Looking at getting front and rear lockers for the ex sometime in the near future. Should I go with an air locker, Detroit locker, or?????? I do mostly street driving but every so often I get the truck a lil muddy.

 

I would just get a couple LS's unless you like spending money.

 

Had limited slip dana in the rear until it blew out so I swapped in a open diff sterling 10.25.

Don't mind spending the money if it's gonna help out alot.

 

I have a detroit locker in the rear and an Elocker in the front...love them both

 

I am with Dubbs......don't use an UNselectable locker in the front.....straight locker in the front is hard to handle.....you need to be able to turn it off

 

Have you considered a Detroit TrueTrac?

Stewart

 

Yeah truetrac, nice diff. can go in the front, back or both. I agree, regular lockers should only go in the rear, while selectable lockers (e-locker, air locker) can go in the front. I don't like regular LS diffs. Clutches go bad, they create more heat and sediment in your diff fluid which increases maintenance intervals.

 

on the other hand, if you have manual hubs you can run a cheaper detroit in the front and when you lock in your hubs you'll have real 4wd instead of 3 wheel drive... thats what I'd do if I wanted to save money and used my ex off road a lot. If its anything street driven where you need to keep your ability to go 55 mph in 4 hi on slippery roads and stuff, I think I wouldn't consider anything but an ARB or E locker. Anything more than a limited slip in the rear will suck on pavement and can be downright dangerous on wet or icy roads. The best compromise for on/off road do it all vehicle is selectable diffs front and rear. But the parts alone will be $1400 or more. If I was going to do that I think I'd also upgrade to a dana 60 up front. Having a locked front end is a LOT harder on axles than a lot of people think. Open diffs are nice and friendly.

 

I have had ARB's F/R for years. I have climbed hills that gave dirt bikers pause, driven deep into the sand dunes to recover my son's siezed KX85, plowed through deep snow, etc. Then when I'm done I just unlock.

It is an expensive proposition but not really that much more than doing any type of LS or locker unless you can do all the labor yourself. A quick search of Summit Racing showed a Detroit locker at $549. I paid $750 for my ARBs. I don't think $400 difference is enough to change my mind considering labor cost, how long they last and what they do. I am in So. Cal though so I don't need traction on the street, that was another reason I didn't look at a gear type locker or LS.

The ARB's are incredibly strong and I haven't had a single problem with them. In the sand I am dragging a 10,000lb toy hauler. I agree that you could break the front axle when locked but I use care when I have it locked, especially when climbing hills with deep ruts and whoops in them.
Michael

 

curious, do you still have your rear limited slip with your arb's? Or maybe yours didn't have ls from the factory. My truck still has the LS working pretty well... I wish I could keep it that way and add an ARB or e locker to the front for times when I'm stuck.

 

Been there and done that!!!

 

Mine just had an open diff. Kind of laughable in my opinion on a 4x4. I bought it used and had always planned on an ARB so it didn't matter. You can't use an LS with the ARB, it replaces the entire diff. I have both open diffs in a box if anyone needs them.

There would be no problem keeping the LS in the rear and adding an ARB to the front. I see a lot of people saying that if they could only have one locker they would go with a rear. I don't have massive experience off road but it is amazing how much pull I get when I lock the front. Especially when on uneven terrain where one front will is off the ground.

I haven't spent a lot of time experimenting but there have been times when the rear was spinning and I wasn't going anywhere until I locked the front. As I said above, they are expensive but I had the money (plus I was regearing so the axles were already apart) and was tired of getting stuck in my one wheel drive EX!
Michael

 

Dont know what the weather is like where your from, but I prefer selecable lockers front and rear. My last truck had a mechanical locker in the rear that almost put me in the ditch a few times on the ice.

 

Live in spring Texas. Snows once a year and it's gone in 15 minutes.

 

It's not actually a one wheel drive, all 4 wheels pull like you have 2 lockers until one breaks loose but the one that breaks loose is robbing the power from the opposite side. Example; if one side has 25% traction the other side will have 75%, if one side has 13% traction the opposite wheel will have 87%, etc etc. When you are going down the freeway both rear wheels are pulling equally.