Powertrax Lock right for Dana 80 and 60

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getblown5.9

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ARB's are out of my budget, and its only a matter of time before I bust some spider gears again. Found the Powertrax lock rights units are one of the few available locker options for the 80...

So I wanna know if anyone has run one, and have you broke it? How strong are they? Will they stand up to a 600hp/1100tq pulling truck?

I am going to put one in my front 60 also since I have to pull the carrier to do some other work already in there.
 
I would suggest it for the front, but I don't think they will hold up in the rear.
 
thats kinda what i was thinking...you see alot more broken rears than fronts due to how they are stressed. and the fact that there are other weaker links in the front end...
 
i wouldnt suggest them for front and rear, as ive blown them out with ease on dana 44s
 
steer clear the one i had i ended up welding together then throwing it in the trash when that didnt work. (on the rear)
 
hrmmm....


maybe welded spider gears isnt gonna be such a bad idea seeing as the arb's are about $950
 
I'd say go for a full spool before you weld the spiders. It's simply stronger. And it will spin both tires full time like a welded diff. Can save up then for your ARB's. Just a thought.
 
I had my 60 welded and had no problems, steers fine in 2wd. I'd save the money and weld them both if your gonna take it off the street.
 
If you are going to take it off the street i would weld both, i welded my rear and went and got a posi unit for a DANA 60 rear end and put in the front of my truck it steers fine in 4wd or 2wd it unlocks when you go to turn and then relocks when you straighten up it cost about $350
 
when i broke my spiders last time, i just rebuilt the stock trak-lock, restacked the clutches, and added an extra shim on each side to lock it fairly tight. i've pulled with it a bunch of times, and done some nice burnouts and its always locked in the rear...but i know its gonna break again at some point. as much as i wanna weld it, or put a spool in the rear...i still like taking it for cruises on the street. it will just be awhile before i can afford that ARB.

is a detroit a viable option for the 80? they have a legendary reputation in the offroad and racing world.

as for the front, it also ALWAYS spins both tires when i am pulling. its a limited slip of some sort. i'll look into an upgraded posi unit etc. if I do this, and go to a solid axle shaft on the CAD side...will it have bad effects when driving in 2wd with both front axles turning?
 
I think spinning both front tires is just luck, unless someone has put a posi unit up front. The bad thing about detroits is the two cases I know of that had a detroit in back and broke an axle basically junked the detroit. Enough parts were broke it was over 75% of replacement cost in parts for the detroit. So if you go with a detroit I would make sure you have good axles in the back. Sometimes you will get a detroit going down the track and it will lock and unlock depending on track conditions.
 
Mine spins both tires in the front too....I think it has to do with the fact that the weight is even to both sides, so no one tire is getting more traction than the other. Now if you had alot of weight up front and it was to one side or the other it might spin one tire.....just a thought though.
 
I ran a Detroit in the rear with the good Haisley 35 spline axles, with a Detroit True-Trac in the front with 35 splines. I hear that the "Powr Lock" is the best/strongest solution for the front, but they are never available. I was told the Detroit true-track is a close 2nd to the Detroit Locker for strength.

This year I'll run a welded 37 spline carrier in the rear and the true-track in the front again.
I've broken a rear driveshaft and spiked the RPMs pretty hard but didn't break the true trac in the front.

As far as both wheels spinning, a "locker" in the front is overkill in my opinion as you'll never have one wheel off the ground when sled pulling, so both tires should pull with a Limited slip.
 
Bobcat698 said:
As far as both wheels spinning, a "locker" in the front is overkill in my opinion as you'll never have one wheel off the ground when sled pulling, so both tires should pull with a Limited slip.
Click to expand...


If your gonna go to the trouble of messing with the front, either weld it or put a locker in it. Problem with not using a locker up front is there may only be one time when locker will have an advantage, but which time will that be??

TJ, if you don't have a functioning cad system I would not weld the carrier. The truck will be very difficult to turn on the street! If your CAD works, then welding the front is a viable option. You will be turning the front driveshaft the whole time the front left wheel is moving though.
 
zstroken said:
If your gonna go to the trouble of messing with the front, either weld it or put a locker in it. Problem with not using a locker up front is there may only be one time when locker will have an advantage, but which time will that be??

TJ, if you don't have a functioning cad system I would not weld the carrier. The truck will be very difficult to turn on the street! If your CAD works, then welding the front is a viable option. You will be turning the front driveshaft the whole time the front left wheel is moving though.
Click to expand...
you could remove the front driveshaft till you plan on pulling next....though I wouldn't do that in the winter in Maryland:hehe:
 
my cad hasnt worked since i put the 271 t-case in, the vacuum for some reason doesnt actuate the CAD so its locked all the time. I guess i'll have to keep an eye out for a dana 60 posi unit, somethings a little better than stock, but easy enough to still turn the front wheels when i need to.
 
Just because the video makes it LOOK like the wheels are both spinning on an open diff, doesn't mean they are.

I put a lot of hooks on A Detroit in the 80 ,and an Eaton Electric locker on the front.

The Detroit withstood 3 broken axles, but when I bent an axle, it slipped, to the tune of about 30 feet behind the top 5, where I was used to running!!

Detroit, spool, weld, or ARB, in the rear, ARB or Eaton in the front. Nothing with clutches will last long.


Bobcat, if your reasoning on the front is correct, then we could pull with open diffs in the rear,also, right?
 
can someone explain to me if both front tires aren't spinning when there is dirt flying off of them, and when i do a 4wd launch i can leave marks from both front tires the full length of how ever long it spins? its not like its 1 then the other
 
Sledpuller said:
Bobcat, if your reasoning on the front is correct, then we could pull with open diffs in the rear,also, right?
Click to expand...

I didn't say open diff, I said a LS should be fine in the front as both tires are usually in contact with the ground with a pulling truck.
 
zstroken said:
If your gonna go to the trouble of messing with the front, either weld it or put a locker in it. Problem with not using a locker up front is there may only be one time when locker will have an advantage, but which time will that be??
Click to expand...

Ok, maybe I worded it wrong.. I think a Detroit True-Track or other non-clutch type L/S type lockers will work fine in the front without spending big $$ for a ARB/Detroit in the front. I didn't mean just run an open diff in front!
 
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