Quick question about stock vs aftermarket E-lockers (1 Viewer)

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So I’ve been researching e-lockers and it seems that the big compromise that they have is that they disengage when you go in reverse or more likely slip backwards. I was wondering if the stock e-lockers had the same issue and if there are any aftermarket e lockers that have fixed this issue.
 
OEM lockers will not release. What you are referring to is the function of the Harrop electric lockers. The release on reverse is more or less momentary and not a real issue in almost all situations. Their advantage is they lock faster than OEM.
 
Harrop/Eaton are the best lockers available. They also open up your prospects when buying a Cruiser, because you're not limited to the--what is it, 7% of 80s that came locked from the factory...
 
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So IIRC the advantage of factory lockers is the axle spline is actually bigger/stronger and less likely to break, but the downside is if you do break an axle you need to find a locker specific replacement. So for up to 35 inch tyres I would prefer factory lockers, but if going larger tyres I would choose after market
 
If I was doing lockers I would go Eaton/Harrop all day long. I just had to spend a lot of $$$ and time pulling my 3rds and changing seals on my ARB's because they were leaking so bad.

Electric all the way, the only reason to go oem would be if you already had them.
 
If I was doing lockers I would go Eaton/Harrop all day long. I just had to spend a lot of $$$ and time pulling my 3rds and changing seals on my ARB's because they were leaking so bad.

Electric all the way, the only reason to go oem would be if you already had them.
No firsthand experience here, but I've read that oil spray is common with air lockers. It was enough to keep me away from them.
 
I don't know about oil spray, I had an Exon Valdez situation going on, now it doesn't leak a drip.
 
So IIRC the advantage of factory lockers is the axle spline is actually bigger/stronger and less likely to break, but the downside is if you do break an axle you need to find a locker specific replacement. So for up to 35 inch tyres I would prefer factory lockers, but if going larger tyres I would choose after market
This is actually incorrect and it is the opposite of true. The axle has longer splines that are prone to twisting.
 
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FWIW, I'm a big fanboy of ARB lockers, but I have had my share of issues until I realized that the high pressure switch that ARB supplies is set way too high. Lockers will reliably lock at 68 to 72 psi as opposed to the 90-100 that ARB recommends. Once I regulated the line pressure they were flawless for many years.
My LX450 has factory lockers and I get a little frowny face whenever I need to use them. The ARBs were instant on/off. The OEM lockers lock...eventually and unlock...eventually.
 
What model I buy for my 93 stock stock fzj
Pls see picture
Thanks

Screenshot_20220511-142353.jpg


Screenshot_20220511-142353.jpg
 
ARB air lockers..,.replace the cheap plastic lines with stainless and regulate line pressures....been solid for 5 yrs and they lock instantly with zero leaks...
 
Dunno the model, but I'd go with Harrops Eaton; nothing better.
EDIT: See later photo for models that fit 1995 FZJ.
 
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Dunno the model, but I'd go with Harrops Eaton; nothing better.
What are you basing this on. Do you run them or even ever had them.
 
I my experience It take some wheel spin some times to get the OEM locker to lock.
If there working correctly I don't worry about them I turn the dial and go they either lock right up or as soon as there's any tire spin they lock.
There also at least 25 years old so some are bound to need some work.
Another point is you can manually lock and unlock the OEM lockers no so with the others.
 
ARB air lockers..,.replace the cheap plastic lines with stainless and regulate line pressures....been solid for 5 yrs and they lock instantly with zero leaks...

Yeah, well: Blue plastic line to the rear ARB out on my K5, replaced with shiny stainless braided line. Give the truck to a shop to install an extra crossmember for a traction bar. Shop doesn't want to bother with drilling the frame for the X-member, uses the plasma cutter. Unbeknownst to anyone in that shop - and especially me - that heat melts the plastic inside the braided line to the rear ARB, but braid is visually intact. Running support for Claudia's FJ40 (with near-first-gen ARBs...), I find out at CruiseMoab that the rear locker won't work... Took me a while to find that. It's all blue line since then :hillbilly:. Shop went out of business not long after that, none of my doing, though.

ARB's in various trucks since 1998 - general issues:
For many years, the K5 would blow the 30A fuse in the ARB harness exactly once per year. Somehow this stopped when I installed the D60 front - no idea why. So, a front D60 (with an ARB...) to fix an ARB electrical issue??
FJ40 original ARB air compressor is really tired by now, but Claudia has a sentimental attachment to that thing, otherwise there'd be another mini ARB compressor in there. No problems with the either of the two lockers.
In the '93 80, the air collar inside the rear diff had a crack. Replacement was tedious but stopped the oil spray from the rear solenoid.

Can't comment on electrical lockers, because on the rare occasion when I get to drive the locked '97 LX, I seem to convert from 'lock first, ask questions later' to 'I probably don't need to lock here', as many of the 80 owner's I've ran with were won't to do.

Lockers will lock when the gears can mesh, not when one hits a button - same for OEM or ARB; spline or tooth count matters.

In any case - I've become a big fan of 'front locker only' in situations where I want the front to do its thing and the rear not get into the way. Haven't modded the '93 (or the LX, or - God forbid - the FJ40) for that because reading too much 'Mud has made me worry too much about the front diff & birfields.
 
Lockers will lock when the gears can mesh, not when one hits a button - same for OEM or ARB; spline or tooth count matters.
^^^^^this!
In any case - I've become a big fan of 'front locker only' in situations where I want the front to do its thing and the rear not get into the way. Haven't modded the '93 (or the LX, or - God forbid - the FJ40) for that because reading too much 'Mud has made me worry too much about the front diff & birfields.
I would really like to make this happen, it's on my list of thing to do.
 

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