Home Forums Gear Hunting Trucks and Four-Wheel Drives Detroit Truetrac?

Anyone running truetracs front and rear? How are they on icey roads?

Grenaded the 3.73 ring and pinion in my front dana 60. Also damaged the spider gears in the open diff. I suspect that when the gears grenaded, the spiders in the open diff bound up with metal debris. Fun fun!

Anyhow, regearing to 4.11 and installing truectracs front and rear on a 2002 7.3 powerstroke f-350. Not a fan of that clutch style rear limited slip. Also, 9000 lbs empty, truck is WAY too heavy for 3.73's.

At 60 mph boost just strarts coming on at 1600 rpms, 3.73 with 33" tires. When towing heavy, really need to be at 1800-2000 rpms, at 60 mph. 2000 rpms is peak torque and better boost (less exuahst gas temps too).

Knock out 2 birds with one stone: lower gearing and some real fkn traction.

Well if going to the trouble to re-gear I would be putting ARB or some other manual locking differentials in both axles, but I would especially put a manual locking differential in the front. You do not want the front of that truck to have both wheels in the front have power on them when on an icy hill, that could cause the front end to slide on you. You want to control when that front differential provides power to both front wheels, not having it done automatically. An auto locker (ie: Truetrac) can be fine in the rear but I would not recommend it in the front on a vehicle driven on the road.

I put ARB,s in my F250 Super Duty and have been more than happy. Some people do not like the air compressor associate with air lockers but what I use is a CO2 tank mounted behind the seat to provide pressure to the lockers when needed.

VA, not much out there about them but coupla older vids show them in action on ice, seem purdy smooth to me:



I''m looking for actual experience with true tracky-lacky, front and rear axles if you know of anyone.

I'm never in 4wd on the highways, always 2wd. That steel flat bed, ladder rack and 6 steel tool boxes full of sht, put lots of weight over rear tires.

Wish I could give you first hand experience with Truetrac but my only experience was with friends who had them in their jeeps back in the 1970's and 1980's that they used to play in the mud with. Then the offroad rigs would run Detroit lockers in the rear and the Truetrac up front and they did work well in pure offroad conditions. If memory serves what they, my friends, felt was the Truetrac was the best of the limited slip differentials and again memory of articles written in that era also praised the Truetrac. I would suspect that is still true today.

I think the reason many people today use selectable lockers today is that there is no downside other than you have to know when they are needed and when not. I am just a manual operation kind of guy, I even have manual locking hubs.

I sure others will come along with first hand experience with the Truetrac and educate both of us.

I've also heard most use them up front and then put a true locker in the rear differential but it would probably work fine having both Truetrac. Yukon Gear has a good reputation and cost a little less than Detroit.

I have no personal experience with either.

I ran a TT in the rear for ~10 years & would go that route again if needing something similar, smooth but effective.

But I just can't get my brain around one in the front, especially if for some highway use. Maybe if the truck had locking hubs, otherwise I wouldn't want it surprising me on the hiway. Lots of air lockers in use, but the compressor, hose, switch etc. just more problems.

That's where I'm a fan of the manual/mechanical Ox locker. A manual lever in the cab & sealed morse cable. When it's locked it stays that way unless something breaks. When it's unlocked ya have normal steering without any surprises'.

Just another suggestion.

A number of years back I was running full lockers in a jeep, slipped off the iced mountain road, wife and I both had to climb out drivers window. All of this whilst a Volvo, BMW, Subarus, and Land Rover went past without even spinning a tire.

I went true trac in the front and rear axles and it were a different animal in the ice.

I also learned how to manipulate the brakes and emergency brake to get that baby to lock up totally.

So, for me I went to tru trac because of icy roads and was happy. Full lockers have their place but 90% of the places most folk ride is improved surfaces of some type, whether a dirt trail, pavement, gravel road, or whatever that can ice up.

Its the closest you are going to get to AWD in a regular axle.

Nice, kinda figured they were predictable on slick stuff.

Few issues I don't like about clutch type lsd's:

On my old dodge 1 ton with the 6bt, the lsd was clutched too tight. Ass end would swing out on ice real fast.

Also, towing heavy on curvy roads, that constant clutching in that limited slip diff, with all that tounge weight, it would overheat the diff fluid so badly, it would fkn boil out of the breather hose!

On the Ford, the the clutches in the lsd are so worn, it's essentially and open diff.

Can't beat those torsen style limited slips, almost invisible till you need them........

