Locking Differential Choices

4wdtravel

Well-known member
ARB - Ashcroft - KAM - Harrop .....

Lots of choices for us out there now. It also seems like the venerable Detroit Locker is NLA for the Rover type 24 spline?

Curious to learn about experiences with any failures of the above. I have yet to hear a single bad thing about the Ashcrofts but someone must have had a problem.
 

mgreenspan

Founding Member
If I were buying lockers, I'd go with Ashcroft. They are Rover specific. Support is great if you ever have questions. They ship stuff very quickly. Having been to their shop in person, they run a very good business and are what LR related aftermarket businesses should be like.
 

4wdtravel

Well-known member
I believe it is a completely new, 100% designed from scratch item. There is good tech on their website about it.
 

4wdtravel

Well-known member
From the Ashcroft site,

"There are many types of lockers available for landrover vehicles but all seem to have a weak point or Achilles heel, so we set out to design a locker from a blank canvas to be cost effective, strong and without the weaknesses of other designs."

More here:

http://www.ashcroft-transmissions.co.uk/locking-differentials/ashcroft-locker.html

Excellent piece of engineering by all accounts - like I said I've never heard of anyone having an issue. But I find it hard to believe that they are *perfect* - are they?
 

jymmiejamz

Founding Member
Callsign: KN4JHI
I should get around to installing my Detroit locker and gears. I'm kind of stumped on the front diff setup.
 

rocky

NAS-ROW Addict
Detroit NLA? Thats a shame. Had mine for well over a decade, first under my D1 now under the 90. In terms of simplicity, unbeatable. No air lines or electrical connections to go wrong.
It was a great help in the heavy D1. Makes the 90 like a mountain goat. To the point I only lock the center diff if the going gets really tough. With the center locked steering gets a little tougher. So I release the center diff when possible.
 

mgreenspan

Founding Member
Did they stop making it because nobody buys them? I can't imagine keeping a constant production of them being very profitable; however, at least changing tooling via SMED or some other lean production technique would easily keep the production going and make money in the end. Is this the first real world impact of cheapfuckese?
 

chris snell

Administrator
Callsign: NW5W
Staff member
No idea but I doubt this is the last once-great LR aftermarket product that we see die.
 

4wdtravel

Well-known member
In all honesty the price on the Detroit is out of whack compared to the selectable lockers. Even wholesale on the Detroit was like $560. With an Ashcroft possibly being less than $200 more.....
 

RonL

Member
I have a "Ash" in front and ARB in rear...
ARB does not dis-engage as nicely as the Ash when I flip the switch.
 

Oilburner

Member
Just to clarify, I think the Detroit is still available for the Salisbury, it's just the Rover diff application that's now seemingly gone. It might also have something to do with the fact that this stuff is getting old - The Disco II/P38/LR3 use a different differential, and many of the newer Defenders are using the newer Wolf rear axle. In North America, there were lots of sales for the S1 Disco, but those are mostly Taiwanese razor blades by now, and there probably isn't that much demand outside of NA. If we could draw Dave Ashcroft into the discussion I would bet he could tell us what the bigger picture is.
 
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