Tacoma Sport rear locker options 2.5 gen

Hello Tacoma gurus.
I have a 2013 Tacoma TRD sport. I hope your knowledge and expertise can guide me in the right direction. I am considering the following but am not sure if they are all compatible and/or recommended. I look forward to your opinions, knowledge, and feedback.

1. E locker from 2007 TRD OF 4Runner with cable conversion (I believe gear ratios are the same 3.73, but not positive if this would work (if compatible I would install e locker cable conversion kit))
2. ARB Air locker
3. Pre-built 3rd member Complete 3rd members, clamshells, and axles (eastcoastgearsupply.com)
4. Pre-built Diff from Marlin Crawler

I am afraid of ordering the incorrect gear ratio and size (8"/8.4"). Do the gear ratios need to match what I currently have? Should I go with different gearing for 33" tires? If I change the gear ratio in the rear, do I need to have the front diff rebuilt to match? Are there more budget friendly locker options for Tacoma sport?

I look forward to your advice and expertise.

Thank you in advance!

 

Option 3, ECGS is an awesome company with great customer service. I ordered the front and rear assemblies from them a couple of years ago and haven't had any issues. My Taco sport had 3.73's before I did the 4x4 conversion. Now running 4.56's on 35's.

 

Option 3 unless you have experience in gear set-up. The gear ratio for the front and rear must match. I prefer ARB air lockers for a few reasons. First, I've run them in various vehicles for around 35 years and they have proven to be reliable and strong units. They also sidestep a bearing issue in the front Tacoma diff. Don't worry about the 8/8.4 thing, just tell ECG what truck you have. People argue about ratios all the time. Before anyone can recommend a proper gear ratio, we need to know:

What priority do you place on city vs highway vs off road performance?
What size tires will you run?
What is the projected weight of your finished rig (take your best guess, then add 25%)?
Do you have a manual or auto?
Are you primarily a flatlander at low altitude or do you regularly climb mountains and hit higher altitudes?
Will you be towing with your rig?

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/oem-gear-ratio-chart.365138/

 

Yes

The real question to consider is why do you need a locker? Not saying you don't. It's just that many have lots of expensive stuff they don't really need.

Then re-read @badger post #3.

 

8.4” is stronger.

I have a set of F/R 4.10’s for cheap if anyone is interested

 

Option 3 for sure, easy company to work with, very cost effective options. I believe the sport has the 8.4" rear differential, and i strongly recommend re gearing the front/rear right now (4.56/4.88/5.29) for future tire size increases you will thank yourself. I have 33's and 4.88's run great for them, i was running 3.73 stockers and was constantly shifting at highway speeds.

 

I know a guy who only regeared his rear on a pickup. I wonder if that’s feasible. Said it’s fine to him because he only puts it in 4x4 off road where the ground is loose enough to slip. But that doesn’t account for grip on rocks. Either way his truck works fine with high miles.

As in to save money regear rear first for daily MPG/power then do the front later separately. Makes for less wrench time at home too going one at a time.

A minimum of one issue I can see with this is how the 2g taco owners manual I believe recommends you activate 4x4 up to 9 miles at least once per month to keep it operational, able/used to actually activating, and probably moving the gear oils around for lubrication.
Which probably most people don’t do anyway with issues from that seeming somewhat rare

 

Lots of stress on the drivetrain and a death trap on ice. The front axle will have to continually slip, or the rear axle drag. I don't believe for a minute that it "works fine".

 

Yeah that would be a nightmare. If you don’t shear teeth off the gears you will have some accelerated tire wear best case scenario.

 

It's a good question Bill, and do you need one or two lockers? I travel extensively offroad, and in every weather condition, most often alone. I have lower gears, front and rear lockers, and a twin stick FJ transfer case. This case allows me to use 2WD low range. I also have a winch. The truth is, I rarely ever use 4WD. I shift in and out of 2WD low range as needed 90% of the time. I learned to drive offroad in 2WD Volkswagens and developed that skill. Even rarer is my use of the lockers, and I pull winch line for myself maybe once a year. 90% of my winch use is for other people when I find them stuck.

The point is, all this capability does give you added security, especially traveling solo. It does help you over those tough spots that you encounter, and it can reduce strain on your truck in these situations; all legitimate reasons to spend the money. If you develop your driving skills and travel in groups, your need for these things goes way down.

While writing this it occurred to me that someone should create a catalog of fake overland/offroad gear that weighs little, looks realistic, and is cheap to buy. Fake Hi-lift jacks, winches, fuel cans, lights, Maxtrax, and all the rest. It would solve the most pressing problem of looking cool without breaking the bank, or overloading the rig..............Sorry for getting off into the weeds

 

And name the business Poseurs-R-Us ?

I agree about the need of gear and driving skill. As a cross country surveyor these things were a must to learn. We were a 3 man crew, but one truck. A '68 International Travel All, I6, 4spd single J stick, manual hubs and a PTO driven winch. Tires that looked 'military'.

My ex Marine DI boss won us several lunches betting field engineers (in similar trucks) I could drive further in 2wd than they could in 4wd.

Piles of fun. And yes, the winch was an occasional saviour. For us as well as others. I'd choose a good winch over lockers or a lift any day.

 

4.30 and a Detroit Truetrac if you're gonna stick with 33s and don't have much extra weight. It's not a true locker but it's great and a little cheaper. It's a torsen limited slip that's always working in the background. If you lift a tire it stops working but you can use the e brake a little and get you moving. You gotta do some research on it if you're interested. Got my setup from ecgs and it's been great.

 

I am more interested in off-road capability over pavement.
Currently running 33s no plans to go any larger in the future.
Automatic
Higher altitudes, lots of snow, mud and desert driving.
I have a 21' ski boat that I tow occasionally. I think it is around 3000lbs with trailer.

 

Given that I would go with 4.88 gears. You can still do 70 on the highway, but the 4.88s will really help off road, and in the other circumstances as well.

 

I really like the Eaton/Detroit TrueTrac that @crashnburn80 put on his truck before I bought it. (TRD OffRoad axle swapped for a Sport 3rd member and locker installed there).

 

Isn’t there a Yellow-wire mod or something for the Sport models that gives you a good combo with the TrueTrac?
With the OffRoad, I can just activate ATRAC and it will pulse the brake on the rear wheel with no traction and then cause the rear axle to lock back up.

 

@JasonLee curious what your experience with the supercharged tacoma and truetrac in city/highway driving in snow/ice or heavy rain? I've read conflicting opinions while shopping for it.

 

It's fun. I have extensive experience driving in the snow in FWD, AWD, RWD with auto/manuals. I don't notice any moments where the rear locks up on snow or puts me out of control, but I also know when to be gentle on the throttle and steering on the snow/ice and when to use 4x4 (even when "not needed").

Overall, I wouldn't change a thing with the setup, even though I no longer have the eLocker.

 

dont they use that type of diff in the Audi R8 now, which is meant for poor weather?

Any bad reviews is probably a guy in an otherwise stock truck taking a turn in RWD suddenly deciding to mash on the gas halfway through
which, if you don’t overdo, might even be fun