When to and when not to use the rear locker

New Tacoma owner here. Looking for others experience and situations when you used your rear locker. ALso, what situations and conditions (outside the manual explanation) should you not use the rear locker? Manual makes it sound like I will hurt it if I use it in the wrong conditions.

Thanks

Yamabiker

 

DO NOT have it engaged if you're on pavement and turning - whn you turn the outside wheels needs to faster than the inside wheel and you will bind / possible damage it.

DO use it to gain extra traction on slippery surfaces or if you're on some loose stuff (steep gravel hill, etc)

Wait until somebody with a brain stops by and reviews what I said before you heed it, LOL - I'm sure more will be added soon...

 

I don't wanna sound stupid or I'm not trying to make anyone appear stupid...

But - using the locker really requires you to have a really good understanding of 4WD in general. A good understanding of how 4WD acts/reacts in certain situations (and knowledge & experience of using 4 lo if you have it).

After you gain experience with 4WD (paticularly off-road) you can easily determine when to use the locker. It all goes hand-n-hand.

I wouldn't use the locker on the street at all unless you're on a boat ramp, stuck in a ditch, pulling someone out of a ditch, pulling trees stumps out of the ground, etc. General *work* where torque and traction is needed. Do not use the locker for daily driving.

For offroad - use it when you need traction. Use it to get yourself unstuck, etc. Don't use it for downhill descents.....

Use it for extreme hill climbs if you want.....but I'd try without it first.
Cuz ...if you're locked up going up an extreme hillclimb and that front end starts bouncing ..... those rear wheels are gonna drive your rear-end right out from under you. (ask me how I know)

 

Thanks for catching that! My brain was referring to going straight up a hill, but nowhere did I type that, LOL

 

This vid sucks, but it shows a common situation where a difflock would have gotten this dude out of there real easy. In the vid notice how the LF tire spins because it is free and in the air, what you cant see is that the opposite rear tire is doing the same thing, just spinning in the air; if he had a difflock the LR tire, that is not moving in the vid, would be moving just like the spinning one and he could have easily driven right through it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rmGklKw2g4&feature=related

 

yea pretty much what everyone said... you dont want to use it or engage it at a very fast speed either Which if its stock i guess you have to be in 4lo to use it at all. But anyways, a locker is really one of those things where you only want to use it when you find yourself in an "almost stuck" situation. And as soon as you get out of that situation, you should unlock it and go back to open diff. If i were you, i wouldnt be too worried about messing anything up with it though....if you follow the basic guidelines from here and the manual you will be fine.

Also, its normal to hear it make noise when its locked...like a ratcheting sound. If you havent used it before, dont freak out if it makes a few clicking noises when you give it a little gas.

 

Thanks all! How many magazines would I have to read to get this info. Time to go get myself some rear locker experience too.

Yamabiker

 

Yeah, play around with it, it's meant to be used.

 

i use mine when im romping my truck but... i drive in in a baja style application... i use the locker to allow me to slide around the turns better