which locking rear Differential for 4x4?

Hey guys im new to the forum. Just picked up a 1999 Tacoma 5spd 4x4 with the 5vz-fe. I would have liked to get a Trd 4x4 but for the price i got mine for i couldn't pass it up. so i would like to install a rear locking differential in it ASAP. was wondering which Diff i should go with and why?
i was looking at the ARB, pretty pricey but seems like a very solid unit. let me know what you guys are using in your 1st gen. thanks for any input.

 

If you aren't in an area where it snows frequently, I would suggest the Powertrax no slip. It's street friendly, no popping or ratcheting noises. I've been using one in my prerunner for many years.

 

thanks for the suggestion, i am only using it on dry hard pack and Muddy conditions. ill check out the powertrax

 

I wouldn't use a locker on dry hard pack ground.

I would recommend momentum when it comes to mud; you've got a 4x4 so you're plenty capable.

Just get some quality tires.

 

Works excellent for those conditions.
You can install it yourself as there is no backlash adjustments.

It's a fun project and has absolutely increased the level of confidence of my prerunner. I've gone places that I dare never went when it was open rear diff.

I understand you are 4x4. Essentially it will give you "3 wheel drive" while in 4x4 mode.
Locked in the rear and either left or front up front.
It's a great unit.

 

For actual selectable aftermarket lockers you have only 2 options really...ARB or Harrop. ARB makes air lockers and Harrop makes an e-locker. Side benefit to the ARB locker is you now have onboard air you can use to air up your tires. E-lockers you don't have to worry about leaking seals and air lines though.

Other option for a selectable one would be to swap in a TRD e-locker axle and wiring harness. Because the TRD e-lockers only fit the 8" axles, you can't just install the TRD e locker (your axle is 8.4" so it wouldn't fit). You'd have to swap the entire axle.

Then there are a variety of non-selectable locker options like lunchbox lockers...Locktite, Spartan, etc. Some are better than others for daily driving and road conditions. Really just depends on what you want and what your budget is

 

I've been running a full locker for almost 8 years, no issues. It's not like the front where you're turning and get binding.

 

Didn't "Ox lockers" finally jump on the 8.4 wagon? I havnt looked at their site in a while.

 

They might have, been a long time since I've looked into auto lockers. I had a truck with a lunchbox locker in my old '99 Prerunner, it worked great but you had to be extra mindful of road conditions if the roads were slick. On the trail though it worked great.

 

Good to know. are there any benefits to the a push button locker over limited slip? i was also looking at the "True Trac" LS made by Eaton.

 

A limited slip is not an auto locker, a limited slip only sends partial power to the wheel with less traction as opposed to a locker which splits power equally 50/50 to both wheels. Lockers are far better for offroad than limited slips, limited slips are much better for street traction than lockers...which is why they are much more common on cars. Auto lockers and limited slips are two different things.

A limited slip is still better offroad than an open differential, but a locker will outperform a limited slip on the trail.

 

If you're trying to decide between a selectable push button locker and an auto locker, I will always recommend a selectable one over the auto ones. The only benefit to the auto lockers is that they are much more affordable. If you had a dedicated trail rig then it would make sense to go that route and not spend the extra money on selectable. But for a truck that sees daily street driving as well, nothing beats having a locker than you can turn on/off with the press of a button.

If having better street traction is more important than better offroad traction, then I would suggest looking at limited slips instead of lockers.

 

My truck will be my daily driver but i will be doing a lot trail driving. i like the push button feature so will most likely be going with the air locker. plus like you said i would have a air compressor onboard if i went that route.

 

ARB is a solid choice, it's the most common aftermarket selectable locker for our trucks. I only know of a few people with e-lockers that aren't TRD ones, usually it's ARB instead.

 

is the E locker or ARB generally more reliable?

 

hard to say. Both work great and both have reported issues. With e-lockers you have wiring to worry about, with air lockers you have air lines and seals to worry about. I've seen/heard a lot of stories of leaky ARB lines but then again, there are a lot more people with ARB lockers out there than Harrop e-lockers, so of course you'll hear about more issues with them.

The TRD e-lockers are great IMO, I know some people have trouble with the actuators or wiring harnesses on theirs but mine has never given me any trouble. It's hard to say one is better than the other but I think overall you can't go wrong with either one. With the ARB you get onboard air so that's one extra perk for ARB.

 

I have an e locker in the rear and ARB in the front. The front ARB seems to unlock and lock quicker. My truck didn't have a rear locker and I went to the effort of swapping in the e locker and I've wondered why I didn't just go with ARB in the rear as well

 

no more welded diff? Or is that what you replaced recently?

 

I swapped the entire rear axle out from the factory 8.4" that was welded to a full-float Diamond housing that uses the Toyota e locker third member and Dana 44 spindles, hubs, and disc brakes

 

that's one thing I didn't mention in my above posts...people that have experienced both the TRD e lockers and ARB air lockers seem to say the ARB is more instantly on/off. The TRD does sometimes take a few seconds or few feet of driving to engage. Never really been an issue for me, but I'm one of those people that keeps the rear locker on most of the time if I'm doing a harder trail. I could see it being annoying if you needed it locked right away and it won't do it.

I don't know if the Harrop e locker is like that or not