I Leak Oil
Expedition Leader
Huh...Didn't know they made them! Learn something new everyday! I assume these aren't very common?
Air Lockers vs. electric lockers vs. Cable lockers
- Thread starter traveldud
- Start date
toylandcruiser
Expedition Leader
More common in Australia. You can find them. On mud they are for sale every once in awhile. Like I said you can also throw in the 3rd from an 80 in a 60 and have electronic lockers. Just get a 69 full float or an 80 axle
Aren't the rears in an 80 coil spring? I take you mean get a complete axle from an 80 or 69 full float as the differntial splines to axle shaft may/are different? Correct?
My vote is for electric, however I need to clarify that I don’t use my trucks for much if any off roading. My old 1998 Chevy had a G80 locker from the factory, after the second one exploded and required a full rebuild I upgraded to an Eaton E-Locker. I selected a locker over a limited slip because in the winter time I would rather have an open differential to help with stability. Additionally my Chevy is 2wd so I have no choice but to put all the power through the rear wheels, all the time. Thus I did not want a limited slip causing me to loose traction on both rear wheels at the same time. The locker on the Chevy is used most when I am stuck, or nearly stuck due to snowy and icy roads. After 5 years with the locker it has been the single best upgrade I have made to the truck and I will likely install a rear locker in every truck I own in the future. However I should point out that when locked up the truck can be nearly uncontrollable on snowy roads, and completely uncontrollable on icy roads. It is no substitute for 4x4/4wd or good winter tires but at the time it was a boat load cheaper than selling the truck and buying a 4x4.
The Eaton is very quick and easy to engage but it is important to understand how it works so that you do not trash it before it locks. Once you press the button the driveshaft/pinion needs to rotate forwards or backwards to allow the ball ramp system to work. Additionally the wheels may require up to 1/6th of a rotation of differential action before the locking pins engage the spider gears. As a result you should not simply press the button and hammer on the gas. If you have already lost traction all you need to do is press the button and slowly ease into the throttle. If both wheels are in a low traction condition you will feel no perception of lock up. If one wheel is on good traction and the other is not, you will hear and feel the lock up. Once you feel the lock up you can use the throttle in any manner you see fit. If both wheels are on good traction a slight wave/turn may be required to obtain the 1/6th of a rotation of deferential before the locking pins will engage. The diff will not unlock until there is no torque on the spider gears, so if you hit the unlock button in the middle of a turn it will not unlock until you drive in a straight line with low or no throttle input. The one concern I have with the Eaton E-Locker is that theoretically it unlocks and relocks when you change between forwards and reverse. As a result I do not do any sudden direction changes while attempting to get unstuck. However after 5 years of use it works as good as the day I installed it.
My new truck is a 2013 F150 FX4 with a factory electronic locker. I have no idea how it works but as there is no solenoid/motor on the housing I am assuming that it is an Eaton E-Locker. It is just as uncontrollable when locked in the winter as my Chevy, so I don’t advise driving on the road with a locker of any form if snowy/icy roads are a part of your winter.
I do believe that the ARB is a better design as far as strength and durability is concerned. However the Eaton wins hands down for ease of installation as it does not require an air compressor. Additionally to install the ARB in a 9.5” semi floating GM 14 bolt rear end, you need to cut a notch in one of the bearing caps to clear the air line. I am personally not a fan of this, to the point that it was the single biggest reason why I chose the Eaton over the ARB. Additionally as the winters in my part of the Great White North are long and cold I did not want to deal with the possibility of water/ice forming in an air system when it is -40C or colder.Lots of great ideas and comments here. I have vehicles with ARB Air-lockers/E-Lockers. In my opinion I prefer the air lockers over the e-lockers and here is why. Last year I was in Moab Utah on a trail called Hell's Revenge. About 3/4 of the way into it I snapped the left half shaft on an obstacle (Whole other thread topic). With the front air locker I was able to limp out in 3 wheel drive without assistance from anyone else in the group. If I had e-lockers, I would not have been able to engage the front locker. The other thing I like about the air style locker is I can select them in 2 wd for the rear if I'm in sand and going a bit faster than normal 4wd. Some e-lockers will not allow you to engage the rear locker unless you are in 4wd and will not allow you to engage the front locker unless you are in 4l. With the air lockers I can engage them in any combination which suits my off road needs. There are times I just want to lock my front diff for an obstacle but leave the rear diff open for instance on a tight turn through rocks once I get lined up for the obstacle. I don't have a beef against the e-lockers but this is rather my opinion alone. Yes the air lockers do require onboard air or a tank but I have that anyway to air back up at the end of a trail so it's pulling double duty which is a plus. I have no opinion of a cable style locker like Ox because I have never used them. As with anything there are going to be distinct pro's and cons and the cons seem to manifest themselves in the worst possible situations but that's why many of us are getting out there and doing these things rather than sitting around watching the grass grow.
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MOguy
Explorer
I have had my ARBs since 2001. I have had to replace one brass nipple and part of one line and tighten the tank once. Total time for repairs is less than 15 minutes. 15 minutes of maintenance in about 15 years not bad. I have ran with people who have the Ox lockers and sometimes they have had to struggle a little with the cable, not more than a minute or two though. ARB has been around for a long time
I would choose the installer based on reputation and then go with what they recommend, at least between the ARB and the OX. I haven't known anybody that has run any other type of selectable locker.
I would choose the installer based on reputation and then go with what they recommend, at least between the ARB and the OX. I haven't known anybody that has run any other type of selectable locker.
I Leak Oil
Expedition Leader
You're referring to factory type systems. I believe there are documented methods of changing this and of course you could always just rewire. No different than if you were to install an aftermarket (like Eaton) system, just need 12 Volts.
gwittman
Adventurer
My Ford Ranger came from the factory with a rear Torsen differential. I wanted to install a front selectable locker but couldn't find one. It looked like Ox had one for the Ranger but it ended up being an error in their catalog. I talked with them in detail to see if I could adapt one of their systems and it looked like one might work and I was going with a cable selector. I would have to make my own differential cover or at least modify one and do some frame modification. I have that capability but I then found out Torsen had their system for my front differential. I elected to go that route and am not sorry I made that decision. It has worked very well for me.
I still like the idea of a selectable locker though.
I still like the idea of a selectable locker though.
Yes you are right, I probably left it out of my post but I was referring to the e-locker I'm currently running in my Rubicon. Thanks for pointing that out and adding this to the discussion!
mowerman
Adventurer
Indeed,my mate modded his 80 and 70 series by changing the wiring so he can do this.
I'm not sure but I think it involved isolating the part of the switch that required 4L to be selected. It wasn't hard and didn't take long to do
Cascadian_Matt
Observer
My biggest concern with the e-lockers is the lack of locking force. The magnet and solenoid are only able to exert a few lbs/inch of force. That's why they can be so finicky about locking and unlocking. Worst case scenario is a tight switch back that you need to quickly be engaging/disengaging as to climb and turn. A situation where an e-locker needs that roll or few feet to pop open before you can turn those front wheels... would be frustrating to say the least.