Front Locker for FJ60 axle

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

I'm not a big fan of the Powertrax Loc Rite locker. I ran one in a 65 Mustang and when it disengaged during turning it was very notchy. Backing up and turning was even worse. It was like a giant ratchet in the diff. Mustangs and Cruisers are apples and oranges, but when I put a locker in my FJ62, I'll go ARB or an OEM setup.
 
AlexJet said:
So far as I understand my options are the following. The question is what would be the better choice.

Limited-Slip (are they good for Front Axle operation in 60-series?):
- Auburn ECTED (542030) $600 -- limited to 35" tires; will it work for front???


Selectable Lockers:
- ARB (RD142) $950 -- air lines and o-rings are weak points.

Automatic Lickers:
- Lick-Right (1630) $340 -- drop-in, limited to 33" tires
- Aussie (XD-21230) $300 -- drop-in?
- Detroit (187C152A) $850 -- full locker, not recommended for pavement.
Click to expand...

IMO, you'll run into problems running anything other than a fully selectable locker on pavement (read snowy roads) with 4wd engaged. I think this limits your choice to the ARB or OEM toyota hardware (80 series e-locker, foreign market cable locker).

I've never used one, but everything I've read says limited slips aren't really worth much off road. The limited slip effect stops working as soon as you lift a tire.
 
The cheapest locker solution is to put in an Aussie locker. Try it and if you don't like it sell the locker and try something else. You will be out a little time and a relatively small amount of money.

I run an Aussie in the front (FJ60 axle) and a Yukon in the rear (14 bolt). Granted I'm SOA on big tires, currently running 39's, but I drive most of the trails in rear wheel drive only. I drive the rig to work on snowy days and that's 70 miles round trip and 3000 feet of elevation change each way. No problems at all with automatic lockers in the front and rear. As the road conditions change I change from 4 wheel drive to 2 wheel drive.

If you put any kind of locker in the front you will need to start shopping for upgraded axle parts so that starts adding to the cost vs. just leaving the front open.
 
Last edited:
It is very important that you think about what you will be doing with your truck. If you tend to drive tight trails an automatic locker might not be for you. If you drive in big open fields playing in the mud then nothing is better than a detroit... however.. if you drive tight trails that require a little finesse, the detroit will push you into corners, and MAY cause an undesirable effect. That does not mean its not good in any way... its just that even with the detroit in the rear and the front unlocked you may notice that it takes more points to make a turn than if the diff was open. I had detroits front and rear for a long time(5 yrs) then I drove a truck with arbs... and let me tell you, on a trail like moab rim/ or cliff hanger/ or even the rubicon... the difference is huge. I went home and sold the detroits and bought two arbs and have never looked back. It has been the best thing I've ever done to my Cruiser. by the way that was about 8 yrs ago.. and I have never had a problem with them.
I would not want to not be able to drive in 4x4 on a snowy road just because I had an auto locker in the front axle... just a thought..
 
Selectable lockers are very nice.

I have a spool in the rear of my rockcrawler and a detroit in the front. And I have aussies front and rear in my 60.

snow/finesse I do not have any problem with either of my trucks. I went to automatic lockers because of the cost.
 
In the way of discussion, I need to clarify the conditions of the trails we have here in Eastern Canada and use of the vehicle.

Vehicle.
I have 4Runner for DD.
Cruiser is "Weekend Warrior". This means that it used for the Trails, Driving from home to the trails on pavement, Driving around town on weekends for having some fun time in Best Vehicle of the 20th century (read - Toyota Land Cruiser).

Trails.
We use scale level 1 to 5 here, 1 being easiest for beginners and stock 4x4 and 5 being the hardest for pro on highly modified vehicles with guaranteed body damage and very high risk of roll over.
I mostly run level 3 and 3+ trails, which means 35s, rear locker requirement, up to 3' water crossings, off-cambers up to 20 degrees and loose rocks up to 2' in size, and rock ledges up to 2.5'. Those trails are mainly in deep forested areas with tight turns where use of a slider is required to turn or slide over, muddy terrain with deep to 2' ruts and as long as 150'.
My plans to gradually go to level 4 which brings front locker and winch as required as equipment. On the trail side it means bigger off-camber, deeper and bigger mud holes, and rocks enlarging to 3' in size, vertical ledges can go up to 3-4'.
I might of exaggerated a bit on details, as some obstacles can be found only once on the trail which is 30 miles long or more, but my point is better to be prepared for worse and didn't get to the limit of vehicle capabilities. So that's an extreme, generally trails are quiet easier, but gives an idea of what you can expect in worst case scenario.
 
I know lots of people run ARB's and don't have problems but the only locker system I have had to fix on the trail is an ARB. I have fixed electrical problems to get pumps to work and hose problems to get air to the locker and I have seen seals fail inside the diff that puts oil into the air line which prevents the locker from locking.

