Just spent some time searching but one thing I don't understand is why a rear TrueTrac would be bad for snow/ice. I thought the whole idea was to bias torque to the wheel with more traction in slippery conditions.

 

If neither wheel has any or hardly any traction (like in snow/ice) then both wheels stay locked together. This will cause it to be squirrelly (sp?) in turns or if you try to accelerate fast. That is the main reason most manufacturers use open diffs so one stays still for stability and the other spins for power (that and it's cheaper). I generally drive powersliding anyway in the snow so I don't think it'll be a big deal (I'll be running an Aussie Locker), but do know what your are doing so you don't slide the back end into something. If you use 4WD in the snow then it'll be easier to keep it from getting out of hand. If you have and LSD or locker just practice with it at the first snow in a parking lot or something and you should be fine.

 

It is not bad in snow and ice in my experience. I have never had problems with the rear end sliding out. I have had the TrueTrac in the rear for many years. It's not the same as an open dif, but if you know what you are doing, it's no big thing.

 

mine behaves better in snow and ice than when it was open. The truck no longer wants to "kick out" in the rear, rather, it helps keep the wheels steady behind me on a turn.

 

I have used PowerLoc, Detroit Lockers and the Eaton TrueTrac (formerly Detroit TrueTrac.)
IMHO the TT has the best street manors of the bunch.
Where it lacks is in it's offroad ability. Get crossed up w/ one off the ground or lightly loaded and that's all that'll spin.

On the street it does very well.

Unfortunatly they don't last very long. I'm on my third one now and if there was ANY other LS or locker with good street manors I'd be gone from the TT.

 

Are you running a gear driven Truetrac?? If its not holding up, please explain what problems you're running into.

 

Yes.
First one got 'grindy' at about 60kmi. This due to the gear tooth surface flaking off. No assistance from Eaton.
Second one lost the bolts and wiped out the whole 3rd in 20kmi. No assistance from Eaton on this which is clearly a manufacturing defect. To the tune of $1200
All this with stock 31" tires.

Now running a 32.5" and there's little doubt the POS will die again. Hopefully it'll last long enough for me to get my LS1 project underway and ditch the whole Toy driveline.

I wish there was another LS on the market that fit the Toy, but there is not. Performance of the TT isn't stellar, but it's better than a racheting locker on the street which is 99% of my use.

 

That's my exact dilema and why I was considering a TT (plus snow). Thanks for the update Monster.

 

Bleh, all in all, sounds like it's more potential trouble than it's worth.

That sounds like what lockers do in the snow. Maybe the TrueTrac isn't very limited in slip? If both wheels were to lose traction, whether LSD or open, wouldn't they both spin or "lock"?

I'm still confused.

 

Just go open diff and a good set of snow tires and be done with it.

 

I've heard this more than a few times. It seems that Eaton has/had quality control issues. I haven't heard of as many issues with TrueTracs made by Detroit.

 

Yeah, they will both spin in low traction whether locker or limited slip. Think of a limited slip as a smoother, non-positive locker, especially in the snow. I have the feeling that if you put one in you won't have any problem in the snow, as long as you stay out of the accelerator in turns. The place where the LSD will help you is on partially frozen surfaces where one wheel is on snow/ice and the other is on pavement. It will help with the one wheel spinning on the ice to transfer some of that to the other wheel.

Is any of this helping with your question? I thought from reading all the posts it was pretty well answered...

 

Light application of the brakes will lock it up for you when in those conditions.




Fred