As I said, I have lockers front and rear in my Super Duty truck. I would never think to use the lockers to drive on a compacted snow or icy road, especially locking the front locker. Driving in 4WD with the open differentials and good tires will get you along just fine on anything short black ice, and nothing helps there. Now if I was having an issue with climbing a slick grade I may temporarily lock the rear end to provide some forward momentum. That front locker is to use only in a very slow offroad conditions and then only for a very limited timeframe or when you are stuck and you lock the front lockers along with the rear just to get you out of the hole you are in.

if both front wheels are spinning on compacted snow or ice and there is any camber at all to the surface you are on the front end will slide downhill, and then you are SOL. Lock all 4 wheels in that situation and gods knows where you might end up.

Accura SH-AWD system is known as one of the very best AWD systems. In their system they use torque vectoring differentials in the rear to transfer power from the right and left wheels based on need and traction available (think limited slip/torsen type unit) but they do not put torque vectoring in the front differential for the very reason I and others have said, you do not want both front wheels spinning.

Make no mistake, it does not work as good as AWD.

You are correct on that. I have a 1998 4Runner and a Highlander in addition to my Super Duty and have owned a FJ40 Landcruiser, CJ5 & CJ7, Ford Bronco and a Subaru I can tell you that in the snow the AWD Subaru or the Toyota Highlander is what I want to be driving on snow and ice covered roads.

We have a Highlander. We have studded snows on it and it has great traction on slick roads. I have the tires on their own rims for an easy changeover. It was worth every cent.

A locker in the front end is a good idea for off-road use. I have no idea how it would work on the road at highway speeds if needed. I've wanted to put a locker in the front end of my truck since it was new, just worried about screwing it up. The truck is a 2013 Ram 3500 4x4 and is unbelievable in the ice and snow while using the traction control at highway speeds.

I have Truetracs, but you have to understand how they work. Torsen style lockers are great for the intended use. They are not for slow, technical work like rock crawling where you need to be fully locked at the start. They are great for general purpose 4wd use, and muscle cars.

To engage both tires, they require resistance. Depending on your vehicle, this can be a problem on really slick surfaces. On modern vehicles with traction control, the vehicle applies brake to the spinning wheel which causes the Truetrac to engage. Usually there is enough resistance but on slick ice an older vehicle might not be able to engage. Usually just requires tapping the brakes, but some people never realize they need to in the moment.

The Truetrac is great front and rear. The front is biased for controllability so it works better at higher speeds than a true front locker. Front and rear engage seamlessly and you’ll never really notice except that you just go where you want to go. You should understand the implications of the front being locked though if you use it on the highway. Handling and steering are not a problem, but are different. Many people run off the road the first time they try the front locked at higher speeds.

They are tough and won’t wear out. Really great if they meet your driving style.

I prefer a Truetrac rear and a selectable locker in the front though. The best part about the Truetrac rear is it’s always there and ready if you need it. Selectable lockers have to be engaged manually and sometimes don’t engage or disengage.

I have Tru tracks front and rear in a '95 f 150 . They are seamless and the truck goes where you point it . I chose the limited slip units for all the reasons talked about so far. Very few situations require a full locker with their on road handling quirks . In Oklahoma we have alot of ice and a locker is no no . When the front end is engaged the steering feels slightly heavier other than that the truck just works .

Not to hijack your thread, but what are everyone’s thoughts on the Harrop/Eaton e-lockers? I’m considering them for my Tacoma.

I had a '98 TJ with a Detroit in rear, TrueTrac up front. I was a little concerned ahead of time but once done I absolutely loved it. The TrueTrac is gear driven, not clutch-based. It runs "open" with no drag at all in 2WD, only engages when in 4WD. My more recent vehicles have had selectable lockers .. basically spooled when engaged, no slip at all. I much, much prefer the Detroit/TrueTrac combination.

I have an '02 f350 SD and put a limited slip in the back and a hybrid ls/electric locker in the front.(Detroit Electrac)

I've had lots of different 4wd rigs, and if it's a heavy loaded pickup I wouldn't put a locker in the back.

Front if not off road much, I think you're on the right track. (Pun intended) the tru-track is plenty most of the time.

Selectable is nice but road salt eats cables,, connections, etc.. that said if I rebuild my 1 ton, it's going to have limited slip front and rear most likely. Unless someone is making hybrid ls/selectable units that are reliable, and then I'd pick those front and rear.

I have a Silverado ZR2 and it has e-lockers, front and rear. I have not had it too long but 4 Hi with the rear locker engaged has helped me through some deep snow a couple of times.