I have never had to fix an automatic locker on the trail. I have removed them while on the trail because of busted axle shafts but the locker was fine.

AlexJet -- Looks like you have ARB's in a couple of 4Runners. If the ARB's are working well for you I'd stick with them. If you want to try something different then go for it.
 
Yes, I have ARB rear locker and I've already replaced one in 3 years. Seals failed and I was getting oil into the air line. Replaced seals twice, but the problem was still magically reappear. O-rings cost 20 something bucks, but the labour to fix was about 200. So I just call Chase at ECGS and asked him to build me a new 3rd, my R&P failed as well. Since then no issues. This brings me to conclusion that ARB is very gentle on installation part, btw, I do hear this time to time on different forums and meetings. If its not installed properly at the beginning, the issues will be arising. This is why I'm going to ask him to build me both front and rear 3rds for FJ. He is good at this. This is also why I don't want to experiment and get the right from the beginning, sending diff down to him and back is $350 just in shipping.

I was under believe that I can find mechanical locker for the front, but so far can't.

As was mentioned having automatic locker on front does not affect anything while hubs and transfer are off. Often in our terrain you arrive to the trail or close by and switching the hubs on leaving transfer off. This helps with engaging 4WD while on difficult terrain and no ability to switch hubs there conveniently.
Question: How would this affect handling?
 
I don't notice any adverse handling due to trail riding with the hubs locked in and transfer case in 2WD.

I have ordered stuff from ECGS before and they were good to work with. I setup my own gears so that helps the cost a lot. Takes a little time but plenty of instructions around on how to do it.
 
I have run arbs and detroits, and both have their benefits. A detroit is unarguably much less to worry about. They are strong and consistently work. However, I have never had a single problem with the Arbs in my fj60 differentials. Given if your compressor goes out your in trouble but honestly if your worried, carry a backup. I always have a separate pump running my lockers than my on board air. Also o-rings can go out but generally show signs long before the locker stops engaging. I feel that the benefits of having a selectable locker on a rig that sees road miles is worth all the extra effort and cost. Besides driving a locked rig on the road wears out tires quick and those are not cheap! Also those 8" arbs like in you runner always tend to leak (with diff oil in line). The one I had did that and my friends does currently-still engages though-even if the compressor does come on at times to make up for the leak.
 
PPFJ60 said:
I don't notice any adverse handling due to trail riding with the hubs locked in and transfer case in 2WD.

I have ordered stuff from ECGS before and they were good to work with. I setup my own gears so that helps the cost a lot. Takes a little time but plenty of instructions around on how to do it.
Click to expand...

What about pavement driving with hubs locked and transfer off?
My understanding with hubs locked both shafts are locked through the locker which means no speed difference between wheels and hard turning. Transfer off will just not transmit the load to the TC.
Am I right or missing something?
 
without power applied the lockers are allowed to free ratchet. Making them free ratchet does take some effort, so you will feel a slight difference, but it is not that significant. And, I even can tell when my F350's (unlocked) hubs are rolled when I am driving in a parking structure.
 
Locking 1 hub will basically lock it's rotation to driveshaft and in 4WD the one should have 2WD vehicle with open rear (1 Front + 1 Rear) or 3WD vehicle with locked rear (1 Front + 2 Rear). This was my understanding of this factor as non-locked front wheel can freely spin vs. axleshaft.
Agreed that this is better then not connected front at all.
Am I wrong with my assumption?
 
With a locked rear you will always have at least 3 tires turning when the hubs are rolled in 4wd.
 
Would the axleshafts be spinning freely with hubs unlock, which would take the wheels out of equision?
 
It's a bad idea to only roll one lockout. If you don't need 4wd, then put it in 2wd..

The stress on that single birfield are multiplied.
 
I've got TJM's Pro Locker, currently doing the install. Was gonna go with a detroit up front, but the guys at Just Differentials talked me into trying TJM's selectable. They cut me a really good deal (cheaper than ARB). Call them up and talk to them.
 
besides the fact, if the front end is locked, and lets say the left hub is "rolled ,locked or turned in" then when you accelerate the steering wheel will want to turn to the right, and under de celleration it would pull to the left, and if your driving on a icy or snowy road it would not be good... bottom line. a locked front end is gonna be better than not. this is just my thoughts anyway... buy the locker that best suits your driviung style/ pocket book. and let the fun begin.
 
One thing I notice with the Detroits (or any auto locker) is that you will slide in low traction off camber situations much easier than with an open diff. With both wheels turning the whole axle loses traction. IMHO this is probably the worst habit of an auto locker.

Right now I have two Dertoit lockers (in my FJ60) and two ARB lockers (In my FJ540). I'm trying to decide how best to use them.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom