E LOCKER FOR 3rd gen?

Back to original question, if one had to get an E locker for the rear on a brand new tacoma sport, what would be best choice?

I live in Nome Alaska and people say since it gets so cold here the air lines won't function properly on the ARB locker.

 

Buy the Offroad

 

Ok, again, me like others want extended cab, v6, manual. Looks like only option is the sport...

 

You might want to check to see if a OR or Pro will fit, I think they come with a 8.75" rear end vs 8" for the limited. Maybe an Elocker from the 2nd gen? Either way, if i was gonna add a locker I'd go ARB

 

I have looked into this several times as well, and I like the idea of the Harrop E-Locker. Click here to see a thread about it. Not a lot of people running them but it seems to eliminate the hassle with air lines and such that you have with the ARB and engages better than the factory OEM E-Locker that comes on the Off-Road and Pro. Click here for some 3rd gen guys that have the Harrop.

 

Thanks those are some great threads. Sounds like a good locker. Probably only thing to change as others have mentioned might be to either put master switch, or push button style, instead of rocker switch.

You still need to stop, put in neutral, to engage right?

I guess just not entirely clear since it looks like Harrop doesn't exactly offer 2015+ Tacoma lockers... but that Mike's Custom Toys says they do?

 

One of the reasons I traded in my 2016 SR5 for a 2020 OR was because of the price of an aftermarket locker. The other reasons were the manual transmission and ATRAC. Although, I have no personal experience with other lockers, I can attest that the OEM locker can be finicky about engaging and disengaging. It’s best to lock it before you get stuck.

I have also done a number of experiments of the ATRAC vs ATRAC+locker and never found the locker helped anything. Most of these experiments involved mud and/or snow; not big ass rocks where wheels were leaving the ground. My thought for why this was the result is that the front axle has much more traction than the rear (in most cases) because of the uneven weight distribution. The truck is helpless unloaded in 2wd. A front locker might make a bigger difference.

 

No, it's fine to engage any diff lock at any speed as long as the two wheels are rotating the same speed. Don't engage at speed in a tight turn or while one wheel is slipping/spinning. And don't engage a front at speed when the ADD is disengaged.

 

Thanks didn't know that.

Thought I read before on the Toyota card thing that came with my 1998 that supposed to stop to engage/disengage, as well as only using <5 mph

 

huh?

 

Just poking around in here, separate idea, same concept.

I picked up a wrecked OR frame, from a manual, with both diffs and 4.30 gears. I'm going to throw those in my sport to re gear it, and get the bigger rear end at the same time. But it's got the e locker in it, I'm thinking of wiring it up to a factory style switch in the cab, my question is, anyone know what size relay I should use for that?

The cabs got some relays on it still, so I've probably got some factory options, or just grab any old relay. I've got some solder and don't mind the leg work.

Thanks boys.

 

The Toyota TRD e-locker on my 04 still works great to this day. I don't understand the hate around the TRD e-lockers, although it's well known that they don't work well after a number of years if you rarely use them. But that can be true about a lot of things.

The one thing the ARB has over the TRD e-locker is that it locks almost right away when you engage it. The TRD one sometimes takes a few seconds or a few feet of driving to line up. But I've rarely had that be an issue, I engage it before I need it not after.

And virtually everyone I've known with an ARB has had seal/air leaks or problems with the air lines at some point. They aren't perfect either

edit - sorry meant to quote the other guy but..meh. It was a 3 year old post anyway lol.

 

Unless your compressed has an issue, there are pro's and cons to all types.

 

The factory OR e-locker never sees 12 V when used on a 3rd gen.
The ECU provides less than 12V to the e-lock coil, with a lower voltage when the coil is locked and higher voltage when unlocked.

I have been recommending people step down the voltage to the coil by adding a resistor or PWM circuit, and a flyback diode. Will the e-locker be fine at 14V? I dont know.

Can dig up the other threads if you want to go down this path...

 

Thanks for that info, i tried doing a little searching, but didn't see any with exactly the info I was looking for aside from this thread, that was old, but had some recent activity.

So you're thinking no relay, but maybe a resistor?

 

Still need a relay, so switches dont have to carry ~10 amps

Take a look at this
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2017-e-locker.585669/

 

Cool, thanks a lot man. I'm not awefully familiar, and by that I mean not at all, with a flyback. So, I'll look into it. I have to truck aide harness too, so I can grab the plug, and run those two wires up to a relay. Then I'll just do my research with that info you sent to find out where to put the resistor and flyback in. I assume between the switch and the resistor, if i understand its to stop any spike from the switch on and off?

 

@AY_ARONTRD just had a Harrop e-locker installed in the front diff of his 2019, doesn't seem to be a version for the 8.75" rear diff the 3rd gen has. The 8" diff on some 3rd gens is supported.

 

Might as well regear also if you’re adding a locker. Two birds and you’re ready for 35” tires.

 

The flyback diode goes across the power leads to the lock solenoid to give the voltage spike somewhere to dissipate when the field crashes after removing power. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flyback_diode

I just did a couple data logs of the stock Toyota control to the solenoid. I'll get those pulled from the other laptop and you can see exactly what it gets.

IMO, the solenoid can handle 12V-14V all day no problem (I gleaned this opinion from documentation somewhere I think) but it's just not necessary to hammer it with that much continuously and waste all that power and generate all that heat.