Hi i was wondering what is everyones opinion on the new e-lockers or shoudl i just stick with a air locker its going on a 03 hilux

I have F & R air lockers, but if I ever bought another vehicle & wanted to lock it, I would be going the E (Eaton) Lockers without hesitation. Yes, they are slightly more expensive but I think the extra $$$ are worth it. Am sure some here will say they have had no problems with their airlockers, but my rear has been nothing but a 'pita' since it was installed.

If there was one downside with the E Locker, is having to be completely stationary to engage them whilst some 4wders engage their airlocker while still moving. For me it is no issue, as I never engage my lockers unless I am completely stationary, so no disadvantage to me.

Harrop Engineering have a very impressive track record, so I would think the E Lockers would be of the highest quality.

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If you have the option of pro lockers for your vehicle, go that way instead of arb. New style arb are known to be a pita, only have a few mm off teeth engagement when locked. I have old style arb front and tjm rear, front has had seal issues over time and ive had it out several times, rear no probs. If my front
wrecked id go tjm 100%. I crash lock on minor throttle , it depends on the terrain you drive, I find it handy to engage/disengage on rock climbs etc when you dont want to loose momentum but as I said depends on terrain/driving style. Thats my opinion on air lockers, leave the e thoughts to someone else :)

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Depending on what tyre size you run and what you want to do with your 4by maybe consider eaton true trac or full auto locker. I have a true trac in the back of the disco and it transformed the car and about to put one in the front as well. They are a LSD but run with helicon like gears not clutch packs so full traction and no wearing parts and no maintenance. The only down side is that if one wheel is totally off the ground it goes back to a single spinner but a bit of left foot brake and off you go again and left foot braking is a skill that every 4x4 driver needs to master to get the most out of a 4by IMO

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Message deleted by the author.

thanks guys gives me a few things to think about 

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Hi. I have had air locker front and rear on my Patrol. Now I have 06 Hilux with e-locker on the front. I have been impressed and am putting in rear e-locker in 3 weeks time. This will be done by Harrops. Have had both air and e, I will be sticking e-locker from now on. Also have a mate who has had 3 different types of auto lockers and he said never again. My recommendation would be Harrop E-Locker front and rear. Cheers Tony. 

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I'd go E locker. Easy to fix connections if something breaks oppose to fixing air leaks or seals or compressor problems if they occur. Or to save some coin go an auto locker. Go front and rear for less cost if available. My 2c worth. :)

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HI.

I have front and rear Eaton E-lockers in my 2001 Prado and love them. There is an almost instant  difference when you flick the switch. No compressor noise and no waiting for it to charge. just turn them on (on the fly...not stopping) and it smooths out the toughest hill climbs. I used them on Mt Margaret/Dingo hill in Licola, Trig Trak around Walhalla and Billy goats in Dargo to name a few . they have never missed a beat and though I probably didn't NEED to use them at times  they just made it easier and less damanding for the truck.

A friend has ARB air lockers in his land cruiser and though they are good when they work , he  had a compressor failer which made them useless. with E-lockers  the most that can go wrong is a broken wire or a blown fuse(which has never happened to me yet)  both so easy to fix that  if they break down on a  steep track you wont be stuck for long.

For the  1st set they weren't that  expensive  as i didn't need to buy a compressor and it worked out a bit cheaper. The second set was a bit more expensive compared to air lockers but I only did the front cos i blew up my diff but by then i was already convinced E-lockers were the way to go

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A couple of considerations,

Air Lockers:

you need to make they are installed properly, if not, there will be air leaks, any serious 4wder needs an air compressor, so 2 birds one stone.

E-lockers:

Unlike Airlockers (arb/tjm) the eaton/harrop unlocks and then re-crashlocks when transitioning from forward to reverse and visa versa. So if you fail a nasty climb and have to reverse down the hill, for a little less than a meter, about 1/3 of a turn of the wheel, you are unlocked, regardless of the thing being switched on.  In a cross axled senario on a hill, you slide back down the hill uncontrolled.

Harrop recommend the e-lockers are wired to the ignition on position. So if your performing a downhill, key-stop, key-start in a manual, after you hit the key to help stall the vehicle, you are now unlocked, that's not flash.

This is why I run airlockers.

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good point Simon.

and you are correct....E-lockers "out of the factory""only work when the ignition  is  on.

But.... if thats the only concern you have with E-lockers then thats great  cos if this is a concern (and it should be) its a minor mod to reroute the power to the locker switches directly to the battery.

But then if the battery fails.....you're totally F#$ked no matter what lockers you have

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Okay, so to make this easy, this is the let me share the the letter I recently sent to Harrop Engieneering reagrdingt the front and rear lockers fitter to my 76 series crusier.

In saying that, I still think theyre a good locker. I'm yet to meet someone that has had airlockers installed for longet than two years and not had an issue!

To whom it may concern.

I’m just sending this letter to inform you, Harrop, of the unbelievable troubles I have had with my two sets of Eaton E-lockers, which I now feel is the installers fault, and not the product.

Let me assure you I did my home work before opting to install two Eaton e-lockers into my 2010 Landcruiser 76 series Wagon. Not a bad word is to be found when researching your product. Forum after forum, Facebook pages, 4x4 blogs, not a bad word written about the locker.

