1997 Land Cruiser stock Lockers vs after market lockers

[Israel]

Hello everyone I'm looking into buying my first either 1997 land cruiser or an Lx450 but my biggest question is wether to upgrade a non locker vehicle to an after market locker brand or just buy one with factory lockers.
Is there a big difference when off-roading?
Is it worth spending the time and money installing after market?

 

[excessive]

1. Yes.
2. Factory lockers are cheaper in the long run, but there are advantages to air lockers.

 

[Israel]

1. Yes.
2. Factory lockers are cheaper in the long run, but there are advantages to air lockers.

Do you have a rough idea of how much I would have to spend with air lockers?

 

[arcteryx]

As someone who sells e-lockers, harrops and ARBs, there is a place for all. If you are a purist and will pay for the e-lockers, then that's the path you should go. But be ready to drop $500-800 when an actuator goes out which is the most common issue.Plus, these are getting much harder to find.

Personally, if it was my non e-locker truck, I would go with ARB since they have a lot of support.

 

[Blade 80LC]

The reason I bought a Land Cruiser, was that I found one with lockers. The ARB locker will cost around $1000 per axle for parts, plus you'll most likely need to hire a shop to install them (unless you're prepared to set up differential gears.) I'd plan on $3-$4,000 for the pair installed. I paid just under $3000 for my locked LC. If I had an unlocked Land Cruiser, I'd very likely buy an Aussie Locker for the rear, and see if I could install it myself.

I had a Blazer with a Detroit locker in the rear and TrueTrac (limited slip) in front. I like having selectable lockers better, and spent less on the 80 with lockers than I spent to regear the Blazer and add the traction. My advice is that if you want them, wait for a vehicle that has them. Many people say you don't need them (and they are right); but if you plan to get them, and you can buy them factory installed ...save the thousands of dollars.

 

[Qball]

Personally I would get after market.

1. Most OEM lockers are really old and didn't get used much if at all so reliability is an issue.

2. It's not as strong as aftermarket lockers

3. After market lockers are cheaper and lock way faster.


If you really need 3x locked then you would upgrade to after market anyways for the strength. Most of us don't need 3x then just throw Aussie in the back and call it a day. It's crazy capable with it and darn easy to install by yourself.

 

[TexasJack]

ARBs come on faster than stock lockers. The minute you kick them on, they are working....no delays.

 

[Qball]

ARBs come on faster that stock lockers. The minute you kick them on, they are working....no delays.

Yup! Wish my CDL locks that fast, fortunately I just leave it locked when on dirt.

 

[69LC]

Our 95 with stock lockers would only work in the front. I only recently discovered that the rear wasn't working because the rear actuator housing had corroded and split itself. The prices I was given to replace it wasn't much less than buying an ARB or Harrop. I'll save up for a Harrop.

 

[gofast]

I waited a long time to have a locked truck and with practice, an open diff truck can go just about anywhere a locked truck can - almost.

But locked is sooooo much more capable and I wouldn't go back to open diff.

I've had both arb and factory. And rear only as well as both axles.

I hardly ever use my front.

I personally would find the nicest, cleanest, low mileage truck with the best service history. If its got lockers great! If doesn't its still a fantastic truck that you can add lockers to. Best maintained and good condition truck for the cheapest price would be my choice over lockers any day. Especially since you can add them.

 

[ReformedJeeper]

1) besides airing down your tires lockers are the best thing you can do to improve offroad traction, they are definitely worth having especially if you end up anywhere near rocks or where it's possible one tire will be in the air.

2) go with the factory lockers. I wheel plenty hard on 37's and have not broken anything. If you get crazy with the gas pedal you can snap something but I think it's unlikely if you stay at 37" tires or under. I personally like the factory lockers because they can be manually operated in a pinch and the actuators can be rebuilt easily. Who cares if Mr. T doesn't support them, they are an extremely simple design once you understand them and many great threads exist on how to rebuild them. Also, most people don't like the rear factory locker due to the splines twisting under heavy duty wheeling, but the @landtank machined axle takes care of this problem sufficiently (at least in my mind).

