Well... I was talking with my friend who has a Jeep XJ... he wants to run a lockrite in the front of his jeep with live hubs... It also runs a forum of vacuum controled ADD for the pass side axle... There are many companies that offer a cable to change it from vacuum to manual control on his XJ... so running a lockrite, he could now lock and unlock the pass side wheel as needed... making it somewhat selectable

SOOOO... Im sure most of you who have figured out where my brain went.... What about installing a lockrite in a front ADD diff, and rather than the switch for the ADD actuator coming from the T-case, it comes from a switch on the dash.... this would allow you to have 1 front tire spinning ( yes, powering only one wheel will give you torque steer in 4x4, but thats the price you pay for beeing a poor man who wants a front locker) with the option of powering the second wheel ( only when stoped ) at the push of a button.....

I know I am not re-inventing the wheel here, but this would allow you to "lock one hub" without having to spend $$$ on the manual locking hub upgrade.... this is where I was going with that other thread Sonny....

Ideas???

Cheers
Bob

 

That should work, wouldn't be hard to do really.
Good idea, never crossed my mind actually. The truck might pull to one side when one front wheel is driving and you hit the gas.

 

I've heard of that Posi-lock thing you're talkin about....seems like that could work, but I thought it replaced the add altogether, and you just pull a cable to engage the front axles. I would be willing to bet that it would be kinda time consuming and could end up costing not much less than an ARB. I think that Detroit Tru-track is the best bet for IFS diffs if you can't/won't go ARB.

 

I was thinking rewiring the add so it is not activated by the transfer case, but by a seperate switch. When you then engage the transfer without turning on the switch the locking front diff will drive just the drivers side wheel. The passenger side is disconnected by the add. The add is controlled by (I think) two vacuum solenoids or whatever they are officially called. The essentially put vacuum on one or the other side of the add diff, moving it in both directions.

 

interesting concept bob..i like what i hear so far. kinda makes sense though..surprised nobodys thought of it before (or maybe they have..?) how feasible is this?

 

I misread the usernames, there are two different bobs in this thread

I pretty much echoed Mr Bob 's post.

Sorry

 

Hey Bob... the XJ ends up with a cable... the Runner would not... it would still use the stock vacuum actuators and such to make this all happen, just a new switch to do it all with... the great part is, you end up spending 300ish (canadian) for the locker, and 20ish(canadian) on a switch, some wire and the connectors required... thats a HECK of alot less than any ARB I have ever seen... Also too a lunch box locker will not replace the ADD components...

Arjan, I know for fact it will pull in 4x4 with only the one side locked... it is somthing that will have to be lived with... but as I said, its what you get for being a poor man wanting a front locker.. I am running an Aussie locker in the front of my bronco with manual hubs... I have tried only locking 1... it works OK.... but it does torque steer.... I really dont notice any difference off road in the turning factor with the locker installed and both hubs locked, but where I get concerned is icy/snowy roads....

I have not read anything about this anywhere Sonny... we can call it the "Bob locker mod" HAHAHAHAHAHA.... it would be easy to do in fact... I am interested enough that I am willing to do more reading and see what this mod will take....

I will keep updating this thread!!!

Cheers
Bob

 

This mod might be a great addition to those who have done the 7.5" Supra LSD swap. Seems like a good way to unlock a front wheel while turning a corner in snow, for those of us who have a 4x4 just to get around (on the road) in the winter.

 

ok, I got it now. Seems to me that the pulling to one side would be pretty strong....maybe thats got something to do with it being unheard of?

 

It really isn't uncommon practice to do it with manual locking hubs, those guys (& gals) will also have the pulling. It's a trade off for the extra traction you get in sticky situations.

 

Well, I did a little more digging... mostly into the jeep world of things... I was looking to see how common it was.... and it seems that it is fairly common with really good results.... I am now interested to see if this would work...

Cheers
Bob

 

I just took a look under the hood and noticed that the vacuum lines from the diff go to two solenoids right between the oil filler cap and the fusebox.
The wires from the solenoids go back into the cab. I am 95% sure that the one solenoid is engaged when the axle is unlocked, and the other when engaged. There is probably a relay under the dash that switches between the two. If you put a switch in the wire which engages the relay then you've got it beat.
To complete the install I would pick up the wires coming from the front diff and cut them in the cab. The ones coming from the harnass can then be shorted out so the 4x4 light will come on as soon as you engage 4wd. The wires coming from the diff can be used to turn on a light so you know the front axle is engaged.

Just some brain storming here, but it looks quite simple to me. I wish I had a proper diagram of the system, that would make things a bit easier to find under the dash.

 

When I go to work tomorrow I can pull up the info on alldata.... Im not too sure there the relay would be.... the switch is in the T case, so Im not sure that it would be under the dash... I would expect it would be under the hood.... none the less I will see what alldata says....

Are you currently running a front locker arjan????

 

ive got some haynes & chilton manuals here..i could scan some location/wiring diagrams if need be & post up if ya wanna see...

 

If you could Sonny that would help the people who dont have access to alldata or mitchel on demand....

 

k lemme see what ive got and scan whatever i think will help..

 

k well there are some pics up here . the wiring diagrams though are for a T100. the taco 3.4L diagrams didnt have anything that had ADD on it *shrug*. maybe (hopefully) they all share the same relays/switches/solenoids etc.

pretty much all i could find in the chiltons & haynes... i aint payin no stinkin 2 hundred bucks for some FSM's...

 

Well... looks easy enough!!!

 

There's a member here that has the wiring diagrams for a 96 4Runner in his signature. His user name is Tragic Drive. Search for him in the member's list, the PDF of the Toyota Electrical Manual is in his sig.

Its password protected, send him a PM and he'll give it to you.

I hope this will help.

 

Hey Richard thanks for the heads up!!!!

I should have posted this in the BC section!!!! hehehe.... all of us guys in BC must be the only poor people out there wanting a selectable front locker....

AND.... hehehe... I was explainging to my wife my whole theory yesterday before I posted it here.... she told me I was smart .... hehehe... I guess she has to.... but anyhow she told me I should try it and see if it works... I may just have to now....