ool hand luke

I often like venturing in snow and get stuck in areas I shouldnt becasue I do not have front or rear lockers. which lockers should I go with? as far as easy installation, affordable, and should I get front and back lockers? or Just one of the two? I have manual hubs, 87 22r pickup

also are there any disadvantages to having them? other than obvious steering differences when locked in.
thanks in advance!

PS I used search I just like first hand experience with what lockers and maybe someone having the same model as me with a great outcome.

cormel

I will follow this thread, I am in the midst of buying lockers mostly for snow as well. What are you looking to spend? Are you looking for automatic, air, electric? I have searched a lot here on Yotatech in the past and if you are just looking for an automatic locker most of them function pretty well the same - and installation is the same (basically). I am about 90% sure I am going with a aussie locker at this point. I can get it across the border into Canada for about $274 shipped US and this will include border fees as it will be sent as a gift (from my buddy ) If you can get something cheaper like an lock right or detroit, those are very good as well.

Ed H.

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f31/...legends-51513/

chickety check it

INFINITY

i have a lockright in the rear. works great in the snow only drawback is that if it is hard packed snow or ice if you are not paying attention the whole time you driving you will have the rear end slip out to the side on you. on dirt i dont even notice the locker and find NO drawbacks. if i had to do it again i would go with the aussie (have just had bad carma with the lockrights. installed one on a friends rig and they shipped us a wrong part so we could not install itbut figured it out-thank you zuk- bent spring in my box when i got mine and fed ex could not find my other friends house to deliver it)
my buddy with a lockright in the rear and arb up front loves his setup. he drove after our last snow in 3.5' of snow with no worries. the snow was above his tires.
another thing some people complain about is the noise from the lockrights but the sound is no comparison to the advantages it gives you.

anthony1

iTrader: (1)

You might be better off with LSD for snow. I had dertroit in the rear and I didnt' like it in the snow at all. It was too easy for the rear to come loose. This is on a 95 4runner. I'd bet it would be worst on a pickup.

Matt16

The LSD will act very similar on ice and road snow, but won't work off road near as well. The LSD is capable of "locking" only when the the amount of traction available to both axles is very similar (i.e. ice). If you end up spinning both back tires, you will loose of your lateral traction and be prone to spinning. in this instance, the a clutch pack LSD may actually be worse because it would take more force to "unlock" than a lunchbox locker.

Read the "Aussie Locker" link in my signature- lots of info on what driving an auto locker is like. My experiencr has been positive.

dropzone

iTrader: (6)

I had the E-locker in the rear of my '05 Taco TRD. Loved the selectability.

I am running Aussie Lockers Front and Rear in my '81 Trekker. I love the price, Less than $600 for both shipped to my door including shipping. I love the traction but the down side to a locker up front is the driving characteristics...it tends to keep pulling in the direction you don't want to go. I am happy that I installed a Twin Stick so I can get in and out of 4 WD quickly. I would not recommend a locker up front that is not selectable (ARB, E-Locker) for a Daily Driver if you depend on 4WD a lot during the winter. The advantage is that you can unlock the locker and still have what amounts to factory 4WD upfront. Disadvantage: $$$

It is pretty easy to get used to the characteristics of a locker in the rear axle. I had one in my old '84 when I was stationed in Alaska, got used to it fairly quickly...

ool hand luke

thanks for the replies guys, I'll have to do more research, aussie seems to be the most popular, I'll check some prices online....but keep firing info, thanks in advance!

bigt

is this a trail only rig???
i got a welded rear and im gonig aussie up front in my ifs yota trail rig...
if i was going to drive on the streeet i would get front and back aussie...
you dont need to lock both ends if its not a hardcore trail rig just locking the front will get you so far!!! and the rear only will get you almost as far...

only thing killing my hilux is the salt which is why i think this is its 1 and only canadian winter.. and i got it krowned before and ill get it krowned after winter..

Matt16

You don't really seem to have a good idea of who an auto locker works. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you think a locker stops the spinning tire by stopping it from moving (and thus transferring power across the diff to the wheel with traction) like in traction control?

An auto locker when driving around is in its locked position normally when the two tires are spinning the same speed. When the two wheels start going different speeds, two things can happen.

i) when one wheel starts to travel faster relative the the speed the ring gear, that wheel uncouples itself and is free to go as fast as it want. This wheel is not actually being powered so the only event in which this can happen is when turning a corner and the outside wheel speeds up.

ii) when a wheel starts going slower than the ring gear, the locker wedges two coupling gears together locks the axle so that both wheels are turning the same speeds no matter what. This happens instantaneously when you loose traction.

This sounds a little dodgy, but in real life, it works very well. I would say in maybe is changes the handling maybe 10% of the time in city driving, 0% highway driving, and whenever you need it offroad.

I'd lock the rear as I see your in NB and you get lots of snow. For purely off road benefit, half the people will say lock the front, half the people will say rear, so i think its safe to assume they aren't too much different performance-wise. But with an auto locker, in the rear, you can practice driving it in the snow, and with a decent set of tires (all terrains) it will handle winter conditions pretty well in 2wd, if it gets slippery and the rear keeps trying to come around on you, then put it in 4wd and you end up with what feels like the most stable, grippy vehicle on the road. With the front locked, your limited to 2wd on the road. All but one person I've spoken with says an auto-locker on a steering axle is plain hard to control and jerks you from one side to the next as it finds traction.

Here's why you want a locker this is an air locker, but it would do the same thing.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Zvvbt0Y6do[/youtube]

Now, with traction control (this is "A-TRAC"- a sophisticated traction control system built purposely for off road):
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8la3t22W88E[/youtube]

Matt16

Here's a really looong read on my experiences with auto lockers. Its pretty comprehensive.

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f105...review-143163/

99SR5

iTrader: (1)

i want arb lockers now lol. i guess i gotta start saving. do they make them for the ifs?

tc

Yep - they are usually one of the first ones to come out with them

ool hand luke

I would like ARB lockers as well. A good project for me, thanks guys for all the replies!

Matt16

Do look at a rear Aussie, they're near transparent on the road and much much cheaper.

toyNG

slight hi jack

Matt, or anyone else: do you know how the Aussie compares to the No Slip? There are a lot of discussion about how the Lock Right compares to the Aussie, and about how the Lock Right compares to the No Slip. But I haven't heard much about how the No Slip compares to the Aussie.

The reason I ask is because I have the opportunity to get a fully assembled rear diff with 4.88s and a No Slip for $500. I'm debating whether I should jump on it. I'm leaning towards doing so.

Matt16

I've heard No Slips are even better performance, slightly worse reliability (not enough to probably worry about with tires under 35"), but I've never tried one.

Matt16

I'd be really interested in a "shoot out" between the two.

toyNG

I would guess that off road performance is very similar. Both probably lock up well enough. What I would be curious about is on-road performance. The No Slip supposedly is much smoother and quieter than the Lock Right. I wonder if this holds true in comparison to the Aussie.

GenXr

That would be a good comparison. The Aussie is supposed to be just as good as a Lockright offroad but have better road manners.....the No Slip is supposed perform like the Aussie when compared to the Lockright. I suspect all 3 perform the same positive lock up off road, but the Aussie and No Slips are tamer on the street.

Downey sells the No Slip for a little over $300 I think.