I run a detroit full locker with 4.56 and 33.5 tires. The new Detroit full locker is softer and built better than previous. I barley notice the lock-up when I drive on pavement. This is by far the best locker on the market. ARB you rely on pneumatics which are problematic in the cold, like the snow or a mountain stream. Also the hoses wear and crack after the years.

The Ox locker is nice, but you pay out the a$$. The new detroit full can also handle 37+ tire sizes. I'm tellin you, you don't even feel the locker unless you gun it around a sharp corner.

And as for a 4x2's, get a locker and a winch up front and you'll keep up. Don't let it stop you from enjoying the outdoors. It's cool seeing different rigs on the trail...just saw a baja bug with 35's crawlin up Tincup Pass.

 

If you read the details on some of their websites, almost all the companies making lockers refer to rear use for dragstrip, dedicated off-roading or some other performance-oriented application. While they can be used in the rear, most of us split our street/off-road driving about 80/20 and would be better off with a LSD rather than a locker in the rear. As for your statement above, that happens to me a lot with my V10. I could probably shred a locker in no time with it. With an empty pickup it is almost too easy to spin the tires. With a LSD in the rear and a locker up front you would have an almost go-anywhere truck. If I was towing a lot or pulling boats out of wet, algae-covered marinas, I would consider a locker in the rear, but this truck was specifically used to do both those things and performed flawlessly for its previous owner for 9 years with just a LSD. I just think there's better ways to spend that kind of money to hop up a truck, 2 or 4 wheel drive. The V8s are so anemic that I would be concentrating on that first.

 

Don't mind him. He's not even old enough to drive. If you lock the rear end you can go lots of places. I use to take my 2wd truck with an open diff through all kinds of trails and stuff that I never should have, but I always made it out. It would be a good idea to get a winch up front, or a reciever, and a reciever winch so you can transfer it from front and rear. Or just go wheeling with a buddy who has a 4x4 or something.

It's cool of you to keep your grandpap's truck. Sentimental value means alot to me as well.

 

nothing wrong with a 2wd truck. i drove one all over hell and back for 30 years with an open diff and got stuck a million times. so what. if/when you get stuck just pull the sob out and go on. if you can afford the locker do it. i've got the lightweight powertrax and it pulls like hell in 2wd. i seldom use 4wd.

 

is precision a good brand or gears? and also what about genuine brand?

 

I have run genuine(4 wheel parts brand) and precision. Precision is loud but strong and durable. Genuine is also good quality but sets it's self apart by having the only lifetime warranty. I am currently running Genuine and notice it is quieter than my previous Precisions. Stay away from Richmond unless your on the track or competition. An gear will sound horrible if it is not shimmed correct or set up right. Also, the break in period is the most important part in gear life.

 

Got a Detroit TruTrac with 3.55 gears and love it. As for 4x4 vs 4x2 offroad abilities, it really depends on the driver. The cool parts won't make a difference it you don't know how to use them. I rarely even use 4x4 even though I have it