Let me tell you my storey so far. I opted to have an Opposite Lock store in Penrith NSW install my two new Eaton E-lockers. This happened early 2014.

Late October 2014 early November was the start of the dramas.  Had not long returned from a trip, and the next day while reversing out of my driveway I came to a sudden stop. Long storey short, I removed the axles, dropped the tailshaft and removed diff. To my surprise I found a broken spider gear axle. The internal housing of diff has a huge score mark that had to be ground smooth, indicating this happened at speed. It just wasn’t until I stopped in driveway, broken pin has slid out and jammed the crown and pinion.

Opposite Lock Penrith weren’t particularly helpful, and eventually the centre was sent to
you guys in Melbourne where it received a full rebuild under warranty.
(I’m sure you guys have a record of this). I must mention this left me without a car or means of travel for nearly three weeks.

During the next two months, I was never particularly happy at the routing of the rear diff electrical wires, I often noticed the plug undone, and there was no give on housing, plug sitting hard upright on the housing. Opposite Locks answer to this was to install a cable tie spreading the two wires on both male and female plug sections, holding plug together. I feel this is a little rough.

Christmas day 2014 was my next event. Be it related to locker failure or not, my rear right short axle broke at the drive flange while travelling at 110km/h on free way.

To Opposite locks defence, they eventually did source me another axle, as they to, agreed  it seemed odd my diff would fail then axle break not long after.

February was next major issue. While travelling in 4wd high range, my front locker decided to lock its self, scary stuff attempting a gravel corner at some speed with front engaged.

Drove rest of trip in 2wd as it was felt safer than a randomly locking front end. It then went back to Opposite Lock Penrith, who essentially didn’t believe me. Fortunately one of their mechanics over heard, took it for a test drive in a near by grassed area and had same thing happen to him.

They finally agreed to pull locker out and have a look. I’m not entirely sure of outcome, as they fitted another centre and I continued on my way. I’m sure you probably know about this one aswell. Storey has it magnet was melted or something. It was defintyl not caused by wrong oil, as this was double checked before being changed.

So I’m now at two out of two lockers failed and replaced. I must insist you realise that this is an extremely expensive vehicle, and is meticulously well looked after, and is used for touring. Lockers are just installed for the occasional tough section and peace of mind. I feel having two fail is ridiculous.

Today I noticed while on a slippery surface, one wheel spinning, I flicked on rear locker and to my disbelief the other wheel didn’t spin. I then jacked both wheels up, flicked locker on and double checked, no locked diff.

I drove to Opposite Lock Penrith to see if they could shed some light on the situation. They told me to check power. I said fuse was fine, and light on switch was coming on. I then insisted I believe problem is in the poorly mounted electrical connector.

After a short chat, Mike the guy I was dealing with essentially wiped his hands clean. I bought up I was disappointed at all the issues I have had since having lockers fitted. He then tried to turn blame onto me, insisting I had engaged lockers at high speed, causing front issues and that somehow the rear must have been my fault, as I’m the only one who has issues.

I then went home, and gently pried electrical connector apart. Used a multi meter to find there was indeed power at connector when switch is on.

I pray that there is just a connection issue with the connector. If not it looks like something else has gone wrong with my rear diff.

Just to clarify, I’m a trade qualified Fitter Machinist, I have both excellent mechanical and electrical aptitude. I know these issues seem left field, and I’m confident its installer related not product related.

I honestly think the Eaton E-locker is a terrific product, but it’s hard to recommend a product when I have had so many difficulties.

I genuinely thing that Opposite Lock are to blame here, the running of the wires is nothing short of slack and lazy. There lack of product knowledge combined with there “it’s your fault” attitude really gives you guys a bad name. That seems a real shame.

Fingers crossed my current problem is a small electrical one. But I’m now at a loss on what to do if its locker related not electrical. I don’t think Opposite Lock Penrith is capable of sorting it out. Do you recommend another dealer in the Penrith or Hawkesbury area to do what I would suggest is warranty work?

I appreciate your time in reading my concerns. I hope to hear back. And maybe you guys can shed some light on my horrific run with the Eaton E-l

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As I drive a JK Jeep Wangler (Rubicon) it comes out of the box with Electronic Lockers (Front and Back diffs).

The only thing that anoys me is that they disengage if I go over 25 KMH. At least I know when they are locked.

Not sure how reliable these are. But at least they are not lock Auto Lockers where they are locked all of the time and unlock when they want to.

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I have a front Lokka in my R50 Pathfinder. Best value for money I spent on the car,

Now I also have a 2008 BT50 and the only diff lock available is an Eaton eLocker. So off to RMC Off Road in Pakenham Vic for an Eaton eLocker fitting.

I haven't had to use it in anger yet, but it feels very stable when you do use it.

Can't wait for summer!

Nick

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It really is a personal choice. They are a very good piece of equipment and you wont go wrong with them, however I personally wouldn't go past my air lockers. In my own mind I'd rather have a stiffer air line running to the diffs, which is not only stronger than wiring, but easier to fix.

On the other hand there is the argument that the wiring solenoid is a solid object that wont allow water/mud into the housing even if the wires are torn off, unlike the air fitting, but I still prefer the ease of push/pull air line repairs than tracing broken wires.

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