LOCKER

[transplant87]

I AM LOOKIN AT GETTIN A STRIGHT LOCKER, ITS NOT AN AIR OR A E LOCKER OR A SELCETABLE LOCKER. IM LOOK FOR THE GOOD AND BAD ON THEESE SO LET ME KNOW WAT U THINK

[KnuckleHead]

Wow man you really don't ave to yell at us.... I know there are some oldies on here but I bet they can hear you if you tone it down some.... LOL

[Brody]

This comes up every couple of months and there have been many, many, replies and sources of information posted. Here is one of the links for information on this site:

http://www.frontrange4x4.com/forums/content.php?33-Locker-article

Use the site search tool and simply type in 'locker'

Like I said above, this comes up every couple of months and gets beaten to death. The consensus after a billion posts:

Detroit Lockers don't break.

[transplant87]

Thanks Pete but i coldnt read any of that. i was looking for ppl that have used 1 them selfs

[Brody]

I have had Detroit lockers or spools in almost every 4x4 rig I have had since 1970 (in other word, more than I remember). Detroits rock and they are pretty much the strongest lockers made. I have run them behind 450hp engines on down.

Every discussion we have ever had on this forum, Detroits were chosen for the rear axles over and above all others. Use a selectable locker in the front.

[RidgeRunner]

I ran a full time locker in my '85 Toyota, it was a Powertrax. Similar in opperation to the Detroit but it just replaces the spider gears in the carrier rather than the whole thing. With either type you'll see some noticable differences on the street. They will chirp you inner tire around corners under acceleration and ratchet if coasting. They will "bang" when they release torque built up after cornering. You'll have to make sure your rear tires have the same rolling radius (distance from the ground to the center of the axle shaft) or they can pull to one side. You can also kiss 2wd in the snow goodbye.

Don't get me wrong, they are great units, especially the Detroit, and they are strong. Once you get used to the querks they are fine on the road. I DD'd my Toy for 2 years with one and didn't have any problems.

[colomil]

I figured I would chime in on Detroit Locker behavior... Since either wheel is allowed to spin faster than the carrier, this can cause a tire to "freewheel" when going downhill on terrain that causes suspension flex to lift a wheel off the ground. Other than this limitation, the detroit is great. I have been abusing the 14bolt detroit in my blazer with no problems so far.

[BlackRubi]

The Rubicon has air lockers front and rear, and I like them, but back a long time ago when I had my CJ-7, I had OX Lockers. They were awesome. I never had any problems with them. Rather than using air or something like that to engage them, they were cable operated.

[Mporter]

The Rubicon has air lockers front and rear, and I like them, but back a long time ago when I had my CJ-7, I had OX Lockers. They were awesome. I never had any problems with them. Rather than using air or something like that to engage them, they were cable operated.

I was lookin at those a while back, but they don't make em for factory toyota diffs.

[Air Randy]

GM94 - It all comes down to what your budget is and how you plan to use your vehicle. For example, the least expensive option is to weld up the spider gears in your existing diff but the on-pavement performance is bad for a daily driver. Same can be said for a spool, cheap ($150), works great off-road but a bad choice for the pavement. Next best choice is a lunch box or aussie locker type locker. Usually in the $300-$350 price range new and much better manners on pavement though they still drag the tire sometimes and bang and pop occassionally. You can usually install these yourself since they don't require redoing your R&P setup. I have one of these in my 40 and haven't broken it yet.

Next up you could get a stock limited slip (LSD) diff cheap from a junk yard, however, they usually slip more than they lock and this gets worse as they get more miles on them. Better than nothing but just barely. If you are going to buy a mechanical locker a detroit type locker is the way to go. Note-There are many different brands of ratcheting/mechanical lockers on the market, they all perform the same with roughly the same reliability. If you buy the "Detroit" brand you pay a bit of a premium ($550-$650) but you know you got the best. Keep in mind you will also have to pay someone $100+ to install it in your diff and set the gears up (which if you're going to re-gear, now is a good time). Much better on pavement manners but you will notice the bad manners when driving in 2wd on snow especially in a pickup.

The cadillac of lockers are the air or electric lockers like ARB. They work just like a spool off road when locked and drive just like a stock open diff when on pavement and unlocked. Biggest drawback is an ARB will cost you $800-$900 for the locker and another $150 - $400 depending on what type of onboard air compressor you choose. Plus the cost to have someone set it up for you.

[transplant87]

EVEY THING RANDY SAID IT TOO MUCH WORK THAT Y I AM THINKING ABOUT GEETING THE SOILD LOCKER ITS EASY TO PUT IN AND CHEAPBUT LIKE YALL IS SAYING IT HAS ITS DRAW BACKS. BUT MAYBE DOWN THE LINE ILL GET A JOB AND A OX LOCKER.

[Chris]

Please don't use all caps Kieth, it's interpreted as yelling and hard to read. ;)

[Fordguy77]

EVEY THING RANDY SAID IT TOO MUCH WORK THAT Y I AM THINKING ABOUT GEETING THE SOILD LOCKER ITS EASY TO PUT IN AND CHEAPBUT LIKE YALL IS SAYING IT HAS ITS DRAW BACKS. BUT MAYBE DOWN THE LINE ILL GET A JOB AND A OX LOCKER.

The long wheel base of your truck should help slightly with the draw backs from a mechanical locker

[Brody]

Here are a bunch of locker information links. You should be able to find everything that you need to know about lockers in them. These are from this link on our site:

http://www.frontrange4x4.com/forums/showthread.php?3927-Locker-Information-Links

Here are the copied links:

http://www.off-road.com/offroad/arti....jsp?id=285534 (http://www.off-road.com/offroad/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=285534)

http://www.offroaders.com/tech/limit...ferentials.htm (http://www.offroaders.com/tech/limited-slip-lockers-differentials.htm)

http://4wheeldrive.about.com/cs/ttdr.../aa061503a.htm (http://4wheeldrive.about.com/cs/ttdrivetrain/a/aa061503a.htm)

http://www.4wheeloffroad.com/techart...als/index.html (http://www.4wheeloffroad.com/techarticles/drivetrain/131_0606_front_locking_differentials/index.html)

http://www.4wheeloffroad.com/howto/21459/index.html

http://www.offroaders.com/tech/limit...ferentials.htm (http://www.offroaders.com/tech/limited-slip-lockers-differentials.htm)

There are also a couple of copied articles here explaining differentials, how they work, and the various types of lockers on the market.

[BlackRubi]

I was lookin at those a while back, but they don't make em for factory toyota diffs.

When I bought the CJ (from a friend) he had done an axle swap and already had the OX Lockers on.
You could always figure out a way to do an axle swap. Sorry, don't mean to hijack.