melkor

what is a spool/mini spool?

are they more beneficial than lockers? what is different about them?

X-AWDriver

I sold my lockerless '97 for a lockable '99..........plus I got the scoop.

Climbing uneven trails was noticeably easier with the rear locked.

melkor

what is the benefit of a detroit locker? when they say "automatic locking" does that mean that it only turns on when your tires slip? or what? why are they different from, say, aussie lockers?

melkor

what if i were to install detroits front and rear in my 82? would there be a noticeable difference in daily driving? i read somewhere that they unlock and lock automatically, so if you have any experience with detroits then please let me know what you think.

X-AWDriver

From my understanding is with the automatics is they can lock if they detect slippage even on pavement which isn't good on a daily driver. I like a switch with mine.

AxleIke

Detriots, like other automatic lockers, disengage when no power is applied. If you coast through corners, it should disengage and ratchet. If you power through a corner, it will lock. As said, you have to learn to drive with it. The front is fine if you don't ever drive in snow or ice conditions.

Personally, I'd never put anything but selectable in mine. Others seem okay with the lunchbox and automatic types.

BigBluePile

iTrader: (3)

It's hard to give you a realistic answer when we have no idea what you are building. That ARB video is a great example about where your traction goes. For all we know, you want tank tracks and fluffy dice on your rear view mirror. So, here's this(I'm sure going to miss some):

Selectable Lockers(ie: electic, cable or air actuated):
-ARB(on or off) engages with air
-OX(on or off) engages with cable
-Toyota(on or off) engages electrically, but can be converted to cable
-Auborn(on or off, but is a posi/limited slip) engages electrically
-Eaton(on or off) engages electrically
**These can be pricey(again have NO idea what your budget is )
**These can be ran front or rear.

Lockers(run locked up 100% under torque, "ratchet" around corners during coast):
-Detroit
-Aussie
-Powertrac
-Quickloc
**Can be cheaper, but are squirrelly if you don't know how to drive with them. Can be noisy engaging/disengaging. Ultimate traction, it's there when you need it. Wouldn't recommend these up front on a daily driver.

Posi/Limited Slips(provide "biased" torque transfer to underpowered wheel):
-Detoit TrueTrac
-Eaton
-Auborn
**Some posi's require special lubricants with the regular gear oil. Work great up front, especially for a daily driver. Again, it's the power is there when you need it. Watch the tire size. Some posi's are good for mild off road and street applications.

Spools/mini spools(full spools replace your carrier, mini's just replace the spider gears):
-Genuine Gear
**Do not use these for your Daily Driver, seriously!! These are all traction all the time, no ratchet or smooth transfer. You can get these cheap!

Welded spiders(Those are the little gear inside your diff that allow your wheels to spin at different speeds during turns)
-Anybody(if you have a buddy with a welder)
**Do not do this for your Daily Driver, seriously!! This is all traction all the time, no ratchet or smooth transfer. You can get this even cheaper!

I hope this helps you to help us to help you... Please add or take away from what I posted. Traction aids are deffinately one part of the puzzle to get your rig how you want it.

AxleIke

To add, eaton, and ox are not available for toyota axles. AFAIK, neither is Auborn.

bob200587

I was in this situation...well I guess I still am since I haven't bought lockers yet.

The E-locker in my opinion would be better because you don't have to deal with an air supply. However, you can only get it for the 8" diff....so if you have IFS, you are out of luck to run 2. If you want to run a limited slip up front, then it would be a good choice. Otherwise you're going to have to get a compressor and an ARB for the front.

My point being, you'll have to get a compressor and 1 ARB to F/R selectable lock, with an E-locker in the rear, so why not just get 2 ARB's and save the time and modification to the axle housing that the E-locker retrofit requires?

I personally would never put anything but selectable lockers, or Limited slips in anything I drove on the street. You won't save in the long run with all the tires you'll go through.

Djlarroc

Thanks Bob, well I like the idea of the e-locker even if it is just the rear. How much more (if you know) would it cost to do f/r arb's vs. rear e-locker? Best bang for the buck!?

AxleIke

It will cost significantly more to do the ARB's

If you did your own install on the ARB's, you are looking at 700 for both lockers, 150 for a mini compressor, and 100 for a couple bearings, some seals, etc...

Elockers usually go for 4-500 dollars. 100 or so to refurbish, then modify the housing. 40 for a harness. MUCH cheaper.

bob200587

But wouldn't you agree that if you're going to do 2 selectable lockers, that ARB would be the way to go.

Also, once you modify the housing to accept the e-locker, you won't be able to put a stock one back in. Not that anyone would ever want to.....

tc

Running the air vs electric to actuate the locker is a wash IMHO.

The compressor is a HELLUVA lot easier to protect and cheaper than the elocker actuator.

The elocker is nice in that it can be actuated by hand if something happens.

If you find an elocker third used, it's probably cheaper.

If you have IFS and need a selectable in front, ARB is the only way to go.

bob200587

if you're just gonna do the rear, yes the elocker will be cheaper. but, if it's got different gears that what you want, you'll have to change them, or change the front's.

The reason I am waiting to get lockers is so I can do it all at once. 2 sets of gears, 2 lockers. It will save quite a bit on install costs. If you're doing it yourself it's irrelevant, at least for monetary cost.

Think about what you want for the final result, even if that's years down the road. And build according to that model. Not what seems like the best for right now. You'll save yourself from having to do things over.

I wish I'd know that when I bought My AAL's it would have saved me almost 200 bucks.

AxleIke

Bob is doing it the best way. do it once, do it right.

I love my ARB's. They actuate and disengage faster than the electric, and they are friggin tough. No electric motor to foul.

He just asked about price. A used electric locker is a lot cheaper money wise than an ARB. There are other tradeoffs, like modifying the housing, but it's not that big a deal.

d0ubledown

put in elocker front and rear and be done with it. finding matching ratios will eliminate the need for regearing and install kits etc. you wont notice they're there until you end up needing them.

you may pay a bit more at first...but at least you'll only pay once.

Djlarroc

Thanks! I appreciate the honesty and tips. From all I've read, it's apparent there are a lot of mistakes one can make that will cost money/time to redo. I'm hoping to learn from that and do it right the 1st time.
Well I agree and I know it's tough to decipher know, but I'm trying to find out how much wheeling am I really gona do? I already have a set of 4.88's I bought, and was thinking of an Aussie/Lockrite, but after researching more I agree a selectable is the way to go. I guess I need to research the e-lockers more now as I think a rear e-locker is what I'm going to do (so far). I don't mean to have hijacked, but I'm sure Melkor is learning from my questions as well. Thanks

tc

Just to be clear, even though it's mentioned above

AN ELOCKER WON'T GO IN AN IFS DIFF only "pretaco" solid axle diffs.

BigBluePile

iTrader: (3)

Well they should be...and they're just examples.

Besides, if you find a junkyard Yota elocker and convert it to cable...bam works like an ox locker.

AxleIke

I agree...They need to get on that.