Hey gang -

I have a chance to buy a front EZ-Locker for my 92 4Runner. The locker was installed but never run, guy changed his mind. Everything looks fine if a bit greasy. My DD truck is used for light offroad trips only, mountain and desert roads and sand. I drive pretty lightly, have 31" tires (not likely to change), and just don't like getting stuck any more. I am in Tucson AZ so no snow or ice. I know a non-selectable front locker is not ideal but anything else is not in the cards for quite a while, if ever. Yes, I will get a rear locker as well. My basic question is whether--bearing in mind the advantages and disadvantages and the EZ-Locker rebutation (I see lots of posts were people have trouble but many too were there are no problems), whether a $100 front locker experiment is worth it. Again, I drive gently, however, I have a 3.4 5-spd (manual hubs) which adds a bit more torque and shock to the driveline.

Thanks! Joel

 

for $100 i say do it, a front locker with manual hubs wont be felt in 2wd, do you ever put it in 4wd besides being on the trails anyways?

 

x2. that's the only issue i can see. Try to send a pm to Scuba. I believe in his writeup he mentioned he has a front lockrite or an aussie.

 

we better see a post that you have bought it already. you will not regret it.

 

tell you what, if you dont buy it, send his number my way.

 

do it, hands down the best 100 bux you'll ever spend. I bought mine for 150 with the diff. no remorse. plus if you dont like it, def a market to sell it

 

if it were me, id do it. im open/open though to haha. since you dont have snow then id assume you dont drive on the pavement in 4wd. so youll be good to go with lots-o-traction

 

heck, for $100 id buy it and i go to school where we got 10 feet of snow in 24 hours a couple years back!

 

I know it's not gonna be an issue for him but aren't front lockers a bad idea in the snow?

 

Snow has good traction. It's ice that doesn't...

Ppl say "Well on ice nothing has traction" but if one wheel spins out, at least you have one wheel holding what it can of you on the ice...

No can do with a locker...


This why selectables are king. It's why you don't lock them on ice and if they were locked you would be even more prone to lose traction.

 

Thanks for the input everyone, I appreciate it...

No, front lockers NOT a good idea in snow and ice country. Steering and handling become very unpredictable and while one can adapt--drive slower, smoother, etc., it is not fun. And certainly if anyone else drives your vehicle, not good.

I ended up passing on this as it turns out there were a couple of parts missing . I am considering, once the rear is locked, getting an Aussie for the front, $249 plus shipping is not That far off $100 for a used, less-dependable, no-longer-made unit with parts missing.

...but if there were not parts missing I proabably would have taken the chance...