I had to do to install, no bearing or gear lash setup just remove the diff, pull the ring gear, install the locker then put ring gear, bearing races and shims back in the same place they came out of.
 
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