im trying to decide wether or not to put a full time locker in the rear of my 5 speed daily driver or just a tru trac a bunch of people have told me manuals act way different than automatic with a full locker

 

Nope. Makes no difference what so ever what type of transmission you have.
Makes a huge difference which type of traction aid you put in the axle though.
For a daily driver I would NOT recommend a locker. Even though a few people swear it made no difference - 99% of the rest of us know better. Recently there was even a picture posted of a runner on it's side in someone's front yard because the driver gassed it on a curve and lost control. Try the TrueTrac - you'll love it. Quiet and smooth and no bad handling quirks, durable and it works offroad too.

 

Does the TruTrac have a certain amount of "limited" slip? Like, if one tire is in the air or on ice, does it basically act like an open diff?

Does anyone make a replacement Torsen diff (like in Humvees)?

 

I've spent the day today removing my EZ locker. Despite what others
say - it is quircky and damn dangerous on ice.

Here in Tennessee we don't have lot's of snow - but when wet and freezing
there is ice. Almost lost it a few times Thursday morning going to work
so it came out today.

Great addition for off-raod - but I second to notion - not for a daily driver.

I hope to do the E-locker install & modifications with 5.29 gears
this spring.

I've got an EZ locker for sale - $150.00

 

Unless you're gonna be doing alot of big rock crawling I think The Tru-track would be the best choice. I've thought long and hard about it, and I don't want to run a auto locker because it will eat so many tires I could afford an ARB. I don't want to pay for an ARB or have to deal with the air compressor and the complexity of it. So the tru-track will proabably be my choice for front and rear diffs. I'd say F&R limited slips would give you at least 2/3 (give or take) the traction of 2 lockers and proabably be as good as a rear detroit without the quirky handling and quick tire wear.

 

I wouldn't recommend anything except an ARB in the front for ice and snow on-road driving. Did that - had a limited slip in the front - the steering is squirrelly in 4wd on ice and snow.

The TRuetrac works kind of like a Torsen (not precisely the same but the result is similar.) It tries to equalize the power to the wheels, sending power to the wheel that has traction. Launch hard and it's like it's locked up. Turn a corner and it's like an open diff. Get on slick stuff when one wheel tries to spin, the other one will turn and you can go forward. It's very smooth, mine makes no noise and I feel nothing - it just works. It uses gears rather than clutches so it has a long life. Clutch type LSDs don't last very long, relatively speaking. I wore out my rear one in 50k. Luckily in the 85 I could just swap them.

Torsen is still made, but I don't think they make one for the Yota. (Zexell is the company.)

 

Ive got a detroit in the rear of my PU which was my daily driver for over a year with the locker in the rear.

I dissagree that what kind of trans you have. I do think it makes a diffrence. The ONLY time i notice the locker in the rear is when i let off the gas when its in gear and going around a curve (usually on the intersate) it can pitch the rear end as the locker locks up as the rear end goes from power to engine brake. You dont get that kind of change in power level with an auto.

The short story, there has been no mod that has made a single greater diffrance in the off road ablity of the truck than the locker in the rear. Ill say open in the front almost forever as doing so almost eliminates the posibility of brakeing front CV's.

THe locker does add some quarkiness on wet/snowy pavement but nothing you cant get used to and plan for/expect.

WIth my long wheel base its virtually imposible to hear the tires chrip when makeing turns. If i had to do again i would consider a spool. a thrid the cost and no funky behavor or werid noises. (lincon locked is even less)

 

i run lock rights front and rear for my 2000 taco xtra cab 5 spd , i get alot of snow and ice up here . lockers will make your truck handle different . i love the lock right in the rear it is noisy and tends to make even more noise in sharp turns in clean parking lots .
yep the ass end somtimes tries to get out from ya powering out on a icey hill but i find it very easy to control and drive it out of .

but on the street in 4wd the front locked sucks it is a hand full . i have gotten used to it but the wife wont touch the truck (not sure if thats bad ) my next locker for the front of any vehicle i build up will either be a gear LSD or selectable . even off road ,here cause 9 months of the year the trail still have snow and ice ,front lockers on side hills can be scary as well as steering ,or lack of .

most of the time full lockers are not needed just good driving skills and line choices . a locker in the rear like detroit or good tight lsd would be a great addition with a selectable up front would give you both worlds without effecting on road handling and bad tire wear and go anywhere offroad on the weekends .

 

I agree with 'snap-on'. Everyone i've talked to including many vendors said it does makes a big difference. "A Detriot in the rear of a 5spd acts way differently than it will in an auto."
If you reallly think about the way both transmissions work, it makes perfect sense.

 

I'll concede, but I really believe it's all in how you drive. (i.e. Skill)

 

Find someone with a truck similar to yours, who has a locker, and take it for a test drive to see how you like it. That's a lot cheaper than buying and installing a locker, only to find out you don't like the quirks that come with it.

With a 5 speed you'll get some bangs and pops every now and then, but it's no big deal. I ran a Lock Right in my daily driver for about 2.5 years and had no problems and no noticeable tire wear. Now that that rig is a trail beater, I have a full spool and actually prefer it over the locker.

If you're into wheeling really hard trails, buy a locker for the off road performance and just deal with it's on road quirks.