Rear diff-Detroit Locker or Eaton Trutrac

Dirt Yota

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I got a trussed 1 gen tundra rearend in my 03 Tacoma. Gonna do 5.29s in the 8.4 diff. What do you guys recommend for a play truck that only sees street driving when heading out to dirt or around town for shits n giggles. I am leaning to Detroit locker but a few have said they love the trutrac setup… any thoughts or comments?
 
I don't have experience with a with a truetrac but I recently got a Detroit locker. And from what multiple people told me the Detroit locker is the strongest. Prior to the Detroit I had a Spartan lunch box locker and that thing was loud while turning and would pop more often than this Detroit does. The Detroit will pull every now and then and while going around turns you have to be ginger on the throttle but besides that it works very well in the desert and is very easy to drive on the street once you get used to it. While making turns it is almost silent. Every now and then I do get a loud pop but that is rare.
 
I don't have experience with either but I do have an old school Kazuma TRD LSD in my 1st gen Tundra rear end with great results. It's been in the truck roughly 10 years with maybe 8 dirt/sand trips and about 2k street miles. No complaints.
 
I run a complete stock axles. I don't even gear them. My trick for better traction is better suspension and weight. Now I get much better performance on the other end.
 

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I have basically the same setup as you, 1st gen Sequoia axle in my 1st gen Tacoma. I went with 5.29 gears and a lunch box locker. It’s fine around town, some tire chirping around corners, random clunks, but nothing weird. It basically stays locked in the dirt and it very predictable.

I would run a locker or spool in a dirt toy. The trutrac is way more street friendly and doesn’t actually lock the two axles together.
 
I got a trussed 1 gen tundra rearend in my 03 Tacoma. Gonna do 5.29s in the 8.4 diff. What do you guys recommend for a play truck that only sees street driving when heading out to dirt or around town for shits n giggles. I am leaning to Detroit locker but a few have said they love the trutrac setup… any thoughts or comments?

im in the spool or ARB camp when it comes to lockers on a prerunner.
 
I had a Yukon Zip locker aka ARB copy and I had the seal leak 2 times leaving me as an open diff and last time was in Glamis. So swapped in a spooled diff I had and never looked back. I'm thinking of going e-locker on my sequoia BUT i want something that if it fails it fails locked like a spool.
 
I had a Yukon Zip locker aka ARB copy and I had the seal leak 2 times leaving me as an open diff and last time was in Glamis. So swapped in a spooled diff I had and never looked back. I'm thinking of going e-locker on my sequoia BUT i want something that if it fails it fails locked like a spool.

im 99% sure yukon has a comp locker that needs air to UNLOCK and fails locked.
 
im 99% sure yukon has a comp locker that needs air to UNLOCK and fails locked.
I see they have that now. I got mine back in 2016 when they were new and didn't have that option at the time I don't believe.
 
in my current truck i have had a spool, a detroit and a tru track all in the last 2 years.

Started with a detroit and i didnt like it on the street, seemed clunky and wasnt very smooth or predictable when it would lock up. Not sure the age or if it was having problems because of something else, went spool because i had them on 2 other offroad trucks and they are tits in the dirt and okay for semi occasional street driving. But since my truck is 80% pavement and 20% dirt, i just put a tru track in and its amazing for what I do.

My suggestion is a spool or detroit for 80% dirt and 20% street... with leaning more towards a spool because they are predictable and bad ass.
 
Started with a detroit and i didnt like it on the street, seemed clunky and wasnt very smooth or predictable when it would lock up. Not sure the age or if it was having problems because of something else, went spool because i had them on 2 other offroad trucks and they are tits in the dirt and okay for semi occasional street driving. But since my truck is 80% pavement and 20% dirt, i just put a tru track in and its amazing for what I do.

My suggestion is a spool or detroit for 80% dirt and 20% street... with leaning more towards a spool because they are predictable and bad ass.
I run a Detroit Locker in my Tundra and this take is spot on. I hated it on the street, so much so that I stopped driving it to work as much. In the dirt, it's the shit and worth the shitty street manners though. When I go 9", I will go straight to a spool given my dirt-to-street ratio.
 