3) aftermarket selectable lockers are perfectly good, but they will cost 3k at a minimum if you include the air compressor (harrops dont need air, but cost more so still the same price range)and do the work yourself. Price will increase substantially if you have someone else do the install. Aussie lockers are fine if you never drive in ice or snow. If you see these conditions you should strongly considering selectable.

4) I've found two cruisers in decent condition with lockers for under 3k. If you want lockers my opinion is you wait for a truck that has them because it's a lot cheaper in the long run.

Good luck, either way you can't go wrong buying an 80 series. Best out of the box offroad truck toyota ever made.

 

[4loToys]

1. An open diff truck CANNOT go almost anywhere a locked truck can.

2. Aussie lockers and snow get along just fine. If my wife can do it anyone can. I have intentionally tried to get the locker cause me problems and never have been able to.

 

[Broski]

locked or unlocked have your wallet ready this kind for fun ant cheep. The more you use the elockers the faster they get & yes you want them

 

[izzyandsue]

Depends how much offroad you are doing and where. I can only speak of the NC mountains and coast, but lockers are very useful for us. But I would recommend buying the truck you want, regardless, invest some money on "hands-on how to drive off road training", and lockers become less and less needed until you get in badass situations. The more training I went to, the less I used lockers and the better I got at 2 foot driving. I have used lockers in conditions other trucks needed winching.

I have factory lockers, have replaced both actuators and they work great. Not sure if speed to lock is that important, as I am crawling when I need them and they engage immediately when a wheel starts to spin. Also I have used the rear more often than the front in our muddy, rocky, hilly terrain. Not familiar with the pneumatic ones.

 

[Heckraiser]

I have skinned this cat before a number of different ways:

1) If you know you want front and rear lockers, factory lockers are probably the cheapest way to get them. There are still sellers out there who don't know what that little dial is for.

2) If you think you'll be happy with just a rear locker, a lunchbox like Aussie Locker or Lockright will transform your traction scenario for $300 (my experience with snow was in a pickup truck and it was not good, but probably would be much better in a heavy wagon). Best $300 you can spend on an unlocked truck, IMO.

3) If you find that perfect pristine low-mileage truck, but it has open diffs--go ahead and buy it. ARB front and rear is a great alternative to the factory lockers, but will cost you a couple thousand bucks minimum. It's a big investment. But in the long run, getting a the setup you want and sticking with it is not a bad way to go. Definitely get a bigger compressor than the little one that just runs the lockers so you can use it for tires and whatnot.

:edit: If you are new to wheeling, there is something to be said about starting off with a non-locked truck and honing your driving skills before investing in lockers. You will learn a lot more about how to maintain traction in different scenarios and ultimately you will be a better driver. Then when the time comes, lock it up and realize how much easier everything just got.

 

[beachboyy]

There is lots of good info here on OEM vs aftermarket selectable lockers. Everyone is going to have their own opinion so I wont touch on that. However, I can tell you I just did ARB's and It cost $3800. I did ARB's front and rear, the bigger ARB compressor, and 5.29 gears. I had them installed since I dont trust myself setting gears. I got a killer deal on the ARB stuff through a friend but at least that gives you an idea of what you will be spending if you buy an unlocked 80.

 

[izzyandsue]

Forgot, price, allocate $1000-$1500 to replace OEM actuators, prices fluctuate quite a bit. For example rear ones cost me $600, but they can go as high as $800. Many here have rebuild the old ones successfully, so that's an option too. But I would still recommend spending more first on good training, makes a world of difference

 

[MoustacheMike]

Personally, if it was my non e-locker truck, I would go with Harrops.

Looks like they don't offer front-lockers for the 80-Series, might be a non-starter for some people

 

[tampacruiser95]

Looks like they don't offer front-lockers for the 80-Series, might be a non-starter for some people

As of a couple months ago they did and there is a vendor on this forum.

 

[Cruiserdrew]

Factory Lockers have 1 big advantage-they usually come free with the truck. But that's it.

In all other respects, aftermarket selectable lockers are better. My experience is with ARBs and I have 3 trucks with them. Great.

I am dying to try a Harrop, and my FJ62 will be the test mule eventually. Needs a FF rear first.