Dana 60 Power Lok vs. Detroit locker

I'm sure this has been discussed. I need to pick one. Dana 60 with 35-spl axles.
This will be a street driver, probably a 400-451 and manual trans deal.
I'm going to fit the car with two sets of tires, one set will be the old Mickey Thompson N50-15
and the other set will be Nitto 325-50-15, 555r .

I guess I just need a push to either go with a clutch posi or the locker, not sure if I actually have a preference for a street car.

I went with the cheap, simple and no moving parts option: A spool!

Well I don't want a spool on this car.

i run the locker . no wear parts .

Tex

I run the Detroit Locker in my '66 Charger hot rod. I ran many of the clutch-type sure-grips in my old Mopars years ago and they always gave me good service. The clutch type sure-grip is what I'd put in your street car.

Have you ever rode or drove a car with a Detroit locker? If not you should before deciding
I got one ride in a 1965 Mustang Shelby GT350 with a Detroit locker in it, the owner got on it a little making a left turn and I thought he broke the rear end and he laughed saying that cracking, jerking and popping was normal for that type rear end
A good type clutch type posi is always my choice over a Detroit locker posi unit every time
I put a 35 spline spool and axles in my old 8 3/4 for street use until I bent the housing bad enough to break the welds off of the ladder bars mounts welded onto the rear end axle tubes
That would probably not happen with a clutch type posi

I am using the clutch type in my Dana 60 with 35 spline axles for street / strip use . So far it's been great for both.

Mark

I always liked the power-lok because it has 4 spiders but i did turn them into many pieces one time

Cab is right, a locker can be a clunky, shifty thing especially when cornering at low speed. That being said though, if you can tolerate the manners of them you might like them like I did mine. I had one in one of my Trans Ams with a manual and healthy LS and 35 spline Currie 9". I ran 28x10 bias plys on the street and on the track with that car and the Detroit Locker was dead reliable. But trying and find one to ride/drive in first is good advice, they're not for everyone.

Detroit locker here, 35 spline in a Dana 60.

No clunking, no noises no nada at any speed.

Works great.

The Locker is a great choice...except for someone who can't handle some minor "clunking" noise the Locker might make when changing the forward/reverse direction. It's barely noticeable. The Dana that i ordered from Strange 20 yrs ago has a Locker. Zero regrets.

This section from the Owner's manual explains the "clunk". Not a good idea to shift from reverse to forward and immediately stomp on it. I'm sure that some 'experts' have done that only to cause damage to the unit because of the amount of backlash, and then claim that Lockers are no good.

Locker. Hands down every time.

Locker here too.

If I remember right the locker was developed to make the outside wheel power in a turn whereas on an open or posi rear the inside wheel is always under power, the outside wheel is always trying to catch up. They didn’t use posi units in NASCAR for that reason. Ford developed the locker to utilize the advantage to make both wheels have equal power going around curves.

Using a Detroit locker here in the Challenger, Dana 60, we've had no issues, fitted in 2014 IIRC. I can't hear it make a noise, (over the exhaust note anyway). And it doesn't feel "clunky" at all. I read a lot of stuff on here saying it would be horrible, noisy etc but in all honesty it has been fine and doesn't feel any different to the 4 pinion power lock that it replaced. Now a friend has a locker in a Cougar with a 9", behind a 347 and a five speed. That was fitted about 20 years ago and it is noisy. I'm wondering if the newer ones a different design?

The older lockers (like mine) are a bit more clunky than the newer units. Not nearly enough to make me change it.

Had everything at one time or another, and everything has its purpose.
But the one thing i didn't like, and will never use again, is a Detroit locker.
Thing was downright creepy when you got out of the gas at speed on the street. Squirrelly. Almost unpredictable sometimes. No thanks.
Spool, sure grip, cone or clutch.. fine.

Thank you guys, great info.

I have to say this about a locker though, I do not see how there could be any clunky business going in a straight line, either accel or decel.
Now the backlash phenomenon, I'm just not familiar with that.

I wonder sometimes if it is in how they are setup. I have more experience with various lockers for off roading / rock crawling. I have had some that you had barely any idea they were there and others as stated above that would jump half a lane when shifting or letting on/off the gas quickly. This was on stuff I bought used- the drop in lockers are all pretty similar in design and none of them are limited slip clutch type units.

I hear the same thing with detroits- some people report a good amount of noise and some quirkiness when turning and others swear it behaves nearly like an open rear.

Have a Locker in my Dana 60 and can't hear any clunking over the 3 1/2" exhaust. The car launches great on the street and at the track with 31 x 16.5 M/T Sportsman Pro's but is annoying on the street when getting on and off the throttle it almost changes lanes.

Moparrob,
See this is what I don't understand, how can it do weird schitt going in a straight line ?
How old is your setup ?

Anyone have any idea what causes that? I use a Detroit locker in my 9" and I've never experienced anything like that.

Neither have I...ever.

I have a power lock in mine but I doubt it will sway any decisions or whatever.

If my axle had come with nothing, I probably would have got a spool...but it came with a power lock so the decision was easy.

It was an NOS 23 spline Locker that I picked up at the Mopar Nat's about 30 years ago and just got around to installing it in the Dana 5 years ago when I built the Hemi for the car. I've owned the car for 40 years and it never acted like this before installing the locker. I might be exaggerating the lane change thing but it does dart side to side enough that steering correction is required to the point that I'm considering going back to the clutch style Power Lock but don't know how it will hold up to my 850 HP Hemi in a 4000LB car. Might try a spool since I need to get aftermarket axles anyway to be legal.

Get the Strange Engineering S Trac but you'll need 35 spline axles. Surprised that your 23 spline axles have held up to the abuse. The S Trac is much better behaved than a Detroit Locker and stronger than a clutch type. Probably about the only thing that meets your specs.
https://www.strangeengineering.net/product/dana-60-35-spline-strange-s-trac-3-series.html/

I haven't looked at any of the newer Detroit Locker styles in recent years but back in the day, a Detroit locker worked by keeping both axles locked together unless one of them wanted to turn faster as in the outside wheel in a turn. In that case the faster turning axle is disengaged. So in other words, the locker is always driving the slower turning axle. When they are the same speed then they are both "Slower" so it turns both. This is what causes the weird handling on the street. If you turn left it unlocks the outer wheel which sends all the power to the inside slower wheel which, in effect, causes the car to try and resist the turn. Hence why they were not popular on the street for turning.

Thank you for making my answer more understandable. I’m thinking they will work better in mud, no wheel would stop pulling

The Later over the counter 23 spline axels were the same diameter as the newer 35 axels, we bought two short side axels to narrow the housing that little bit (helped with stock wheel wells and the wheels we had in that day) they also had barber pole stripes the full length.