So what I’m putting together, choosing a locker is pick your poison.
Let’s see if I’m on the right track here.
Eaton Elocker disengages with directional change, and takes some wheel spin to reengage. Which, to me, seems like a bad idea since I have a standard transmission. No I don’t do any rock crawling, or super technical wheeling, but we do have some nasty hill climbs in Indiana. So to get stuck on the side of a muddy hill, or if I need to back up for a different approach it could be trouble. As I understand it....
The manual Ox locker... I just don’t know enough about I guess. I’ve read enough threads on here, that I feel like I can pretty much assume that the advice Jerry Bransford gives is pretty darn solid. Also the fact that I don’t care much for the look, or have a real good place for the manual engagement knobs. A switch of some kind seems to be a better option for me.
As far as a Dayton or lunchbox style, Seeing how the majority of my driving will be on road, neither really seem like an option, and am dealing with a similar disengagement with direction change as the elocker. As well as the performance on slick roads.
ARB air locker seems to have it’s downfalls as well. Possible Icing up of lines, and possible air leaks, along with the detailed install... like I said before, I live in Indiana. So I will defiantly be dealing with some subzero temps at times. Are there any precautions I can take if I go the air locker route? Maybe insulating the air lines? Do they make a “heat tape” in 12v? Maybe some sort of filter like on a conventional air compressor? Also, how often do the o-rings need to be serviced in the ARB locker?
As far as the install goes, if the only mod I need to make is cutting for oil drain, that is well within my skill set. I’m no mechanic by industry standards. But I take a lot of pride in being able to figure most things out, assuming I can get all the details of a correct installation. I’ve rebuilt both auto and standard transmissions in the past, successfully, among several other things. I’m pretty mechanically inclined. I’m a firm believer that with time and patience most folks can figure most things out, without blowing parts money on labor fees at the local shop. The only thing I’m unsure of, at this point, is having to have a case spreader. Could someone elaborate a bit more on that part? As well as any other mods that need to be done with or to the ARB locker.
I’m not bashing any of them, or saying one is a definite answer over the other, as everyone has their own opinions and needs for their build. I’m just trying to compile a list of possible issues and trying to make an educated decision before I spend a bunch of money on my rig.