Locker in the front diff or in the back?

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Spook50

Spook50

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Working with @torfab to nail down my work order for when I bring my 62 to them for the H55F swap, and I'm planning on having them also do an FZJ80 rear end swap, Tundra front brake conversion and an ARB twin compressor with a locker (was initially leaning towards a Harrop locker but after some research discovered that the ARB is stronger and more reliable in the long run). I need to be somewhat careful with my money though and am only doing one locker at this point, so I'm curious as to whether I'd be better off having it put in the front or in the rear diff. I can see pros and cons to both, and I don't think I'd necessarily go wrong either way, but I'm wondering what I would get the most benefit from. Thoughts?
 
Id defiantly go rear first, with the rear locker in you still have steering and you don't have to worry about breaking CVs. Back when my truck had 2 lockers, I pretty much left the rear one in all the time and flicked the front one in only when i really needed it. And with the front locker in you have to be really careful if you don't have chromoly CVs. I broke a few.
Cheers
 
This might be worth a look, I had a diff with an ARB locker fail on me.
Its probably got more to do with me being a rough ba*tard though.
forum.ih8mud.com

Catastrophic 9.5" Diff failure - What happened?

I took the truck out on the farm for a drive this afternoon, and the rear diff s*** the bed. Im trying to work out what caused it, Its a 1985 bj73 with a semi floating rear axle, 2 ARB air lockers and 34" tyres. I drove down a quite steep bumpy hill in 1st letting the engine do all the braking...
forum.ih8mud.com forum.ih8mud.com
 
I use the rear locker way more often than the front.

Few things to consider, which of course makes the decision harder. Have you considered a factory locking axle? Lot of bang for the buck with no air needed. They have their own issues but in general work extremely well. Have them in both my 80s and really like them. Can be left electrical or converted to cable or air.

Another thing to consider is a TJM pro locker. I have no first hand experience, but from my limited research, I like their use of air to lock the diff better than the ARB. Of course, not as common over here as the ARB, but they (again, limited research) look real good.

And the last thing I would consider is not using the ARB twin compressor but instead an engine driven OBA system. Plenty of room under the hood for a York setup which is superior to the ARB. Put in a tank or two along the a regulator and you'll be pumping up all the tires for the people in your group. IMHO, way better than any 12V compressor.

And why the tundra bake conversion? I would think the FZJ80 brakes would be plenty for a 60. They seem to work well for me in my much heavier 80. Is it because you are only doing the rear?

Which leads the question of why only the rear end swap. If it were me, I'd be putting in a front and rear FZJ80 factory locked axles. I'd leave the brakes stock. The axles would be the same width. The brakes would be good at both ends. Lockers at both ends. And I think (completely guessing which may be totally wrong) it would be in the same ballpark price-wise. I mean, no $500+ compressor. No expensive aftermarket lockers (which require gear setup). You'll get a high pinion front. No brake upgrade needed. Plus, I think Torfab can do coils. Man, that would be a sweet, sweet setup. Or you could stay with the leaf springs.

No matter what, good luck!
 
Another vote for rear first
 
My 60 swapped 4BT Cummins has the 80s rear with disc. Factory front brakes and stops great weighing at 5800 pounds. I went with the Harrop in the front as I rebuilt the knuckles and went with chromoly axle shaft.
Figured since I was in the front end I should just get it over. I’ll do the rear when I get money to afford another.
I use mine as a daily driver and the brakes work just fine. I did get a proportioning valve for the rear but it’s all the way open, haven’t needed to adjust the rear brakes setting.
 
I'd like to point out that the factory e-locker won't work in the stock semi-float 60 rear axle. You can run the rear 80 locker in the front of a 60, but you'll need different shafts. I've also heard that the e-locker has some durability issues compared to an ARB, but that could just be internet scuttlebutt.

