I am sure the pros here will ridicule me relentlessly, but in the spirit of helping those newbies to 80 series LC's here is my story. One year ago, I bought an 1996 LX450 for what I thought was a reasonable price ($13,000, 115,000 miles, clean underside and engine). Car had the triple locker switch but PO said he had never used it and didn't know if it would engage. Fast forward a year later and I am preparing for a June Moab trip. Figured it was time to get the triple locker up and running. No matter what I did it wouldn't engage and when I turned the ignition switch there wasn't a light on the dash. I pulled up some threads here and found an old one about fake triple lockers (who knew?). Checked the door badge and the A/TM for locked is K294 and not locked is K292. I had K292. Proceeded to pull the triple lock switch and that is all it was. No electrical connection. What a dope. In the end, I have a car I love and bought at a fair price with our without the lockers. But with the recent astronomical rise in prices this kind of mistake is now too expensive to brush off. Hopefully this will help a new buyer. BTW, if anyone knows how I can get the proper dash plate please let me know so I can pull my fake locker switch.
Buyer Beware: Fake Triple Locked 80 Series (3 Viewers)
- Thread starter MPS
- Start date
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FMC80
SILVER Star
I don’t think anyone will ridicule you for trying to help anyone. This info is obvious to me but only because I learned what K292 vs K294 was prior to my purchase all thanks to this forum and posts like yours.
13k for a very clean and low mile lx doesn't sound unreasonable to me if its truly rust free and clean in and out.. 55548-60010 should be the plate part number.
- Thread starter
- #4
Great. thanks for the part number. Car has been solid. Drove it cross country last summer. Main thing I did was replace PHH and several original gaskets. Needed new catalytic converter for registration in CA so that was painful but now runs even better.
Are you talking about the dial to the left of the steering wheel for the front/rear lockers? Or the center diff switch that is in the center of the dash?
lp2k
Had a couple of drinks.. saw a couple of things
Honestly, I would not knock a clean unlocked truck (K292). If you really want the rear locker, Harrop makes an excellent option. If I could do it over, I would have gone unlocked clean truck and added my own locker. Peace of mind.
- Thread starter
- #8
@bajaphile - It is the dial to the left of the steering wheel.
@lpk2 - I may look at putting in lockers so thanks for the advice. Next upgrade are some sliders (White Knuckle).
@lpk2 - I may look at putting in lockers so thanks for the advice. Next upgrade are some sliders (White Knuckle).
lp2k
Had a couple of drinks.. saw a couple of things
hey 4x4 labs has a promo going on for sliders. Not knocking white knuckle, but the 4x4 labs is pretty sturdy.
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jomelo
SILVER Star
Wow that is a sneaky move. Oh well. You still got a good deal!
Clean & low miles > factory e-lockers any day of the week and twice on Sunday.
Don't feel to bad, you paid a fair price for a rust free low mileage rig. Keep the locker switch and throw in some aftermarket E lockers and you will be set.
iptman
SILVER Star
A real kick in the nuts would be if it's also a fake locker dial. 
Seriously though, it does suck getting hoodwinked like that.
Seriously though, it does suck getting hoodwinked like that.
Sorry to hear from someone who owns an actual tripple ocked k292, but I'm with the you probably got a good deal if it's clean
Fj80oregon
GOLD Star
You won end of story! Thanks for sharing.
Bludozer
SILVER Star
I've noticed that to be an ever increasing scam on Japanese auction websites. They assume many overseas buyers are just clicking through the pictures, seeing the dial and paying more.
Sucks it happened to you, but like everyone else said, you're still in a very good spot with what you paid. Harrops + gears while you're in there is the way to go, that's my plan anyway. Condition is 10x as important as factory lockers.
Sucks it happened to you, but like everyone else said, you're still in a very good spot with what you paid. Harrops + gears while you're in there is the way to go, that's my plan anyway. Condition is 10x as important as factory lockers.
The former owner might not have known any better either. He might well have sold it in good faith (having never tried to use the supposed lockers himself).
Also.....K292 by itself does NOT mean the vehicle doesn't have lockers. It just means it wasn't equipped that way from the factory. Same holds true for a K294 vehicle, until you LOOK underneath you have no idea what kind of differential is there. These are older vehicles, most with multiple owners. Anything could have been changed.
It's a simple matter to add lockers and use the OEM switch to activate them (electric, selectable).
Also.....K292 by itself does NOT mean the vehicle doesn't have lockers. It just means it wasn't equipped that way from the factory. Same holds true for a K294 vehicle, until you LOOK underneath you have no idea what kind of differential is there. These are older vehicles, most with multiple owners. Anything could have been changed.
It's a simple matter to add lockers and use the OEM switch to activate them (electric, selectable).
A lot of respect for being honest, would be hard for a lot of people to admit. Think with current values you came out on the good end with those low miles.
When I bought mine I verified K294, had the dial, even operated them on the test drive but saw the dash didn't illuminate for the lockers. PO told me he thought the bulbs were burnt as he never saw the light up. After pulling the cluster to replace the bulbs I saw they still had the stickers covering the holes for the bulbs, it never had bulbs for the F and R lockers. Leads me to believe my truck had a cluster swap at some point. God only knows what my actual mileage is. 
