Nitro Hotpants

well i have been thinking lately, and i was wondering...
would it be better for me to get a new rear axle with the electric locker and 4.56 gears? cuz the way i see it is getting a locker and gears is just not in the budget right now, i have the money for either one or the other. this may sound stupid, i know, but would anyone possibly have an idea on a price for a new axle w/ electric locker from the dealer? or perhaps maybe even a used one?
again, if this is a stupid question then im sorry but i just got to thinking and sometimes that can be dangerous

thanx for any input

-Casey

Beowulf

Do you off road a lot? I'm just asking because in your sig line you mention you have a 2 wheel drive vehicle. A locker would help a little, but being 2WD it is still not going to get you places that a 4WD would take you. My point is that IMO it is not worth the money to install a locker in a 2WD vehicle. But if you are dead set on one, then I would peruise the local junkyards or ebay for an entire 3rd member and install it that way. Getting a whole new axle, gears and a locker from the dealer would be big $$$. And I believe if you use your current one that you will need to make modifications to the housing in order to fit the locker in it and that can cost up to $200 itself. It may actually be cheaper to go ARB and then you will have the added benefit of on board air.

Check Inchworm Gear for prices on Toyota e-lockers with gears.

Cheers

Nitro Hotpants

thanx Beowulf,
ur right, since i am only 2WD it prolly wouldnt be a very good idea. i really like off-roading but i find it such a let down when i am only 2wd and i realize that there are not many places i can go. so i was just thinking a locker would help, but maybe its not worth the money at all.
i wish i were 4wd but since my dad was kind enough to give me the runner when he had it all paid off, i have no want, or room to complain. (however i did at least pay for all my mods myself )

-Casey

Beowulf

You have a great list of mods done to your truck and IMO you have built it up quite admirably. And I wouldn't complain either if my parents gave me a nice 4Runner

Have you ever thought about going another direction with your truck? Say desert prerunner stlye? Living here in Southern CA I am torn as what I like better 4X4 or high speed desert running. I have to admit as much as I like a trail crawling it is a lot of fun to haul ass in the desert! And where we live is So. CA it is a pretty good environment for that type of off-roading as there are lots of deserts to go and play in

A buddy of mine has a nicely built Ford prerunner with a long travel suspension and it is a blast to haul ass through the desert with him (and it is only 2WD). I feel pretty confident that a 2WD 4Runner would be a blast as a prerunner as well. In fact that is where the 4Runner actually gets its name from. And I have seen quite a few 4Runners that have gone in that direction.

You have probably seen this pic before, but IMO it is one of the best examples of a 2WD 4Runner that is set up for high speed trail running:



Just a thought ...

Cheers

Nitro Hotpants

Beowulf,
ya know, i never really thought of doing something like that. sounds like a very good idea. although i only have a 4cyl, once i regear, things will be a different story. the prerunner idea is a pretty good one, id say thats probably my best bet. thanx for the idea, i like it.
just for some input though...
would you suggest a locker for this application of wheeling? or should i just regear and keep it at that?
my friend also has a built ranger prerunner and he is really into prerunning too.

-Casey

Beowulf

Lockers are for slow trail type crawling, so I wouldn't recommend them for high speed running it wouldn't be of use in those situations so you could put the money towards something else. The problem with 2WD for heavy rock/trail crawling is even if you have the capabilities of locking the rear, you still don't have the extra traction needed to pull the front of your truck up a big rock. That's why I would say that even a stock 4WD with no lockers would still be better a slow trail crawiling than the best equipped 2WD.

That's the beauty if prerunning, any well equipped truck with a good suspension and tires being either 2WD or 4WD can go out and have a lot of fun, you don't need the extra traction required for crawling over big obstacles.

Robinhood150

I don' t know much about pre running, but don't the baja racers use lockers in their 2wds? How come the tacoma pre-runners come with a locker in the TRD package?

If you don't have the money to go with a locker (or you decide it's not worth it), then how about a LSD? You can even install it yourself.

Steve

Beowulf

Yes, what I should have mentioned is if you are going to do small circle tracks it could come in handy.

Some baja racers have lockers including the Tacoma Prerunner, where it is used to skid around corners like small circle tracks. I don't think you would actually be competeting in circle track races with a 4Runner

But my point is I am skeptical to the price performance ratio of putting the money towards other improvements like increasing wheel travel, etc. because it is not totally necessary to have it for prerunning, you can do well without one if you are just going to do open desert trails.

But for trail crawling you'll need the higher torque of the lower gears of 4WD to get you to the places that will require a locker.

I like your idea of LSD Robinhood150, this would be a nice improvement.

Nitro Hotpants

thanx for all your input guys. the LSD sounds like a good idea since i must now accept the fact that im not doing any slow trails

-Casey

Beowulf

Hey Casey, what type of Doetsch Tech's are you running in the rear of your truck? How do you like them?

Nitro Hotpants

Beowulf,
to tell you the truth, i dont know what the # on them is, i got them as like a package from Downey when i went to buy my rear springs. to be honest though, they are a very nice ride on the road, but they are a little too soft. on turns the body rolls a bit and i am probably going to relplace them with some bilsteins eventually. havent really tested them off road, but i would probably assume that they would be too soft off road as well.

-Casey