Lockers in the Rear or in the Front (1 Viewer)

[rusty_tlc]

Got the eaton/harrop in the front of my cruiser and mate has the Arb. we both agree that the eaton/harrop seems to work better after some time off road. One of the best situation we have found is on a track we drive quite often where you drive down into the river bed with the locker on as there are huge wash aways and a lip to get in. ( can't get in without it) but once in need to disengage to make the turn to drive down strem for the exit of the track. He has got caught about 3 times now where the wheels are bound up from the lip that the locker wont disengage and has needed me to gently pull the front around about half a meter so the wheels are not binding then the locker releases and he can drive out. Where as in mine if the switch is on its on and as soon as its off the locker is off. Do t know exactly the reasons but just seems that why and has been a few times. On the one track especially quite a few cars get caught in the same spot with the locker not disengaging. Just my two sense, sorry slightly off topic

Thanks for that bit of real world info, just makes me wish we could get the Eatons in NA that much more.

 

[anajjar]

I'm running 305's, lift, and just purchased bumper, lights, winch, air compressor, rear locker

haha and seeing how the winds are blowing I think i'm buying front lockers as well.

How bad is it if i do everything (just the rear locker) and no gears whatsoever?

 

[spressomon]

Although I firmly believe taller gears are a benefit for larger tires and heavier loads...you, by your signature, live in Florida. Sea level and relatively flat terrain make up for ALOT! Ditto for those with the A750F '03+'s.

But if you are happy with your power and braking right now maybe it just makes good financial sense to do the locker without a re-gear. OTHOH there is some duplication of labor and parts to re-gear later...its really all about the application.

 

[Wilsil]

Hoser, I haven't had the need to use them.
They are little more expensive, but you don't have air lines running under your car with possibility of leaks.

 

[rusty_tlc]

Hoser, I haven't had the need to use them.
They are little more expensive, but you don't have air lines running under your car with possibility of leaks.

But you do have a wire. I ran my FJ40 ARB's for many years before I had any leaks or other issues with the air. I had many more issues with the electrical, due to poor installation.

The connectors that come with the Eaton unit are a bit fussy and once installed impossible to take apart with out destroying the contact housing. Eaton will not sell the housing alone, only as part of the whole harness, and I could not source a replacement. The only solution I found was to replace both sides with new connectors. Not a huge deal but something you really don't want to deal with on a brand new piece of equipment.

That said I'd still use them given the choice.

 

[Letsgomoreplaces]

Lockers for 100 series now available from TJM

As for which one to do, Front or Rear I normally always recommend a Rear locker first. I find it to provide the most benefit for offroad use. Clearly both ends is better, but budget doesnt always allow. However, for the Landcruiser 100 series I often times recommend a Front locker first. The reason being is that the OE front differential is weak, earlier models with 2 pinion are the weakest, but 4 pinion arent much better. I've seen numerous failures, even on stock non-wheeled trucks. It's not just the spider gear strength, its also the carrier deflection because of the cast diff case, as well as not enough carrier bearing preload from the factory. An aftermarket locker will help provide a much more rigid backbone for the ring gear and control deflection, thus making the whole setup stronger and preventing Ring & Pinion breakage. Both the ARB Air Locker & TJM Pro Locker would be a great candidate for traction and strength upgrade due to theri fully enclosed carrier design, stronger internatls, etc etc etc.

Just a heads up, as many of you know the ARB lockers are great, but there's finally another option for selectable lockers on the Land Cruiser 100 series:

TJM PRO LOCKER - NOW AVAILABLE FOR LANDCRUISER 100 SERIES!
https://forum.ih8mud.com/merchandis...-all-other-units-stocked-too.html#post7677419

 

[Letsgomoreplaces]

Not sure I'm with you on that one. As a distributor of ARB, TJM, Eaton, etc, I see way more failures of Eaton E-lockers vs ARB on the applications that both are available. This is even considering we sell far more ARB units. The later design Eaton Elockers that use coupler vs pins to lock the side gear have been reliable. At any rate, its a moot point to discuss for US toyota market.

I'd do the Eaton lockers in a heart beat if they were available, I just installed one in the rear diff of my son's Jeep and they are beefy and engage really fast. Install was pretty easy but we didn't change gears on his truck.