Hi All

I am a experienced 4wder who has had rear ARB diff lockers on my last several 4wd's, 80 series, GQ and Landrover D1.  I have recently purchased a 2003 4.8lt manual Nissan Patrol which is nicely decked out by the previous owner but there are still a couple of things I would like put on the old girl, Marks Adaptors low reduction gears, rear bar, but either a rear or F & R lockers is first on the list.

In terms of the of the 4wding I normally do, I will point the beast at anything to get to where I am going, but I am not the sort of person who would spend any time going up a widow maker hill just to see if I can or find a bog hole and play in the mud all day.  

My experience with the ARB lockers is great, but  -  when they don't work you usually find out at a time you really, really need them - I do have to admit to have been frustrated on occasion due to air loss.   Each of the vehicles I have owned have experienced an air leak at one time or another or a compressor solenoid fail.  It should be noted that I had each of those 4wds fitted with a diff locker I owned for over 10 years, so some maintenance is reasonable and should be expected.  In addition, I got a lot of use out of my investment of the locker owning the vehicles for as long as I did.

Anyway I am leaning towards the Eaton or Harop E-locker; however, I am also toying with the idea of putting manual free wheeling locking hubs on the front ($275 + fitting) and installing 2 Lokka ($550ish + fitting) or Lockrite  ($800 + fitting).  The Eaton E Locker from Superior Engineering is $1599 each + fitting).  The issue for me is two fold:

1.  Compromised flexibility (choice to engage or not the diff lockers) and to a much lesser extent driving by having auto lockers; vs

2. Spending close to $4,000 on the E-locker on a car that is already 13yrs old with 270,000kms on the clock.  I am unlikely to keep this car for more than 5 years.  I guess return on investment is the concern!

Opinions, thoughts and any real world experience with any make or model of diff locker would be really appreciated.

Rob

Patrol rear diffs are excellent as is with the LSD so why not leave that and just lock the front with the E Locker and if that doesn't do the job E lock the front and auto locker in the rear

Reply

Yes what Matt said , my 2 previous 4wds were Mavericks, both had front air lockers and nicely set up LSDs in the rear and that setup worked great, my current 4wd  is a Jeep wrangler purchased new 4.5 years ago , I resisted lockers for over 4 years while learning to drive with open diffs with a bit of traction control, this certainly made me a better off road driver however after 2 recent front diff failures I stumped up for an Eaton E Locker which has a 4 pinion carrier, this gave me the strength my front diff needed and as a bonus , a locker .

My advice would be to tighten up your rear LSD , get a good flexi suspension and enjoy learning to drive all over again , I did.

Reply

Thanks guys, appreciate the comments and definately food for thought.  

Reply

If you go air lockers, have a look at the tjm, dont have the issues as arb do. I have arb front, tjm rear, never any hassles with the rear, had several with the front.

Reply

Nissan pretty much do the best LSD on the market. I have an LSD in the navara and works extremely well.. I been up everything so far on all trips I went to. However at the moment I have a lokka in the shed waiting to go in the front.

Lokka works really well if you are concerend about return of investment, they do the job, they work and after much research they are definately best bang for buck lockers, however I would definately make sure you have manual locking hubs... They also are mechanical so less chance of failure and come with 3 year or 300k kms warranty.

However if I had to go selectable locker... I would go e locker. I looked into Harrop ones but at $1750 + install I could not justify the cost. But at least no air leaks and it's easier on your seals. Up to preference I guess.

Reply

I've had ARB airleakers on several Patrols and while ARB make excellent gear, the arileakers are their most unreliable product in my view. If I were to get a locker, it would be a front Eaton. Like others have said, the Patrol LSD is the best in the business and a front locker is the perfect match. An LSD in the rear always make the vehicle a better one to drive, so that would be the last thing I chose to remove.

You'll be up for maybe $500 more for a front Eaton vs two Lokkas, or no difference with the Lockrite. If you were able to try out both, you'd be cursing the day you got the Lokkas/Lockrites.Also, the auto hubs on the Patrol are both auto and fully manual. Any time that you go into 4WD for any length of time, especially low range, lock them and they'll last a long time. They are not intended to be driven hard in auto mode.

Reply

iv got a lokka in the rear but I wouldn't put one in the front, when in 4wd the steering will be always be heavier, but it's a personal preference. My self I'd go with a e locker up front on a patrol and keep the lsd in the rear.  I drive a 80 series, so the lsd is a single spinner( no good, shit lsd). So I put a rear lokka in , only because it's a auto trans and soaks up some of the harshness.

Reply

Hi mate, some very good points raised above by many.

Good to see this site full of knowledgeable blokes!

I have had twin tjm pro lockers in my last rig without a problem.

I have twin arb lockers in this rig and have had a couple air leak.
I will say though the leaks I've had were due to the way the air lines were ran quite poorly and got cut up on rocks etc.

I have since replaced sections of the air line as arb do offer service kits for 30 bucks which gives you a couple meters of air line and 2 push fit fittings to fix it out on the tracks if you need too.

I steered clear from elockers back in the day as they were expensive when I enquired.
They may be cheaper now.

