Diff Lock ?

So this may be a dumb question but please humor me. Why is the differential locker on the rear? It seems to me the locker should be on the front where the most weight, and subsequently the most traction. Maybe I don't completely understand how 4wd works but here goes. With open differentials, the easiest to spin tire in the rear gets traction, and the easiest to spin in the front gets traction. Would make more sense to me to have both tires in the front get traction with a locker. Or, in 4wd is the front not acting like an open differential anymore? Thanks for the help.

 

Locker comes on TRD Off Road, not all TRD Off Road models have 4wd, thus from the factory the locker comes on the rear. Just cuz the factory doesn't install that way doesnt mean you cant

 

Also with a locked front end it's harder to turn the truck and really a locker in the front and not the rear would not be the greatest setup locked front & rear nice but Toyota didn't do that.

And honestly you would need to be wheeling hard to even need a front locker I have made some pretty extreme lines open in the front.

 

The locker is most useful when climbing steep, rough trails... Going uphill, the center of gravity shifts towards the rear. Having the locker on the rear would be my first choice if it wasn't already provided.

Naturally, the 2WD Off Road TRDs don't have a front differential, so those only could be on the rear... the drive wheels.

Just to clear up the OP's statement in the first post... traction happens when the tires are NOT spinning, when they actually move the truck. When one tire looses traction it spins (gets the 'power'). A locker divides the power equally across the axle, both tires must turn at the same rate so a better chance of moving you if one of the two tires is on firmer ground. If both are in the air or in slime, both will spin the same... as they would with an open differential if the amount of traction is equal.

The fact that engine weight is in the front reduces the need for a front locker over a rear locker... That weight helps both front tires to have more traction.

One thing for sure, having at least one locker makes a big difference in traction and driving ability. The 2009+ Off Road 4WD Tacomas have Active Traction Control which is a much stronger limited slip (really a non-slip) system than TRAC or ALSD. Because it functions on all 4 tires you will have the kind of traction that only otherwise come from front and rear lockers.

 

Thanks everyone for the replies. Makes sense.