Rebuilt my PowerLok last night. It took more time to clean all of mixture of old friction material and congealed gear oil out of the case than to put it all back together. One steel and one friction were really chewed up. Everything went back together pretty well.

Took some more stuff off the truck in preparation for painting the frame. I also cut half of the exhaust off.

 

MMM Powerlok. I am going to miss that

 

y'all think it's better to find an OE style powerlok/limited slip or go with an aftermarket like a yukon or detroit?

 

It depends what you want to use it for. I went with a P'lok because my truck will be 90% on road and will not see anymore than light offroad use. I didn't want to deal with the handling characteristics of a locker (Detroit, powertrax etc.) on the road especially when I have no real need for it. If I was doing a lot of offroading, mudding, field work, etc I would probably opt for a Detroit locker.


I don't really like the set up of the "lunch box" drop in lockers because they only use the single cross pin from the open diff. I would think that puts a lot of stress on a component that was not really designed for that. The P'lok uses 2 cross pins to more evenly distribute the torque to the carrier.

Detroit makes a "soft" locker that behaves more like a P'lok through the use of gears. I don't think they make one for a 32 spline D70. I also hear that they don't lock in reverse. And they are pricey.


Be advised that Dana changed the design of the P'lok in the early 2000's. The old P'lok has ramps in the carrier that the cross pins ride up on as torque is increased thereby placing more pressure on the clutch packs creating a harder lock between the axles. The new design eliminated the ramps and is essentially a TracLoc (which is an inferior design). There are pics on here and on the net that show the difference between the two.

 

Gotta love the trutrac locking in forward but not reverse.

 

Yeah...kind of useless. Not well advertised in Dana literature. Surprise Surprise

 

I liked the idea until I read that. I think a selectable locker would be the ticket but not air actuated.

Detroits aren't bad with a manual transmission. You can use the clutch to curb most of the bad behavior (or make it worse) It takes a little finesse. My old DD had one and I loved it. most people expected the rearend to explode at any minute because of the awful noises it made
I don't think I would want one in a truck with an automatic trans though. JMHO.

 

I've heard that the Detroit is easier to handle with manual trans. I had a P'lok in my 1995 CTD and it worked well for my needs. It was getting tired at 100k and nonfunctional by 120k. The plus side to a detroit is that they should pretty much last forever.

Another deciding factor for me was cost. I picked up a P'lok and replaced the clutches in it for $275 (the spiders and side gears were in good shape). The last I looked that was about half the price of a Detroit.

 

My diff guy swears by P'lok's....loves em! He says most of the time all they need is a good cleaning, and a new set of discs.

Now that I have my clutch chatter under control, the crewcab is so much smoother.

 

well i'd love the p'lok for my truck, just haven't come across one.

edit: considering this, but that price tag hurts
Eaton Detroit Lockers 225SL107D - Free Shipping on Orders Over $99 at Summit Racing

 

Strange, but I never realized this until just now. I always wondered why when I manually spun the wheel with the truck lifted, that it worked that way...


Well, now I know

 

They also make a drop in that fits the two piece carrier that is a little cheaper.

 

No doubt the powerlok is a great LSD I got a new takeout for a Dana 44 on Evilbay for around 200 bucks. I was skeptical about it being new until I got it.It works great in the front of my jeep.

Every once in a while I see a deal on one for a Dana 70 on evilbay. seems I am always broke when a deal comes along. I want one front and rear on my truck. That is pretty high on the "Later list.

 

There is a seller on Fleabay that has NIB P'lok units that will fit our trucks for $600ish. Used ones come up pretty regularly though. Remember that our trucks came with both 35 and 32 spline axles. Generally: if your axles are attached to the hubs with nuts and cones they are 35 spline axles if they are attached with bolts they are 32 spline. The only way to know for sure is to look.

 

Thanks for reminding me to count the splines before I put the axles back in.