Rear Diff Problems Won't Go Away
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Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 24,686
Likes: 21
From: South Georgia/East Florida
Most of us go to either an Auburn LSD or the Detroit TruTrac. A "true" locker isn't very good on a daily driver. Yeah they are supposed to be automatic but I haven't found one yet that doesn't engage on turns as the inner wheel turns at a different rate than the outer, so expect some ratcheting and faster than normal wear. A Detroit Locker is a true locker and not a LSD.
I like the TruTrac in the fact it's worm gear driven (almost identical to the system used in the Power Wagon) but I decided against it because Detroit advises that the unit shouldn't be used on tires over 33". That said, I do know guys who have it with larger tires and none report any issues. The bias is on the medium/high side which is good for keeping the rear axle "locked". The up side to a worm gear LSD is that there are no clutch packs to wear out over time.
I chose the Auburn but it uses clutches in much the same way as the stock LSD on the 1500s except the unit doesn't use retaining clips, is more durable and has a much higher bias (locks tighter) although not quite as high as the TruTrac. I guess the only down side to the Auburn is that over time and use the clutches wear out, but I had one in my 2nd Gen for 68k miles and it worked as good when I traded the truck as the day I had it installed. So I went this route again in my 3rd Gen. Rated life is 100,000 miles. The biggest plus in the Auburn over the TruTrac is that clutch systems engage faster than worm gear system, although not a big factor in normal or even off-road use - the "track guys" like this system because it locks up faster for better launches off the line. Auburn makes a "Pro Series" especially for these guys that has a crazy high bias, almost up there with true lockers, but it's strongly not recommended for street use.
Find you a good shop, one who not only regularly does axle/diff work but that also has experience with AAM axles as we find shimming the ring/pinion is a bit more difficult than on a Dana axle. Shouldn't be to hard as GM has now gone to AAM axles in their trucks as well, so more shops are seeing them daily...
I like the TruTrac in the fact it's worm gear driven (almost identical to the system used in the Power Wagon) but I decided against it because Detroit advises that the unit shouldn't be used on tires over 33". That said, I do know guys who have it with larger tires and none report any issues. The bias is on the medium/high side which is good for keeping the rear axle "locked". The up side to a worm gear LSD is that there are no clutch packs to wear out over time.
I chose the Auburn but it uses clutches in much the same way as the stock LSD on the 1500s except the unit doesn't use retaining clips, is more durable and has a much higher bias (locks tighter) although not quite as high as the TruTrac. I guess the only down side to the Auburn is that over time and use the clutches wear out, but I had one in my 2nd Gen for 68k miles and it worked as good when I traded the truck as the day I had it installed. So I went this route again in my 3rd Gen. Rated life is 100,000 miles. The biggest plus in the Auburn over the TruTrac is that clutch systems engage faster than worm gear system, although not a big factor in normal or even off-road use - the "track guys" like this system because it locks up faster for better launches off the line. Auburn makes a "Pro Series" especially for these guys that has a crazy high bias, almost up there with true lockers, but it's strongly not recommended for street use.
Find you a good shop, one who not only regularly does axle/diff work but that also has experience with AAM axles as we find shimming the ring/pinion is a bit more difficult than on a Dana axle. Shouldn't be to hard as GM has now gone to AAM axles in their trucks as well, so more shops are seeing them daily...
Last edited by HammerZ71; Jul 8, 2012 at 10:28 AM.