I have had twin locker quotes for tjm and arb from anywhere between 3100 to 3300

Reply

Used to have a GU, initially without lockers.

at some stage put ARB air lockers in, most of the time I needed the rears was because I didn't have a rear LSD anymore. If I needed the front locker, I also needed the rear - just no hope other than twin locked.

if you are *new* to Nissan patrol off-roading but experienced 4WDer, go without lockers for a while and make a list how often you *would* not have to winch if you had front/&rear lockers. You will soon know how much which locker is *worth* to you.

btw: loved my ARB air lockers, but wouldn't buy any air locker anymore, electronic lockers all the way.

Reply

Reply

can't beat double locked :)

Reply

I missed this thread...

My experience with lockers is solely with my current vehicle. When I did the big upgrade on everything late last year I also purchased a Harrop e-locker for the front - rear comes with an e-locker from the factory. Didn't get it put in straight away, let it sit for a while as I got used to the vehicles handling with the new suspension and tyres etc. Eventually got the diff put in, electrics were run into the cabin but again I put off installing the switch.

Finally got around to doing it around March this year and wow! What a difference the front makes. Instant engage, silent, you only know it's locked because your steering gets heavier and you have traction where you didn't before. I had been relying on the great traction control system in the FJ until then but I was starting to drive harder tracks and this helped give me the extra grab when I wanted it.

I use the front more than the rear by the way. I really only see lockers as being an advantage on climbs and when you're climbing your weight is coming off the front end, and especially in an IFS where you'll see one wheel bearing less weight, that's the one that will lose traction out of the 4.

But yes, twin locked is brilliant. Enjoy.

Reply

Always an interesting topic is lockers; do I go front or rear, maybe both then what type etc etc.....

Then there are the reasons why 4wders install them. For some, probably most, it is the belief they can drive the harder tracks because "I have lockers". Whilst this is basically correct, some still think because they have lockers their vehicle can go anywhere, even up a brick wall so to speak. Unfortunately this is not always the case as more than a few have come undone by thinking 'lockers are be all end all'. Then there are others who fit them to to help make life easier for the vehicle; best reason in my opinion.

I 1stly fitted a arb air locker to front of my Paj. I used the 'poor mans locker' technique for many years but at times still required me to push harder than I really wanted to. The front locker did make life much easier in that I could attack the more difficult terrain at a much slower speed meaning less potential damage to the car. At this time, the Pajero LSD was still very good, so the thought of a rear locker never crossed my mind. Murphys Law, the LSD got tired so rather than a rebuild I was able to get a rear locker at wholesale price and had it fitted. I know with ARB fitment for twin lockers, you must have rear engaged before you can operate the front, in other words always twin locked, but I had this bypassed so I could switch on one or the other. Whilst I never had a problem with the front, the rear was a different matter; always leaking especially when I needed it most, but I understand this issue was common. I finally 'bit the bullet' and had an E Locker installed in the rear. Was told by the installer, who had worked at both ARB & TJM previously, it was a installation issue ( not uncommon according to him), that was the main issue as the locker was still in perfect condition. Love the E Locker. Has been set up that I have to turn the compressor switch on to engage so I dont accidently knock the switch; great safety feature in my opinion. I tend to use the rear locker alot now as previously the LSD was adequate, but now with open rear diff, traction can be limited.

Lockers are a great asset, if purchased for the right reason. In a IFS vehicle, they make life easier, especially for the vehicle. Yes, they give you an advantage in the harder terrain but dont fall the old trap; " I have them, I can drive anything". If I had a solid axle vehicle like a Patrol and I wanted to fit one, it would be front without question, but many have differing views as to which end of the vehicle.

. Which type; E Locker without doubt, (expensive but worth it)

Reply

I thought I would do a bit of an up-date on what's happening.  Well, I have achieved my savings goal of saving $4500 for some up-grades on my newish to me 2003 4.8lt manual nissan patrol.  And of course just as I hit my saving goal the thrust bearing in the clutch is starting to grind - isn't it always the way! So the original plan was twin diff lockers and a winch.  However, if the thrust bearing is going then I may as well change the clutch and up grade it for a heavy duty version and that is going to hurt the budget.  Also if the clutch is coming out I think I will take the opportunity and save some labour costs by installing Marks Adaptors 85% low range reduction gears at the same time.  My dilemma now is do I:

1. Get none of the work done yet but buy;

ARB Diff Locker (front) $1,411 - from Roadrunner off road - no air compressor - buy AC later or E-locker $1595 from Uneek or Terrain Tamer

Mark Adaptors Low range transfer gears $1,495 - from Marks Adaptors

Exedy Heavy duty clutch $619 - ebay (new) - ad claims 20% better over original and will last 30% longer

Runva winch 1200 lb 7.2 horse power with Dyneema rope  $772 - from Dandenong Truck and Trailer via ebay

Total cost $4297

Get the work/installs done on the Nissan as funds become available.

OR

2. Buy and have installed the Exedy Heavy duty clutch, 85% reduction gears and just buy a 4wdsupa Centre cheap Domin8tor winch and get that installed at the same time.  I am getting quotes just over the $5000  to $6500 dollars.

I wish I a could say I was mechanically able and do the work myself, my father was an electrical engineer and a skilled mechanic, alas I missed that gene - I just end up with grazed knuckles and throwing tools in a temper tantrum.

Thoughts/opinions.......

Kind regards

Rob

Reply