Yeah here in Hawaii bigger is always better. lol Yeah there are a lot of nice trucks here.

 

check out the locker FAQ at the top of this thread (or did it get moved to General...?)

Anyways, a lunchbox locker uses your existing carrier. It makes the installation much easier, and you don't have to re-setup the gears.

Gearing for mud is a tricky thing. Depending on the mud, you may want higher gears so you can spin the tires faster to clean them out. 4cyl Tacoma has about the same power as my 3.0 V6 'runner. I would think 4.30's would really be pushing it - 4.56 would be OK, I like my 4.88's with the 33's.

 

Would a true trac locker do? IS it easy to install?

 

what year is your truck?

 

2000 tacoma

 

 

X2 !!!!

 

What you do to your truck all depends on what you want to use it for. There's a big difference between "going mudding" and building a truck for that purpose. You should ponder the following questions:

What is my end goal for my truck?

What state is it currently in compared to my goals?

What do I primarily use it for?

What do I want to use it for and how often?

How much money am I willing to invest in it and how much of that money do I have right now?

The answer to these questions will help you decide what modifications make sense. They will also help us give you better advice.

 

my truck is a daily driver i use to get every where i go. the end product im looking for is something that can do some minor off-roading like light mud and light trails nothing to crazy, but i also want it to be very streetable as a daily driver.i'm looking for a locker that wont make a lot of noise and wont affect the streetable driveability of my truck. Does this help or do you need more info.

Still working on the pictures its been raining for about 20 hrs. now here.

 

Have you looked into the possibility of pirating a wrecked TRD tacoma (4wd or Prerunner) and using the 3rd member, locking diff, and diff button? If you find one cheap, it may be easier than a locker... just an idea.


Yeah, but dude.............you live in HAWAI'I!!!!!!

 

A TruTrac is a limited slip. They are not a "true" locker - they send a multiple (usually about 3) of the torque transferred to one wheel to the other. As long as one wheel has traction, they work great, however, 3 x 0 is 0, so if one wheel loses traction or lifts off the ground, they can't transmit any power and work just like an open diff.

Installation is very technical, as they are a full carrier unit. You have to pull the ring gear off your stock unit and install it on the new one and resetup the gears - a job best left for pros.

The only lockers that do not have compromises of either off road performance or streetability are the selectable ones - ARB or Toyota elocker. I chose ARB's front and rear, and like them a lot, but that's quite a bit of money to put into a 2WD. Read the locker FAQ post - it will answer a lot of your questions.

 

Do you know where i can find a wrecked TRD tacoma? I think its almost impossible to find one.

 

Well, living in the Islands, it's prob. not likely that you'll find one there (but you never know). First thing, is get the numbers to any junkyards or salvage yards that are around. Then, jump on Google, or another search engine and type in "Toyota Tacoma salvage parts TRD", etc. That should give you a lot of choices. Now that I'm thinking about it, if you can't find one locally, you may be better off going with an ARB or lunchbox. Shipping on a TRD 3rd member to Hawai'i would probably be pretty steep. But search around, you never know. I know Toys are pretty popular in the Islands, you may find what you need there... You'll never know if you don't try. Good luck!

 

What years can i use? do i just need the TRD 3rd member? And can i use my same lift kit?

 

Any years that had the e-locker, which I think were 98-2004 (Might wanna double check that). Your lift should be fine, the TRD axle is just slightly different, and has the e-locker on it. You would need the Rear diff activator button, and the wiring for it. Everything else is pretty much bolt-on, I believe.

 

Also, go to TTORA and search "TRD axle swap", there's a grip of threads about it. A lot of useful info if you're interested in doing this.

 

I say, "go with what ya got". Just don't forget RULE #1. Take some one with the ability to pull you out.

 

What is TTORA?

 

Toyota Territory Off Road Association

Try it, you'll like it. Just ask questions in the Newbie section first. They are not as "newbie friendly" as YotaTech. Sign up and then search and read. Search and read. Search and read. Mucho informationo!

 

Well, lots of info for Tacomas anyway ... about worthless for tech info for 4Runners.

TTORA has a Hawaii chapter - hook up with those guys, I bet they could teach you a lot about your truck!

NOTE: Elocker swap requires a whole axle for Tacomas because the TRD has an 8.0" ring gear compared to the usual Taco 8.4". 4Runners can just swap the thirdmember.