00 yota prerunner e lock question
07-13-2014, 06:22 AM
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00 yota prerunner e lock question
Ok i have a 2000 toyota tacoma prerunner that i bought new. what is the pros and cons of a elocker on a prerunner? I want it to be more off road ready as well as still be a daily driver if need be. Can i still use it to drive were ever if i go with a elocker? How hard is it to put a elocker on the prerunner and were and what is the best one to get? I have a 89 sr5 4x4 that is for the most part like new but i want my prerunner to be able to go places it cant right now. It has skid plates and is set up on 32 inch tires already.
07-13-2014, 04:39 PM
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When the elocker is unlocked it's a completely normal open diff. No downside to driving around on pavement with it unlocked at all.
If you're talking the OEM e-locker - just look around for a used one from a junkyard or for sale ad/thread. Swapping the whole axle in is the simplest approach. Then there needs to be some wiring done. Some cars seem to be prewired for it, needing mostly just a switch and an ECU, some have nothing. The wiring isn't terribly complex, but it's far from an 'on/off' sort of thing.
If you're talking the OEM e-locker - just look around for a used one from a junkyard or for sale ad/thread. Swapping the whole axle in is the simplest approach. Then there needs to be some wiring done. Some cars seem to be prewired for it, needing mostly just a switch and an ECU, some have nothing. The wiring isn't terribly complex, but it's far from an 'on/off' sort of thing.
07-14-2014, 05:20 AM
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The electrical setup needed to operate a locker has to be fairly 'smart'.
There's an electrical motor in the diff that locks and unlocks the differential. 12V+ and ground one way to lock it, and the other way (reverse polarity) to make it run backwards and unlock. But you can't run current through the motor for very long, because it will overheat and burn up. There are two separate limit switches built into the diff that ground when the diff either hits full open or full locked. The 'ground' part of the first circuits needs to use these so the motor will turn off once it's completed moving the diff where it's trying to go.
In addition, in some situations the locker can fail to lock/unlock. Usually when the diff halves aren't lined up well enough to engage, or there's driveline stress on it holding it locked. In this case the limit switches won't save you, you need to be aware somehow that the motor is still working, so you can turn the switch back to where it was and save the actuator motor.
The stock ECU has all this logic built in. Google up Toyota locker wiring and you'll see lots of different ways to skin that cat. The switch you use is a fairly minor concern. Some schematics use DPDT switches, some use a simple on-off switch (which could be the OEM locker switch).
Some cars seem to be prewired - which means that they have most of the wiring for the locker in the loom already. You'd still need the harness in the back that leads to the rear axle, the axle itself, a locker switch, and a locker ECU. The locker ECU sits in the driver's side kick panel. In addition to switching the current back and forth to lock/unlock, and shutting off if the action doesn't get completed quickly enough, it also has some circuitry to keep the locker off when you're not in 4LO, and to prevent you from engaging it over 5 mph. None of which you'd get from a custom wiring setup.
I also saw a neat cable actuator lever setup, but it was around $400 IIRC. Yeah.... doing some wiring is a lot cheaper.
There's an electrical motor in the diff that locks and unlocks the differential. 12V+ and ground one way to lock it, and the other way (reverse polarity) to make it run backwards and unlock. But you can't run current through the motor for very long, because it will overheat and burn up. There are two separate limit switches built into the diff that ground when the diff either hits full open or full locked. The 'ground' part of the first circuits needs to use these so the motor will turn off once it's completed moving the diff where it's trying to go.
In addition, in some situations the locker can fail to lock/unlock. Usually when the diff halves aren't lined up well enough to engage, or there's driveline stress on it holding it locked. In this case the limit switches won't save you, you need to be aware somehow that the motor is still working, so you can turn the switch back to where it was and save the actuator motor.
The stock ECU has all this logic built in. Google up Toyota locker wiring and you'll see lots of different ways to skin that cat. The switch you use is a fairly minor concern. Some schematics use DPDT switches, some use a simple on-off switch (which could be the OEM locker switch).
Some cars seem to be prewired - which means that they have most of the wiring for the locker in the loom already. You'd still need the harness in the back that leads to the rear axle, the axle itself, a locker switch, and a locker ECU. The locker ECU sits in the driver's side kick panel. In addition to switching the current back and forth to lock/unlock, and shutting off if the action doesn't get completed quickly enough, it also has some circuitry to keep the locker off when you're not in 4LO, and to prevent you from engaging it over 5 mph. None of which you'd get from a custom wiring setup.
I also saw a neat cable actuator lever setup, but it was around $400 IIRC. Yeah.... doing some wiring is a lot cheaper.
07-14-2014, 11:14 PM
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You will need RR DIFF switch, RR DIFF ECU, WIRES, & COMPLETE REAR AXLE W/E-LOCKER or just E-LOCKER for retrofit.
Depending on the type of wheeling you want to do, the prerunner can do only so much. Good luck
Sent from my hawn fingaz using YotaTech
Depending on the type of wheeling you want to do, the prerunner can do only so much. Good luck
Sent from my hawn fingaz using YotaTech
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