Lockers

[TeCKis300]

Setting up a front clamshell would be an exercise in frustration for a DIY. Needs patience, special feeler tools as some of it would be setting up blind. Add in repetition to get the backlash right, and it would not be my idea of a good time. I would leave this to the pros. Better yet, a drop in factory setup and sealed diff from a Tundra/Sequoia (4.3 with tow package), or LC200 (3.9 in pre-'16) depending on ratio one is looking for.

Interesting to hear Zuk won't do ARBs anymore. Long time the gold standard. Though I can understand why. From a failure POV, an Air Locker has more complexity with seals and such, and system dependencies of the compressor. Any one item failing in the chain, would cause locking function to be lost. Then there's the internal sealing and reliability issues Zuk talks about.

 

[619TOY]

Just out of curiosity, how far out is Zuk booking work? I’ve heard he has a really long lead time now. Luckily when I had him do the 80, he was doing regears about as quickly as you wanted to send him the parts.

 

[bloc]

Setting up a front clamshell would be an exercise in frustration for a DIY. Needs patience, special feeler tools as some of it would be setting up blind. Add in repetition to get the backlash right, and it would not be my idea of a good time. I would leave this to the pros. Better yet, a drop in factory setup and sealed diff from a Tundra/Sequoia (4.3 with tow package), or LC200 (3.9 in pre-'16) depending on ratio one is looking for.

Yeah, I'll be setting up the rear and not opening the front for those very reasons. But I'd still like to see the nuances of how it's done.

I did see that 4.88 build on Zuk's site but the documentation didn't seem as thorough as some of his others.

 

[TeCKis300]

Just out of curiosity, how far out is Zuk booking work? I’ve heard he has a really long lead time now. Luckily when I had him do the 80, he was doing regears about as quickly as you wanted to send him the parts.

As you're in San Diego, I'd recommend checking out Pro Gear Differentials. They're legit, diffs and gears are their bread and butter, and sounds like many shops sub to these guys as that's how I found them. They've done tons of Cruisers, Tundras, and every other brand of vehicle.

 

[619TOY]

I concur, they do really good work. I had them install the 3.11 transfer gears in the 80. When I had a bearing fail in the front end, they were really impressed with the work Zuk had done on my regear too.

I was mostly trying to get an idea of how long Zuk's backlog is. I've heard a few people say it was longer than they could afford to wait.

 

[CharlieS]

I didn't ask, but I'm not worried about it. It isn't any rush or pressing need for me since I'm doing a full swap. It would be a big deal if I was dropping the differentials, sending them to him, and then eagerly awaiting getting them back and was without a vehicle while I waited. Next time I connect with him I'll ask.

 

[bloc]

I concur, they do really good work. I had them install the 3.11 transfer gears in the 80. When I had a bearing fail in the front end, they were really impressed with the work Zuk had done on my regear too.

I was mostly trying to get an idea of how long Zuk's backlog is. I've heard a few people say it was longer than they could afford to wait.

Out of curiosity which bearing failed? Zuk has a post specifically about certain pinion and carrier bearings having a bad angle and being weaker than stock.

 

[619TOY]

It was the front pinion bearing. More my fault than anything. I had developed a slow leak in the front diff and wasn’t checking the oil level as often as I should’ve as this isn’t a daily driver. A few times with less than sufficient oil was probably its downfall

 

[CharlieS]

Somebody asked about Zuk scheduling - I didn't ask about it, but he started on my install within a week of having the lockers and housings. Maybe I just got lucky and caught him when he didn't have a lot in the backlog? He's sent a ton of pictures and has been very communicative.

Also, for someone who was looking for more front clamshell info, OTTRAM has a video with a lot of detail.

 

[TeCKis300]

^Sounds like things are working out well and looking forward to your impressions.

For anyone on the fence with lockers, do it. Rear for sure. ATRAC and CRAWL are immensely powerful and capable. CRAWL especially will do a lot of a locker can do, and it has its own advantages in certain scenarios. For enthusiast use, a locker is way more enjoyable to flick on and engage on the fly. With it's own situational advantages.

 

[TheGrrrrr]

Zuk is doing mine this week. When I stopped by to drop off all the parts, we went in his workshop and he opened everything up, inspected all the welds on the locker, measured tolerances, checked electrical resistance on the lockers, then showed me one of the bearings in the install kit that he was going to replace and why. He inspected everything and explained in detail what he was looking for and why. I got a good 30 minute education on his bench just dropping off the new parts. That dude is locked in on the nuances/details that many other installers would never know/bother to check.

Sadly I won't be there to deliver my thirds or pick them up, but I'm confident I'll get good documentation and a report on the condition of everything that was replaced.

 

[CharlieS]

Nice!

Good that he measured, one of my eaton's was machined out of spec (bearing mount surface was undersized - he tested several different bearings and and they all dropped on with no resistance) and he found it when he went to install the bearing.

So work stopped and we wait while we deal with warranty BS between SDHQ and Eaton. It is going on a month waiting for them to acknowledge that their part is out of spec.

 

[TheGrrrrr]

Nice!

Good that he measured, one of my eaton's was machined out of spec (bearing mount surface was undersized - he tested several different bearings and and they all dropped on with no resistance) and he found it when he went to install the bearing.

So work stopped and we wait while we deal with warranty BS between SDHQ and Eaton. It is going on a month waiting for them to acknowledge that their part is out of spec.

He told me about that. I didn't realize it was yours. Seems like there was a batch of Eatons that had some bad welds and yours with the tolerance issue. Other than that he said the Eaton/Harrops have had really good QC for quite a while. Sounds like you had some bad luck. Imagine if you had someone else set them up, they would have been pleasantly surprised at how easy everything went together. Zuk recognized that as a problem.

 

[CharlieS]

Zuk has been awesome, great communication, lots of pictures. He is definitely very knowledgeable and experienced and I'm psyched that I went with him. I know I'm in good hands.

I'm much less impressed with SDHQ and Eaton. SDHQ should have just replaced the locker they sold me with the other one of the same part number that they told me they had the shelf, and just dealt directly with eaton on the warranty, rather than make me wait around. Poor customer service.

They have my money after all...

Hopefully this gets sorted soon.

 

[CharlieS]

Eaton warrantied the front locker, we're waiting for the replacement to be delivered.

The rear is coming together. Check out these final backlash measurements!

 

[CharlieS]

I have front and rear members from my 09 LX sitting in boxes from when I regeared to 4.88 and added lockers. They have about 240k miles on them.

@turbo8 your gears are in great shape! Thanks, again for hooking me up.

 

[grinchy]

@turbo8 your gears are in great shape! Thanks, again for hooking me up.

@turbo8 is a solid guy!

 

[turbo8]

Glad to hear. The vehicle had a pretty easy life before I bought it.

 

[CharlieS]

The warranty replacement arrived and the journal is in spec.

 

[TheGrrrrr]

I should be getting my truck back today after some delays unrelated to Zuk. My mechanic has commented multiple times at the quality of Zuk's work and attention to detail. Glad your project is back on track. Looking forward to hearing/seeing what you do with the new set up.