Are 80 series factory diff lockers any good?

[Dave Loh]

Hi everyone, ‍
I’m looking into putting a factory diff lock in the rear of the 80. I’m told that they’re hard to come by but have managed to find one for $1500 (complete with housing/brakes/etc. so I was wondering three questions;
1. Are they any good??
2. How much traction (in comparison with an 80 series stock LSD) am I loosing while it’s in open wheel mode?
3. Is that a good price (Australian dollars)?

And obviously any tips when looking at it would be sweet as well because i’ve never had a locker in any of my cars before so i’m completely new to them.
Cheers!

 

[Chris]

Yes rear lockers are a fantastic piece of kit. All depends on your type of travel of course. A lot of the time, an LSD performs well, but they wear with miles of course. If you're prone to the deep stuff then rear lockers are a must. But, for simplicity, I'd consider an air locker.

 

[stumog]

If it was me i would keep the lsd (service it) and put the money into a front locker. That way you have a tripple locked cruiser for the price of one.

Lsd will kick in when its need so some occations are better then a locker if you forget to lock or dont think its needed

 

[Dave Loh]

Yes rear lockers are a fantastic piece of kit. All depends on your type of travel of course. A lot of the time, an LSD performs well, but they wear with miles of course. If you're prone to the deep stuff then rear lockers are a must. But, for simplicity, I'd consider an air locker.

Thanks Chris,
Yeah i’ve had a look at air lockers but with the amount of air leak stories i’ve heard and the price of them fitted i’m not too keen at the moment. The advantage of this one is that it’s in a diff housing already with all the bits on it so it’s just a matter of taking the old hiusing off and bolting the new one up.

 

[Dave Loh]

If it was me i would keep the lsd (service it) and put the money into a front locker. That way you have a tripple locked cruiser for the price of one.

Lsd will kick in when its need so some occations are better then a locker if you forget to lock or dont think its needed

Hi Stumog, I hadn’t thought of that option. What would you do to the LSD to get it up to spec? Are there aftermarket parts to make it work properly or any specific ways to do it? (80 aren’t known for their LSD’s )

 

[Chris]

These things often seem simple until you start. You're suggesting that you will swap the complete axle and diff in which case you'll need to check the ratio is the same as the LSD you're ditching.

There's an ECU to install and switches, loom etc. However, recently IIRC someone managed to make a module that ran a locker as a sort of aftermarket device rather than use Toyota original bits.

Most of the leak stories, I'd humbly suggest are due to poor installation. One of the benefits of say the ARB locker is that it's a much stronger carrier than the original so there's less flex and chances of damage in use. Not that 80's are weak by any means.

 

[stumog]

First thing to check is it working? If yes. Fresh lsd oil. Sorted.

If not strip and replace any knackered parts.

As Chris says you need a ecu or a set of relays to work the OEM diff. A fair few people replace the electric actuators with air cylinders for the operation this would make life a lot easier for you.

It may be worth checking to see if yours has the wiring included already as it may be a case of plug some sub looms and a ecu and hay working lockers. Once you have fitted the mechanical bits

 

[StarCruiser]

Have you looked at the Eaton E Locker? A part available in Oz (but sadly only on import in the U.K.) for your front diff? No air leaks, simpler, plus a stronger carrier and twice as many bevel gears as a stock front diff. Cost may be comparable, if on the pricey side.

 

[Dave Loh]

Have you looked at the Eaton E Locker? A part available in Oz (but sadly only on import in the U.K.) for your front diff? No air leaks, simpler, plus a stronger carrier and twice as many bevel gears as a stock front diff. Cost may be comparable, if on the pricey side.

Yeah I have had a look at them. They look good accept for when they disengage for about a revolution when changing direction but yeah aside from that they’re an option for sure. Thanks!

 

[Dave Loh]

First thing to check is it working? If yes. Fresh lsd oil. Sorted.

If not strip and replace any knackered parts.

As Chris says you need a ecu or a set of relays to work the OEM diff. A fair few people replace the electric actuators with air cylinders for the operation this would make life a lot easier for you.

It may be worth checking to see if yours has the wiring included already as it may be a case of plug some sub looms and a ecu and hay working lockers. Once you have fitted the mechanical bits

Yeah by the sounds of things, Toyota used the same loom for everything and just plugged in the things that were in that model. I’ve checked for the switch plug and it’s there and the guy said that he has the loom as well so that might have the ECU with it (i’ll Have to check).
Do people tend to have problems with the electric actuators on the factory ones?
Does anyone have factory lockers that could take a pic of where the wiring comes down at the diff? I’m just not sure where to start looking.

 

[Dave Loh]

These things often seem simple until you start. You're suggesting that you will swap the complete axle and diff in which case you'll need to check the ratio is the same as the LSD you're ditching.

There's an ECU to install and switches, loom etc. However, recently IIRC someone managed to make a module that ran a locker as a sort of aftermarket device rather than use Toyota original bits.

Most of the leak stories, I'd humbly suggest are due to poor installation. One of the benefits of say the ARB locker is that it's a much stronger carrier than the original so there's less flex and chances of damage in use. Not that 80's are weak by any means.

