what do you guys think is the best kind of locking differintals?
i am looking to put 2 on my 79 150 4x4 and would like some good opinions.

 

That depends on what you want to do with it, and how much money you want to spend. If I had the cash, I would probably buy and ARB air locker, so it can be turned on and off as you need it. A good budget choice would be the EZ-Locker or Lock-Right.

What is the primary use of the truck? Off road or daily driving?

 

kc7smo- good question. What is the primary purpose of the vehicle and how much do you want to spend? Also, what is the plan for the vehicle?

 

It Is A Daily Driver But I Want To Be Able To Put It Through Mud And Rivers Adn Creeks And Ups And Downs And Any Place That I Could Not Go With Out,
But Still Drive It To Work Every Day.

 

The lockrite I put in my rear is pretty user friendly. You can't tell it is back there, except for the fact that you just keep going. Do a search for lockrites in the offroad forum. They have been discussed a bunch in the last couple months

 

You can tell there back there, especailly towing because they are either one wheel drive with ouside wheel coasting in a turn or 2wd at same speed because there is no abilty to power both wheels at differing speeds in a turn. (they never really come out and tell you this either)

 

Is There No Other Kind That You Can Turn On Or Off?
What Does It Take To Install The Arb Locker?
And Does A Locker Actualy Keep From Getting Stuck?

 

There's a couple other choices for selectable lockers. The ARB is an air activated locker so you run an air line to a fitting mounted on the axle and then have a small onboard compressor that runs the system. They're very reliable, very strong and have been around longer than any of the other selectable lockers. I'm running them front and rear on my truck and I'm very happy with them. Installation is fairly similar to any other carrier/gearset with the exception that you drill and tap a smapp hole in the diff case for the airline and you have to notch the carrier bearing cap for the copper airline. You need a compressor to run them. ARB sells their compressor for around $200 but if you decide to go with ARB's let me know and I'll show you how to set up an air system to run them for about $20.

A company called OX makes a cable activated OX Locker. The concept is great but the company has a very poor reputation for customer service. They are more expensive than an ARB locker and I'm not sure if they even offer them for the 9" rear axle.

Detroit locker makes one called Electrac. It's only been out a couple years and I haven't heard too much on them one way or the other. They use an electric solenoid to activate the locker. What I don't like about them is they are a limited slip carrier when they're not activated and while this is not bad necessarily I would prefer an actual open carrier while turned off. That's the whole idea of a selectable locker is total versatility. I belive the Terra E-locker is another brand of electric locker but I know nothing about them. Oh, Electrac lockers run a little higher in price than the ARB lockers do as well.

A locker makes both tires turn equally. This will let you move freely in situations where a lot of other people can't go anywhere. It doesn't mean that you can't get stuck, there's a lot of variables there including tire size, axle clearance, horsepower, terrain, etc. However a locker will allow you to drive places that you could never dream of with open carriers.

FWIW I know they're more expensive than a regular locker but in my opinion a selectable locker is the ONLY way to go for a daily driver that is also wheeled. It saves you all the driving quirks of a spool or regular locker on the street but is there as soon as you need it offroad.

 

Ivanribic has a lot of great information. I'll add my 2 cents as well. I've run the lockrights, and while I still have one in the front, I don't think that I'll ever run them again. They unlock and lock harshly and I've actually had the rear one stay completely open when the temperature was about -10F the first winter that I had it, so it wasn't worn out. I think that it didn't engage because the gear lube was so thick.

I then switched to a detroit locker. I love it. It is silent, and is barely noticeable, even when towing. The trick is to let off of the throttle a little when turning and apply the throttle smoothly while turning. I would not have any reservations about running a detroit locker while towing or in a daily driver, especially on a long box full-size.

If you do decide to go with a selectable locker and want a completely open diff when not activated, try Eaton. I was told by their sales rep that their E-Locker is completely open when not activated. That would be great for a front diff in the winter for easy driving and keeping from going straight when the wheels are turned.

This brings me to the next point. If you are going to run lockrights, only get one for the rear and don't bother up front. Save your money and get a selectable later. Because they are difficult to disengage, when driving in the winter on ice, they will not disengage, putting you right into the ditch. So, you either have to remove the front in the winter (an option), or not get one in the first place. They also have a limit on tire size of 36" I believe, and know of three people who have stripped the teeth off of them when trying to run tires any bigger than that.

My recommendation? Get a Detroit locker for the rear, and an eaton e-locker for the front if it is a daily driver or a detroit electrac if it will spend a lot of time off road.

Another thing to plan on is if you are going to put a locker in the front, plan on getting chromoly axleshafts for the front. The stockers will break pretty easily, even with an open diff.

Got a lot for 2 cents, huh?