how does a g80 locker work?

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eg30.06

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Picked up a front and rear end out of a light duty 2500 today and they are 4:10 with a g80. When i spine one drum foward they other one goes the opposit way is it supposed to do that because I'm not producing enough torque to engage the locker :think:
 

bggrnchvy

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Picked up a front and rear end out of a light duty 2500 today and they are 4:10 with a g80. When i spine one drum foward they other one goes the opposit way is it supposed to do that because I'm not producing enough torque to engage the locker :think:

G80's work off of centrifugal force. When they're not locked they work like an open diff as you're experiencing.

You need a lot more differential wheel speed than you're going to generate by hand.
 

outalne94z71

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they lock up when one wheel turns about 100rpm more than the other which can be pretty violent if you are on a high traction area as that tends to grenade them and blow a nice hole through the cover hence the nickname of governor bomb or as old guys back in the day called them timex bomb(referred to as timex from all the little pieces inside it resembling all the little parts of a timex watch)
 

eg30.06

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Okay so i cant really test a locker out of the truck. when i do spin one side the other side goes opposet and if you hold one of the sides with a prybar between the lugs just one side wont turn unlike my old 10 bolt you could spin one tire at a time. so are they semi locked sitting or something like that?
 

eg30.06

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they lock up when one wheel turns about 100rpm more than the other which can be pretty violent if you are on a high traction area as that tends to grenade them and blow a nice hole through the cover hence the nickname of governor bomb or as old guys back in the day called them timex bomb(referred to as timex from all the little pieces inside it resembling all the little parts of a timex watch)
haha intersting thats for the info
 

outalne94z71

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So having a G80 is a good thing, right?
in a 10 bolt no, a little weak in the 9.5 but not much for options there, and in the 10.5 they seem to hold up fairly well

they were made by eaton and the standard clutch posi (with steel clutch disks not the carbon disks they have now)was a better choice, especially if you have a larger than stock tire.

in the 9.5 they seem to hold up okay in the 454ss but not indestructible and sure don't have as high a failure rate as the 10 bolt version , i think most of those 454ss guys switch to the auburn

the 10.5 is more robust and handles the abuse better but even so at the cheap cost of a detriot locker for that axle i would much rather have a detroit.
 
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n8pu

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Hello everyone, if I may start out with a question, my four wheel drive 98 GMC when it was new, a fleet truck I think, it had a 3.42 ratio and a positraction axle. The RPO codes showed,
GU6 : AXLE REAR, 3.42 RATIO
G80 : AXLE POSITRACTION, LIMITED SLIP

I suspect that has long time lost that ability as I can 'light up' tire on payment quite easily if I try. What I'd like to know is, has anyone fixed it so it works again like it was from the factory or went with some other type of locking set up?

I don't know what size the rear end is, sorry.
 

sntrym

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I have a G80 in my 95 pickup and after 319k it still works fine. It's not a bad locker, just can't take abuse. Since it uses centripetal force to engage, it will put a load on the locking mechanism, causing it, in some cases, to burst apart. Hence the name gov-bomb. My opinion on the G80 is if you have and it works, leave it alone.

If you are looking to replace it with something that is strong, and clutchless, I'd go with an Eaton TruTrac or AAM TracRite. They are essentially the same design. I have the AAM in my 95 Yukon and it's fantastic. The Yukon came with an open diff so I had my choice of posi units. After some research I settled on the TracRite and am very happy with it.
 
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