Ha ha, yeah, I wondered that. The guy said that he has a loom for it, so i’ll have to ask if that includes the ECU. If it does then it shouldn’t be too hard to switch the rear assembly over... I hope!
Sorry, what’s “IIRC”? Is the Toyota wiring not so good? Or just that it’s limiting?
Yeah ok, so you think if I get ARB to do the install it should be pretty reliable?
I’ve just realised last night that there’s a 4WD show starting today down in Adelaide so I might go for a “very important research” trip, and have a good look at all of them!

 

[Chris]

IIRC = if I recall correctly.
I had an ARB locker professionally installed and it never let me down.
I doubt the ECU is there if it's not necessary for the vehicle. The loom may well be, but an expensive ECU fitted at the factory? Well you never know but that's easily sourced if not.
The electric lockers work very well. However, the reason we have a LOT of problems with them here in the UK is simply that we use salt on the roads in the winter and 20+ years of salt, water, salt, water means that the alloy body bolted to the steel axle disintegrates and falls off. Other than that, they're good for the life of the vehicle.

 

[clivehorridge]

Chris gave the literal meaning of IIRC, but essentially it means “don’t sue me if I’m wrong”...

The whole process of sharing info on here is take it or leave it at your own discretion.

My own experience of factory lockers is that they are brilliant. As Chris said, my front locker turned to dust due to salt, but @karl webster sourced me a used replacement which was reasonably priced and is still going strong. My rear locker stopped working, and I replaced it with a new one from @chapel gate, also much cheaper than Mr T.

I’ve never been able to get them to register “locked-in” on the dash panel indicators, but they all work as the factory intended. The terminals on the indent switch on my rear locker that signals “lock-in” have dissolved so the “lock-in” light will never come on, until I replace that switch.

Another tip I would suggest is to disable the auto engaged centre diff lock (CDL) when using low ratio gears. I find off-roading in low a dream with the CDL disengaged, especially in dry conditions on grass or soil giving good traction.

Again this is in my humble opinion (IMHO) as we say.

Best of luck with this, IMHO having 3 lockers (whether factory OEM or after-market) is the key to the 80 being invincible off tarmac. They can still get stuck (ask me) but you really have to be trying hard to need the winch.

 

[uHu]

...looking into putting a factory diff lock in the rear of the 80.
1. Are they any good??
2. How much traction (in comparison with an 80 series stock LSD) am I loosing while it’s in open wheel mode?

Generally, they are good. It's only foe is salted roads or sea water. (A combination of iron, aluminium, steel and copper makes it very lively on the galvanic level). I never had any problems with them working when they need to, on the triple locked 80 or on the 100s.
How much traction... is a bit "off center". There's another type of continuous traction with lockers. LSD, and especially atrac, relies on a difference in wheel speed before it works. With lockers you have continuous 100 % power to any and all wheels on a locked axle, which gives less opportunity for any slippage. You have to remember to turn it off tho' when cornering, if you want to be able to turn sharp.

With 3 open diffs you still have power to all wheels, but as soon as one wheel gets a lower ground pressure, or changes from static to dynamic friction, that wheel gets more speed; which is very counterproductive.

In loose snow or sand, you can feel a stability and "effortlessness" with lockers on (even only CDL) that you don't get with LSD or any trac system.

 

[PeterLC]

IMHO a faulty feed-back of the "locked-in" position should be attended to. The diff lock ECU will open the rear and front diff above 5km/h to avoid accidents. I imagine this function will not work properly if the feed-back is missing. You might also forget. I had the same problem, solved it by opening, and cleaning the actuator.

 

[Dave Loh]

Wow,thanks everyone, it has been really good to hear everyone’s experience and feedback I really appreciate it. By the sound of it they’re a good solid locker (although rare), but will need a bit of fiddling to make sure they’re working properly on my DX model.
I went to the caravan and camping show on Thursday and did a bit of pricing and it seems like I can get an ARB locker fitted by an approved repairer for $1600, (this second hand diff is $1500) so now i’m wondering if I just pay $100 more and get a new ARB locker instead of something that is 20 years old and the wrecker has no idea if it’s in good shape or not. The only advantage of getting the one from the wrecker is that it has the crown wheel and pinion in it already (mine may be missing some teeth! ).
Side note, anyone know of any good places to get crownwheel and pinion sets? I’ve heard that marks adapters do a bullet proof one but wanting to see ifthere’s Any others out there.
Thanks again!

 

[StarCruiser]

@Ben may know of a good source.
Probably worth inspecting yours first as it may be in better shape than you think.

 

[Chris]

Not sure that Ben is a big fan of the ARB having had some issues himself. One thing worth considering of course when you fit an ARB is that in effect you also get a full service of your rear diff with new bearing and seals as well as resetting the preloads.

 

[StarCruiser]

Not sure that Ben is a big fan of the ARB having had some issues himself. One thing worth considering of course when you fit an ARB is that in effect you also get a full service of your rear diff with new bearing and seals as well as resetting the preloads.

Ah, clarity needed from me here then, I was referring to the crown wheel and pinion supply as he sourced new for his 78.
Ben’s preference is the Eaton E Locker I believe. Was it Ben that had an internal copper air pipe on an air locker chewed through by being too close to the gears?

 

[flint]

This is quite interesting about the Eaton locker: