E Locker Axle Swap Questions

Appreciate that. I have the factory limited slip housing on the shop floor. That one will supports the 8.4” correct? Just have to get the beefier 3rd member?

 

There never was a limited slip option in 1st gen Tacomas. 1st Gen Tundras had that as an option. Tacomas only had 8.0" E Locker rears, or 8.4" Open (non-lockable) rears.

 

That makes more sense now because I had it backwards. Well now I can build out the “open” diff with all new components for when I demolish this e locker. Thank you sir for the clarification.

 

Good plan. But honestly I think you'll find it hard to break even the 8.0, they're still damn close to bulletproof

 

Wow, that’s just for labor right? I didn’t realise it took that long to install it. It definitely doesn’t seem like a DIY-friendly install.

 

Yup, they said 3 hours of labor for the diff tear down and rebuild, 1 hour for diff removal and reinstall (into the truck), and 2 hours for wiring and function testing, for a total of 6 hours at just a hair over $200/hr.

It'd probably take me a week to bumble through lol

 

The Eaton comes with a switch. That switch is better than the OEM switch. It has a safety feature to avoid accidental activation.

I have 2 of those switches




And I will agree 100% Eaton is the way to go.
I have an Eaton in my front (stock) diff. And an Eaton in my 9.5 inch rear diff. (Custom built off a Land Cruiser 3rd)

 

Wow, that’s a pricey labor rate! I’m guessing you live out on the west coast.

Most shops around here are at around $120/hr.

 

Very cool. Do you think it's possible (and hopefully not that difficult), to wire in the Eaton locker switch in a way that the RR Diff Lock light on the dash illuminates when the locker is engaged?

 

Yea I'm in Prescott, AZ. Everything is pricey up here.

 

The Eaton switch illuminates when the locker is engaged. (just so you know).

I'm not sure if it can be wired in a way to make the dash light come on. I wasn't even interested in going down that rabbit hole lol

 

I just feel like it'd be cool for it to illuminate and therefore function just like OEM, but better. Kind of like restomod muscle cars that are on modern chassis (so they drive nice), but look mostly original.

I'll probably give that silly notion up, if it means to much extra work. But then again one bulb behind my dash flickers (which bugs the sh*t outta me), so it may become a while I'm in there kinda thing.

 

I'm sure you can but it would take some trial and error. Maybe you can splice a wire on the switch and run it to the cluster to illuminate the locker light. If it's that easy it would be awesome lol

 

It's not really trial and error. Many people have already done this. I posted a link to my thread that has the details to wire the dash light. You just need to send it 12v when the locker is engaged. Just find that wire on the eaton switch and tap it into the correct terminal at the combination meter.

 

I didn't bother to search how to do it but I'm glad it's as easy as how I guessed it was.

 

Then I'm definitely going to do that part too. That'll be the cherry on top for this mod

 

Would be nice if he posted the link. Looked for his "thread" but he posted a bunch of them over the years lol. I found one though.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/tiffany-the-taco.374490/page-5#post-14771682

Pretty sure this is it

 

This one looks easier.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...-be-used-with-air-locker.256460/#post-6224578

 

Agreed. Thanks for finding that. I'll be definitely doing that. I hope my '03 has the same open yellow pin controlling the diff light. I believe that was a '96 in that post. Lots of small electrical changes from '96-03