I don't have experience with a with a truetrac but I recently got a Detroit locker. And from what multiple people told me the Detroit locker is the strongest. Prior to the Detroit I had a Spartan lunch box locker and that thing was loud while turning and would pop more often than this Detroit does. The Detroit will pull every now and then and while going around turns you have to be ginger on the throttle but besides that it works very well in the desert and is very easy to drive on the street once you get used to it. While making turns it is almost silent. Every now and then I do get a loud pop but that is rare.
This definitely makes me feel better about going yukon grizley in a 9in. My brother and friends say its just going to be a pain to drive on the street, and Im going to be running through tires. I feel like its just dependent on how heavy footed you are.
 
I installed a grizzly locker in my brother's 01 Silverado and it's been predictable for him. I had a Detroit in my first Toyotas 9in and it worked until the stock case broke around pinion support so I went to strange case and full spool because race truck.
 
I've always ran a Detroit on my other ranger and loved it. Not sure if this is because the truck had basically zero horsepower/torque but it never really locked up on me on cornering or did anything weird. Always worked perfect in the dirt as well.
 
I've always ran a Detroit on my other ranger and loved it. Not sure if this is because the truck had basically zero horsepower/torque but it never really locked up on me on cornering or did anything weird. Always worked perfect in the dirt as well.
I have heard a bunch of people say this, so makes me wonder if mine wasnt working right... or i was just use to something else.
 
I have heard a bunch of people say this, so makes me wonder if mine wasnt working right... or i was just use to something else.
I'd say yours wasn't working right.

So hears my whole story on it my experience with the Detroit locker.

I purchased the 11994 4.0 Rangers with an already 'built' 9" with Detroit locker'. That first locker was ran in the truck for a few years. Mostly driving it on the street. It would lock up and do weird Detroit locker stuff that everyone hates. I'm pretty sure it has been in the truck for 10ish years at this point? not sure. The truck didn't get used often off-road so I have no idea what kind of abuse it had.

Then the gears went out on the truck after a trip to Glamis. Howling like a son o bitch on the way home. I guess the springs were bad on the locker or something and they were replaced with the gears. The locker lasted about 3 days on the new gear set and then it exploded.

New locker was ordered and put in. This new locker has never done anything weird on me and it had been in the truck for about 8 years now? So I'm guessing the older lockers had some type of change in material to the springs and fixed whatever issues people complain about from years past.
 
I'd say yours wasn't working right.

So hears my whole story on it my experience with the Detroit locker.

I purchased the 11994 4.0 Rangers with an already 'built' 9" with Detroit locker'. That first locker was ran in the truck for a few years. Mostly driving it on the street. It would lock up and do weird Detroit locker stuff that everyone hates. I'm pretty sure it has been in the truck for 10ish years at this point? not sure. The truck didn't get used often off-road so I have no idea what kind of abuse it had.

Then the gears went out on the truck after a trip to Glamis. Howling like a son o bitch on the way home. I guess the springs were bad on the locker or something and they were replaced with the gears. The locker lasted about 3 days on the new gear set and then it exploded.

New locker was ordered and put in. This new locker has never done anything weird on me and it had been in the truck for about 8 years now? So I'm guessing the older lockers had some type of change in material to the springs and fixed whatever issues people complain about from years past.
that is great info really helps put the pieces together.
 
I have a true trac in the back of my K5 and love it, but its also not a dedicated dirt machine either. I'd say 60/40 street to trail use ratio... No funny pops, and its always there when I feel it should be. Seemed great at glamis too... I've only had one instance with it that I didn't like and it was when I got hung up on some rocks and had to back off of them, the engagement almost seemed delayed. Front was suspended and only one rear was spinning trying to back up, gave it some throttle and then it decided to hook up sending me into the steering wheel (wear your seatbelts kids)
 
I ran the OEM Toyota limited slip for a long time and it held up fine with 5.29s, 25s and a mild V-8. Loved the ability to turn on asphalt and use drive-thrus and parking garages quietly. Always had traction in the dirt and was much better suited to slippery dirt roads than the spool I have now. Right before I pulled the axle I put one tire in the dirt, pinned it and the truck took off straight and true. I'm sure they have a limit sometime but if you're sticking with stock axle shafts it should suit you well. I still have the complete 3rd if you're interested.
 
I have a spool in the Sonoma. It’s a 31spline full floater 9” from Schreiner. Although it is not a DD, I still drive it on the street plenty throughout the week and I drive it to/from the desert. I absolutely love having it. So predictable, and if I break an axle in the desert I can still get home. I am very delicate with the throttle on the street around turns, mainly so I don’t break an axle lol. But I don’t see myself every going to something else
 
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