Removing rear e-locker axle, electronics question.

I’m swapping to a non-locked axle for a little strength gain and an ARB, so I’m going to remove my e-locker rear as a complete assembly and list it up for sale. I’d like to sell it as a complete plug and play unit to make life easier on whomever buys it, BUT I have a question in regards to the wiring and electronics of it.

Truck is a 2003 TRD, with of course, factory e-locker.

If I remove the wiring harness and connected ECU’s will I be messing with other systems (4wd), do I actually remove any ECUs? Or is it an isolated system? I just want to make sure I don’t mess anything up, would hate to get my new rear axle in only to find out I screwed up my 4wd system or something lol.

I read a few threads on installs, and I should probably have been able to figure out an answer from there, but electronic stuff never fails to confuse the shit out of me, so I’m hoping someone with a better understanding can help answer my question. Thanks guru’s!

 

I'm kind of surprised that you would remove the E-locker axle and the electronics for it. It's a highly desired feature of the TRD package that were equipped on those trucks. What is the advantage of the ARB locker over the OEM E-locker that came with your truck?

 

ARB is much faster and more reliable.

Toyotas lockers even in 2020 are tempermental and take time to engage, and only engage in 4lo on 4x4 models.

I would take an air locker over elocker any day of the week. Hell I'd take LSD or lunchbox over elocker lol.

 

It's a standalone system with simple switches and lights, you could just disconnect it, tape it off and tuck the harness away incase you revert. It 100% wont affect the truck if removed.

 

Out of curiosity to those of you who have either the ARB air locker/air compressor or the Harrop-Eaton E-locker, which is the better rear locker set up?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nYZo--7Xh4&list=LLWAGH5vuD6AzPojLxIHMG-g&index=3375

I went Harrop when the plan was an 8.4. I went ARB when I went 9" because there's no e-locking counterpart, but either one if installed and properly maintained should never really give you issues.

 

I am going to be re-gearing for my 37’s so I’ll be in the differentials already, and, as @Bishop84 mentioned, the engagement of the e-locker leaves much to be desired. Might as well upgrade what I can while I’m in there.

I will have on board air, and going with an ARB in the front, so I got to thinking it’d be nice to have two solid, reliable lockers that engage on command, so I did a little digging on how to do that.

The e-locker pumpkin doesn’t accept an ARB, the easy route would have been to keep my axle and switch to a v6 pumpkin out of an older pickup. The issue with going that route is that it would kind of a be a “lateral” upgrade, ie. I’d only be gaining on the properties of the locker, and the e-locker is actually a pretty stout unit, so to me, the cost to find the pumpkin and do all that wasn’t going to be worth it for just the ARB.

The non-locking rear differential however is substantially stronger than the e-locker differential (the non-locking 8.4 has a larger ring gear, and girdles that connect the bearing caps), so now instead of just gaining on the locker, I’m also gaining strength in the diff. This makes the upgrade worth it to me.

I plan on wheeling my rig pretty hard, so I’d like to take the IFS/Toyota axle setup as far as I can, reliably, before I have to SAS. Ideally I’ll be able to set this thing up to wheel on 37s and keep it comfortable enough for DD’ing and long adventures and be able to do the majority of any trails I come across. I have another frame and burnt cab waiting for me in the mountains to turn into a dedicated, sas’d, truggee

@Bishop84 Thanks for the response on the question man

 

Go with arb dual compressor for sure - the performance is more than double that of the single if you’re going ARB. There’s a nice spot for it if you don’t have a full exhaust under the bed so you don’t have everything crammed up in the engine bay. It requires taking the bed off while fabbing it, but fits nice for sure and the intake could be run up between the cab and the bed or into the cab.

 

have the dual sitting in my shed ready to go in definitely gonna look into that spot, have to pull the bed for fuel pump upgrade for the supercharger anyways. Did you route the compressors’ intake up higher?

 

Yeah since I removed my bedsides to put fiberglass ones I can run it up under the bedsides and under the fiberglass “bed rail” through a spot up by the passenger side top corner it will fit through. Stock bedsides could still work with some light modding for sure.