Does anyone live in snow country like me? I want to instal a auto locker in my front axle but in the winter drive in 4high a lot to get to work. How will a locker effect
Driving in the snow?

 

Hi, does anyone know where to order a powertrax lockrite from in Alberta Canada? I have tried to order through some suppliers in the US and it has been backordered again and again until I cancelled the order. Is a lockrite locker that hard to find for a '97 tacoma 4x4?

 

need some info on aussie install in my 8" rear.
can i simply open the rear take out spider gears and pop in the aussie. or do i have to remove ring and pinion. shade tree mech might be taking too much credit. so backlashing and the rest of the tolerances are kinda of intimidating.

thanks in advance

 

http://gearinstalls.com/

Zuk will also answer any questions you may have!

Next time please use the search function!

 

Just to be 100% clear: you can or can't disengage lunchbox lockers? I want to set up my truck but I dont need to spend a grand on an ARB for what I do, especially if a $200-$500 locker will work.

 

With what I know about them it would have advantages and disadvantages. I live in north Idaho so theres a ton of snow in the winter and this is just what I have experience with: you would be able to hook up better to take off if one wheel wont get traction, but 4wd with a locked differential also means you can break free and slide easier since all 4 wheels are getting even power instead of spinning one or two of them.

 

Those are automatic lockers, or more correctly automatic unlockers. That type of locker is locked all the time torque is applied, unless one wheel/axle over runs the ring gear (like when rounding a corner) and then that side unlocks:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/TrueTrac.shtml#Locker

In a front axle, with manual hubs, you can of course unlock one side (or the other) if needed.

The trick to driving a locker like that in the snow is to be able to feel when one tire breaks traction and when both tires (on the same axle) break traction. Then try and stay below the point of both tires spinning by modulating the gas pedal. The advantage oven an open diff. with a spinning tire is that you still have the other wheel turning and that spinning tire is only spinning at the same speed as the tire with traction, instead of spinning at a high speed. Problem with a locker in the snow is that if you mash the gas pedal, you'll have both tires spinning vs. just one tire spinning like with an open diff.

 

So if I put a locker in the rear will I notice it cornering? And if I put one in the front with manual hubs and theyre freed up will my axles still move or to I have to be in 4wd?

 

[QUOTE=whitecollarredneck;52090616]So if I put a locker in the rear will I notice it cornering? [quote]

Yes, on high traction surfaces, you hear it unlock and ratchet around sharp turns with the odd bang here and there. On slippery surfaces, you may find the inside tire may want to spin and that will give the outside tire the traction.


For front axle, you need to be in 4H or 4L to turn the front drive shaft. With both hubs unlocked, you have 2WD no matter what the t-case is set to. With one hub locked and 4WD and front locker, you have 3WD and with both hubs locked, you have 4WD. With t-case in 2H, you have 2WD although you might feel a bit of drag in turns if you have the front hubs locked, depending on the locker model.

 

They aren't manually unlockable like an ARB or Toyota electric locker.

When cornering, the coupler halves connected to the wheel on the inside of the turn stay engaged. The coupler halves connected to the wheel on the outside will either separate, or ratchet (depending on the design).

This causes the outside wheel to rotate faster than the ring gear, while the inside wheel rotates the same speed as the ring gear.

The problem with this from a handling standpoint is if you let off the gas, it can make the truck try to pull toward the inside of the turn. And if you give it gas, the truck will try to push toward the outside of the turn. That's because the inside wheel is the only one pushing or slowing down the truck. Which is why you learn how to give it just the right amount of throttle so that the truck does neither.

I'm using a locker in the rear axle as an example. But the front works the same when engaged into 4wd. Be careful though. I had a Lock Right in the front of a '78 Bronco. I broke the rear driveshaft and had to drive it to a driveshaft repair/manufacturung shop with the rear driveshaft removed and the front drive engaged in 4wd. It was NOT fun driving in traffic with front wheel drive and the front locker.

This also applies to non-lunchbox (that doesn't reuse the stock differential carrier) Detroit Locker automatic locker. The only difference is that the Detroit has locking teeth that have a slight negative angle that sometimes causes the coupler halves connected to the outside wheel to not unlock like they should.

I've owned and installed 2 Powertrax Lock Rights (one that wore out after 37,000 miles), 2 Powertrax No Slips, and a weak Lock Right clone called the Detroit EZ Locker that failed the first time I used it off road. Out of all of these, the No Slips were by far the best. They were 80% smoother and 98% quieter than the Lock Rights and it's clones. And because the coupler halves seperate instead of ratcheting when differentiating like the Lock Right and it's clones, they didn't wear out.

I've also experimented with military trucks that had the Detroit Locker. They tend to act like the others, except for that occasional resistance to unlocking like I mentioned. They do cost more. But they are supposed to be the stongest. But the best ones as far as drivability will be the selectable ones. I love the electric locker in my Tacoma. I hear good things about the ARB, especially the newer designs.

 

Simple answer... You will notice it, and the vehicle will tend to go straight, more.

Not so simple answer... If you know what youre doing, and have manual locking hubs, it will be fine. I've had them front and rear on snow, and managed just fine, was actually able to drag some rather large logs, a good distance thru some deep snow with front/rear locked. But... When on the road, I left 1 front hub unlocked, and knew what to expect from the rear...

ETA: You can NOT manually disengage a lunchbox locker... It will do it on its own.

 

[QUOTE=4Crawler;52090622][QUOTE=whitecollarredneck;52090616]So if I put a locker in the rear will I notice it cornering? So I talked a little with my dad who used to be in the Santa Rosa 4wd club... He said for IFS I would want a limited slip diff. in the front and a locker in the back. Sound about right?

 

I loved my old TrueTrac in the front axle in the snow. Works well in IFS, less stress on the CV joints, etc. I first ran a rear Detroit and front TrueTrac in my '85.

Might even consider a TrueTrac front and rear if you plan on a lot of snow and ice driving. I have a limited slip (Quaiffe) in my front wheel drive VW and it works very well. I took it on one of my 4WD club's winter trips and I made it up one snow/ice covered hill that stopped some of the 4WDs that had lockers.

 

My 95 4runner didn't come with locking hubs, but I want front manual lockers. I just got this thing, and have never played with locking hubs. I am mechanically inclined, and do prefer to do all of my own work. Are installing aftermarket manual lockers pretty simple? Do I ONLY need to buy the locking hubs, or is there anything else? Thanks folks

 

This thread is about locking differentials, which isn't the same as locking hubs. There's a place on the forum to ask about locking hubs.

 

my bad. thanks for being so helpful

 

hi guys i am new to the forum and to the sport, i am planning to install a locker in my toyota the chassis is off a ln106 and the body is that of a 1995 surf the axles are both live and the diff ratio is 4.88:1. I am from trinidad in the caribbean and since i am planning to purchase fron e bay returning will be difficult and costly please help me select the right locker

 

so I got on rockauto.com to find a decent locker for my 93. its 8" 30 spline 4 pinion... anyways I see the Detroit locker for $90 but it says "complete internals set".. does that mean Its not the whole locker? part # is "EATON Part # DET187S61"

 

grab it, you can always send it back. That price doesn't make sense though.

 

Probably just the internal rebuild components without the carrier case included.
Interested to see what you get.