The point, though, is that with the e-locker, although they're a lot easier to find used (AKA 'cheap') than a used 3rd with an already setup ARB in it, you'll spend enough time and money trying to make it actually fit in your 60 that it's probably worth it to just buy a new ARB and pay to have it set up in your 3rd member. That math changes a little if you're set up to put 60 spring perches on a complete 80 axle, like a lot of people have done, in which case you'll probably be pretty happy with the end result. You will probably end up wanting IFS hubs up front, though, to keep your track widths consistent from front to back, since the 80 axle is maybe 3" wider than your stock one.
 
GeologistFelix said:
I'd like to point out that the factory e-locker won't work in the stock semi-float 60 rear axle. You can run the rear 80 locker in the front of a 60, but you'll need different shafts. I've also heard that the e-locker has some durability issues compared to an ARB, but that could just be internet scuttlebutt.

The point, though, is that with the e-locker, although they're a lot easier to find used (AKA 'cheap') than a used 3rd with an already setup ARB in it, you'll spend enough time and money trying to make it actually fit in your 60 that it's probably worth it to just buy a new ARB and pay to have it set up in your 3rd member. That math changes a little if you're set up to put 60 spring perches on a complete 80 axle, like a lot of people have done, in which case you'll probably be pretty happy with the end result. You will probably end up wanting IFS hubs up front, though, to keep your track widths consistent from front to back, since the 80 axle is maybe 3" wider than your stock one.
Click to expand...
Don’t forget he’s taking it to Torfab. I’d be willing to bet this stuff has been taken into account. I’m curious to see what
the final build looks like. ☕️🍿
 
Yeah, it's definitely getting an 80 rear housing, and I assume an FZJ80 rear at that. I suspect the reason he's recommending ARB might be because of availability of the Toyota Elocker? I havent heard anything negative about the strength of the Toyota unit, though when I initially mentioned a Harrop, he specifically recommended an ARB. I'm sure there's a good reason he didn't bring up using a Toyota locker.
 
with the Toyota locker youll also need the computer and to make a harness for it as well. it may end up costing more to make it work than to just go with arb/harrop/whomever locker. and the locked axles are a bit of a premium item so thats going to add to the cost as well
 
bigredmachine said:
with the Toyota locker youll also need the computer and to make a harness for it as well. it may end up costing more to make it work than to just go with arb/harrop/whomever locker. and the locked axles are a bit of a premium item so thats going to add to the cost as well
Click to expand...

It's not bad to make your own control circuit. I've got front and rear e-lockers in my 55, each uses 2 double pole relays, a single pole double throw switch and two indicator lights to do the trick.
 
RockDoc said:
It's not bad to make your own control circuit. I've got front and rear e-lockers in my 55, each uses 2 double pole relays, a single pole double throw switch and two indicator lights to do the trick.
Click to expand...


it may not be bad to make it but it is still something else that would have to be made and that would add to the cost
 
As someone with a similar setup as you are shooting for; I vote the rear ARB air locker. A front locker is a luxury and if you get an arb rear and a compressor you're setup to install a front arb in the future when time and funds permit.

The rear diff of the 80's are the same as ours so it doesn't matter which you put in there. The full float rear FZJ80 axle is a great upgrade.

Feel free to pm me for specifics.
 
I understand that the 60 and 80 diffs are different. 80 is 4.10 (41/10) and 60 is 4.11 (37/9) but need to double check. It's enough of a difference that I wouldn't want to use 4wd on a hard packed surface over longer distances.

As to making the factory elocker work, I saw a video on YouTube where a guy fairly easily makes it work and gives a relay circuit to control it. I'll post later.
 
bigredmachine said:
with the Toyota locker youll also need the computer and to make a harness for it as well. it may end up costing more to make it work than to just go with arb/harrop/whomever locker. and the locked axles are a bit of a premium item so thats going to add to the cost as well
Click to expand...
Lots of ways to get this to work without all the computer / harness. Everything from simple relay board to people using air solenoids or cables.
 
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