Front LSD or locker

[wantapinz2]

OK guys tell me what you would do. My m725 is getting new axles: chevy d60 and d70 dually axles with H1 hummer wheels. The rear has a detroit locker in it the front has lockout hubs and open diff. It will be more of a camper or expedition vehicle so no hardcore 4 wheeling but it will see lots of freeway and some nasty off road ,sand and snow. I was considering the true trac in front but I'm not sure it's recommended for 37" tires. I'm not a fan of ARB but I would consider an OX cable lock. I welcome your thoughts.
Thanks

[glenn]

If you ever do any snow driving at higher speeds it is nice not to have a locked frontend when in 4x4. I went thru Flagstaff AZ right before Turkey day and was in 4x4 a bit on the interstate in my truck doing about 45.

[M725baja]

I have an M725 with swapped D60 and 14 bolt rear. Both have Detroits. I love the setup. I hit a lot of mountain and desert trails. With front lockout hubs There's pretty much no reason I can think of to not get the cheaper and more bulletproof detroit. Occasionally on tight turns on trails I have to put it in neutral and hit the throttle to get the power steering pump to turn my 38's, but that's not often. On the street I'm so used to the rear locker it's like it is not there. I don't get into much snow/ice though- not supposed to be good locker terrain.... my 2C.

[randyscycle]

Lockers in snow are pretty much a pain unless they are selectable. Sand will behave somewhat similarly. The truck wants to keep going forward in a straight line.

In the front, they have their place, but 90% of the time I've personally never needed a locked front axle. That other 10% would have been nice at the moment......with lockout hubs you can get around the locker, but you'll be in and out of the truck to manually lock and unlock the hubs when needed and most likely more times than you want to on a 90 degree day in August.

I'd personally go this way: Keep the Detroit in the rear and see how you like it. If you find a need to lock the front, then do it later.

As far as OX and ARB, (this is just personal opinion) I think that they are too complicated and require too much extra stuff for what they do. I tend to like to keep things very simple, particularly far from home in the wilderness when tools and facilities are limited.

[tngreenmachine]

For street driving I hate detroits. My tj has them front and rear since I bought it in 2004 and built it for the trail. At the time I had a company car. It has since served as my daily driver for periods up to a year and I hate driving it when the weather is less than perfect. It's worthless on slick wet roads or in the snow for the reasons lists above. I haven't ever had a selectable locker but if a vehicle is going to be mainly driven on the road I would lean heavily that way.

[kevin]

I've had Detroit's front and back on my M715 for years. In the Ice you need to be more careful in the corners. On the trails just let off the gas and you will turn just fine.

Also in my CJ7 I have had a detroit in the back and a lockrite in the front and lived in Minnesota for a few years and the ice can get you in a short wheelbase vehicle but in a full size truck you will be able to manage it just fine.

The biggest thing you need to do is pay more attention to the roads and what is on them. And drive slower!

But as others have said leave the front alone until you see if you even need the front lock'ed up.

If I was building my M715 again Detroits front and back would be one of the first things I do. With the main reason being I can use much less gas pedal to get to where I want to go.

[wantapinz2]

Thanks for the input and experiece it confirms much of what I've read.
1) Detroit lockers can be tricky on slick surfaces and/ or cornering but
less of an issue with long wheel based vehicles.
2) Detroits are probably too aggressive to put on the front for my intended purpose.

I've also read that detroits are much smoother with an auto tranny vehicle
(less off and on that skinny pedal on the right). I'am concidering dropping in an auto tranny since my wife does not want to drive a stick.
As for the front axle, unfortunately I need to decide soon because I put a 4.10
R & P in the rear axle while the front is still a 4.56 (front drive shaft removed) and a 4.10 R&P will not fit the 4.56 carrier. I only want to open up the axle once if I can help it, so I need to make up my mind or buy a used 4.10 carrier to make the axle usable.
I had been leaning towards the truetrac lsd for the front. I have read mixed reviews on the truetrac, good road handling even locked and not bad off road as long as you keep both wheels on the ground. The truetrac is simular to what they use on the front H1 hummer axle.
Sometimes there are just too many choices.

[glenn]

You just need more M-725's, that way you can have one with a detroit in front, one with a truetrac, etc. etc. Warning, telling the wife this can be hazardous to your health.

[alosix]

From my RC comp days.. I'm not real found of detroits in an axle that may either break a shaft or throw a u-joint. I had to rebuild 2 detroits from basically grenading their innards after loosing a u-joint on a course.

I'll be throwing an ARB or an E-locker (eaton) in the front of mine shortly. If you're doing the gears I really have no good reason for not throwing a locker in there if its getting used offroad. If its a $$ issue, just wait and save.. it'll be worth it.

As for the selectables being complicated.. The failure mode of most of the complicated parts is just an open diff, so no worse than if you didn't lock it.

The eatons are stoooopud simple with just a wire to route. ARB's really aren't much worse and given the size of the truck you're much less likely to have to run a line in a questionable place. Smaller Jeeps have issues because we have 10lbs of truck in a 5lb bucket.

Mine is shaping up to be AWD again .. which means no full time lockers.

[glenn]

From my RC comp days.. I'm not real found of detroits in an axle that may either break a shaft or throw a u-joint. I had to rebuild 2 detroits from basically grenading their innards after loosing a u-joint on a course.

I'll be throwing an ARB or an E-locker (eaton) in the front of mine shortly. If you're doing the gears I really have no good reason for not throwing a locker in there if its getting used offroad. If its a $$ issue, just wait and save.. it'll be worth it.

As for the selectables being complicated.. The failure mode of most of the complicated parts is just an open diff, so no worse than if you didn't lock it.

The eatons are stoooopud simple with just a wire to route. ARB's really aren't much worse and given the size of the truck you're much less likely to have to run a line in a questionable place. Smaller Jeeps have issues because we have 10lbs of truck in a 5lb bucket.

Mine is shaping up to be AWD again .. which means no full time lockers.

When are you going to post some more updates on your build? You too wantapinz. I just got a basketcase M-725 that needs a motor and trans, I am going to pick it up next weekend. Maybe someday we can have a N Ca M725 FE.