New to forum.I have been looking into buying rear locker for my 86' toy truck.
I was looking at the Powertrax no-slip, but found out they don't make it for my truck. Looking at the Detriot Soft Locker. Anyone have one? Do you like it? How does it handle on pavement?

 

I think all those lockers are loud when they disengage.
My brother has an E-locker 3rd with 4.30 gears from a 97 4Runner if you want that. He is asking $500 BTW

 

I had one for a while. works great off road. On road, you have to learn to drive with it. It's basically lock when you give it gas. you don't give gas till you almost done with the turn ....stuff like that. Once in a while, you hear a banging sound. It's also make clicking sounds too. YOu will need ot rotate your tires more often.

Other than that, it's great.

 

A Detroit Locker is locked until enough force is applied to unlock it. Usually this only happens in tight turning situations on pavement. The majority of the time, mine stayed locked and barked the tires just as bad as my full spool does now. A "soft" locker has slightly less stiff springs in it than does a regular Detroit, so it can disengage easier. Either one takes a bit of getting used to. They cause “locker wiggle”; when accelerating or decelerating the vehicle will tend to wander a bit. Off highway, they work very well in a rear application- it was extremely rare to have it unlock. In a front application they can fail if an inner axle snaps- the recoil shock shatters the locking mechanism. In my case, the Detroit I had up front (now for sale below ) survived three years of wheelin’ and held up to a load severe enough to chip the pinion gear. I had planned on putting it in the back but found the damaged pinion, so I just replaced it w/ another spool.

 

The Detroit Soft Locker is suppose to be a quiet one. That's why I was seeing if someone had the soft locker and could tell me how they like it.
I could be interested in your brothers E-locker, but would need to be sure it will fit my in my rear diff.. My truck is a 1st gen 1986 22RTE turbo charged.
So it has what I believe is the rear end for the V6 trucks. I will talk to toyota
if his locker will fit.
Thanks
-Kyle

 

Ya....I have DSLs front and rear. Drives good for me on the road also. Here's a link that is a bit long but has tons of locker info...it dates back to 1999 so that means the Aussie won't be mentioned..... http://www.a1.nl/phomepag/markerink/diffs.htm



I had to copy/paste this as it did interest me. This is when putting a DSL in the front.....I did the same thing this guy did and left a few parts out of mine before installing it.... read this---
Tractech has completely stopped making the "old style" locker for
Dana 60's (and most other's). They now only produce the "Soft-locker" for
almost all axles.
- The Soft-locker has a set of internal "clutches" that act between
the diff case and the side gears (a bit like a standard LSD). These
clutches increase the torque required to release one wheel and continue to
drag when released. This makes the units quieter and smoother, but the
additional torque bias is undesirable for the front.
- Being a Mechanical Engineer and wanting the best setup I called up
Tractech and spoke with their engineering department about this issue. They
said since the majority of their sales are either strictly off-road or rear
axle applications they hadn't fully investigated this issue for front
applications.
- They had a number of internal meetings and discussions and came to
the conclusion that for the best performance in a front axle the thrust
blocks and center bellville washers should be removed prior to installing
the unit. They told me that they were generating a tech note on the issue
to recommend this, but weren't planning any testing. They also assured me
there would be no loss of warranty and that the unit should actually last
longer with the mod.
- I made the mod and it works perfectly. The most significant
improvement is when running hubs locked in 2wd. At highway speeds (worst
case) I can hardly detect the locker. With the stock soft-locker there is a
stronger pull to center and sloppier steering (although it's not that bad
either with a heavy full size truck).

Now if I jack up the front of the truck and spin 1 wheel with the hubs
locked, transfer case in 2wd the locker unlocks and only 1 wheel spins.

 

i say just splurge on the ARB...

 

For the E-locker you need to have some longer studs welded on the the axle and your housing needed to be modified for clearence, wire it and it ready to go.
The E-locker is probibly just as strong as the ARB and you don't need to run a compresser the whole time you want it on.

 

what, exactly, do you mean by "housing needed to be modified for clearence?" i agree that for strength it is a toss-up.

 

I don't think I want to be modifing anything on my axle. Starting to mess with OEM like that can just creat problems down the road. If th E-locker can't just bolt on and wire it, then I should probably go for the DSL.
Thanks
-Kyle

 

I have been running a Detroit soft locker for over 2 years now. I drive over 95% on road, and I can almost always tell when it will disengage. It stays engaged most of the time. I have learned not to accelerate around tight turns. Off road it totally changed the limitations of my truck-I was able to climb stuff in 2wd that had my wheels spinning in 4wd with open diff. I highly recommend it to anyone that is planning on an auto locker.

 

I think you have helped me make up my mind. It's going to be a DSL for me.
I'm sure I can get use to the way it will handle.
Know of any good people to buy one from??
I was quoted @$400 from one place. Can't remember exactly though.
-Kyle

 

Check out Jawsgear.com. They're located out here in Cali (San Jose I think) and they were having some good deals on Detroits when I was looking for a locker awhile back.

 

There was a write up in the tech section w/ pics, but link doesn't work for me.
Locker write up
This is a 4 banger axle

"The yellow circle inside the housing represents the need to dent the housing outward to provide clearance for a bolt on the back of the differential carrier. The red squares at the top and bottom show the amount of material that should be removed to accommodate the ring gear. Much to my delight, these modifications were not necessary on my V6 rear. Apparently there are some differences between 4 cylinder and V6 housings."

ARB and other selectable lockers are more desirable for daily driving

 

Thanks for the info. The link worked for me.http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/tech/electric_locker/
Still more then I might want to do. But the link gave me a lot better look at what has to be done. I would like to install an E-Locker, but cost is a concern, and time.
Research is key. I'm not totally set on a DSL, though I like the durablity
of it.
Anyone done an E-locker install on 85'-88'??????????????????????????
-Kyle

 

i didnt realize that for the v6 housing you only needed to add the longer studs (including welding a spot for tapping a stud) and didnt have to do the clearance...and i have that article printed out sittin in my room.

look into a mini spool -- Aussie Locker would be my choice