Looking for advice on the best lockers for a 91 Toyota Pickup 2wd. Will be using truck on and off road.

Considerations:
ARB
Detroit
Others???

Looking for something that I can install myself.

Also, where are the best places to purchase?

 

You are looking for something you can install yourself and your are looking at an ARB and a Detroit?
It has been my experience that people that use that sentence don't know how to set up gears, which would be required for both of those lockers.

What gears do you want to run?

Do you want selectable?

Price?

Best place to buy depends on what locker you decide on.

Seems to me that a locker in a 2wd is kind of like polishing a turd...

 

Thanks for your opinion on lockers on 2wd, but i'm not looking for opinions.
I'm looking for individuals that have installed lockers/posi and what there experiences are.

You are right about that I do not have the experience of setting up gears, that is what friends are for....

Cheers.

 

In your situation I think I would go with a Lock Right or the Powertrax No Slip. I have a PNS in my T100 and have had no problems with it at all. It took me about 6 hours to install (from jack up to jack down). You don't have to mess with backlash work on your gears which with the ones you mentioned would have to be done......by a professional if you want them to honor their warranty.

A locker on a 2WD is not a dumb thing, I would be willing to bet that most folks that have lockers (just the average joe not rock crawlers) in their trucks really don't need to put it in 4WD and can go through a great deal in 2WD, and have no problems with just the locker.......

BTW my truck is 4WD though and I go into lots of situations that I no longer put it in 4WD because of the locker.

Good luck.

 

Zamboni95,
I installed a Richmond Gear PowerTrax Lock Right 1620 in the rear diff of my 94 last Saturday. It was not difficult, but I was worried because it seemed too easy. I had developed a leak at the bottom of my 3rd member gasket, and decided that if I was going to drop the 3rd member to replace the gasket, might as well throw a Lock Right or Detroit EZ locker in there! Anyhow it took 6 hours to do the install of the Lock Right, replace the gasket, refill the thing with gear oil, and bleed the rear brakes. Driving around all week has not been too different than the open rear diff. I just ended up sideways last Sunday from too much gas pedal turning right at a stop sign! I highly recommend it, and I plan to put a front one in next month.

 

What are your goals for the truck?

Do you ever drive on ice?

Do you ever drive in snow?

Do you have a 5spd. or an auto?

What sort of price range are you looking for?

Who drives your truck on a regular basis?

All of the stuff can be installed yourself since it sounds like you have friends to do it.

Lunchbox lockers are thought to be easier, no gear set-up required.

Detroits and full case lockers require re-setting the gears, but are easier than tapping a hole and routing the copper ARB line.

I have dual ARB's and love them. I would not have it any other way based on where I live, who drives the truck and what I use it for.

 

Could you please explain a little more fully for those of us that are not that familiar with lockers?
I am thinking about putting a rear Lock-Right on my 4cyl 5spd 1989 4runner. It doesn't look that hard to install.
But I am curious to know why the questions about snow and ice? Does it matter if your truck is 5spd or auto? It sounds like you have a lot of knowledge/experience with lockers. Please elaborate. Thanks in advance for your time.

 

on a related note, does anybody think detroit is going to make it's new electrac locker for toyota axles? right now, it's only for dana 44, but coming soon for dana 60. hopefully sometime in the future, i'd like to get one when i buy a new truck

 

Automatic lockers make driving in snow and ice a little more difficult. Of course selectable lockers you can turn off so you can be open for the snow and ice. 5 spd or auto doesn't matter, although their driving style differs a tad for automatic lockers.

 

Driving an auto locker in snow and ice can be hairy. Getting on the gas too hard, or locking it up unexpectedly on a slick surface is bad news. I had that happen some times with my True-Trac and it was not a real locker.

People with autos usually complain less about the sudden locking than with a 5 spd.

Same thing with longer wheel base trucks, the bangs are less noticeable.

If people drive your truck who have no idea what a locker is, a sudden lock or bang would likely be an unpleasant surprise. Or in the rain.

 

That is generally because people with auto lockers and 5 spds don't know how to drive them. You definately have to adjust your driving style with an auto locker but driven properly it will bang very little....

 

ARB Air Lockers all the way dude. Extreme OffRoad if they offer them to support one of our good members, otherwise the cheapest place I found them is at Rocky Road Outfitters

 

I've used the ARB for like 10 years now. I also use a Toyota locker. The ARB is actuated with compressed air while the Toyota lockers is electrical. This makes the ARB unit a lot faster so it can be switched while driving. The toyota locker doesn't like that much listening to the sound it sometimes makes.
I'm very pleased with both units, hower the casing of the ARb broke once. I would always prefer an actuated locker because you can switch it completely off so those accidental lockups never occur.

 

I think I remember hearing something about this and ARB has since fixed that problem. I think, so don't hold me to that.

 

Yes they have. They now use twice the amount of bolts on the housing than before.

 

thanks for verifying that, I knew I'd seen that somewhere.

 

It sounds like the ARB is the way to go. It look like I should buck up and have someone install. From what I read the install process isn't too easy. Has anyone done this out there themselves? I plan on having my truck up on jackstands for the next month or two and would love to be able to do it myself.

 

I didn't think a gear setup was required on the ARB install since you aren't pulling the pinion gear and you are just tkaing the ring off the stock and putting it on the ARB. Or do you have to st the backlash since you pulled the ring?

 

I've set up a lot of ARB's and other types. I just carefully followed the toyota manual the first time I did it. It is very easy to read and perform. You'll need a few special tools, shims and gearing compound. And off course some patience.
When replacing your open diff with an ARB you will also need to replace the bearings. Because the carrierbearings will most likely be damaged when pulled off and the pinion bearing wear faster than the rest because they spin faster. So you do need to adjust the setup from scratch.
If you don't want this hassle a OEM locker could be a good option.
You can probably buy it with the right ratio and it doesn't require compressed air. It does require some grinding and welding to your axle housing.