4WD Systems Lokka

[MidLifeCrisis Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close MidLifeCrisis]

I am missing something here? If the locker is constantly engaged won't that chew the hell out of tyres as you corner? And, one in the front would have to make steering a pig of a job.

While pricey, give me the ARB locker any day, easy on, easy off.

[Trekrider Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Trekrider]

MLC, not sure I understand how it works yet but it allows the wheels to turn at different rates when cornering - only locks in a straight line. As stated several times, you can't fit these to the front, you would have to fit an air locker or similar.

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Any explanation given for this? Both manual and auto diffs seem to share the same Toyota part number: 41110-3D390 (for 4.1 ratio)

Mick

I'm waiting to hear back from Tom.

[iantz Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close iantz]

I'm waiting to hear back from Tom.

AMTS - I was about to email regarding this, but I won't bother now. Please post their reply to save me the hassle, as I have a manual and was interested in this.

ian.

[mjrandom Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close mjrandom]

The way these diffs work is different to any of the others. A conventional open diff will always drive the lightest loaded wheel which is the one spinning fastest. So if you have a wheel in the air it will spin and the wheel on the ground will free wheel and take you no where. Adding an LSD into the mix there are pressure plates which mean that both wheels will turn together until a predetermined breakaway torque is reached and then the diff is more or less an open diff. LSD wear and the clutch packs get looser and the break away torque is reduced. In a Toyota this happens in the first 7 minutes after new delivery . A locker like the ARB physically locks the two wheels together and forces them to turn in unison. In this scenario one wheel will pretty much always skid over the ground as the wheels are usually turning at different speeds but off road when the diff is locked to gain traction this is not usually a problem. The Detroit Locker style of diff actually transmits the drive to the slower turning wheel and allows the faster wheel to disengage from the drive and freewheel faster. So the loaded wheel is always driven. When cornering one wheel (the outer wheel) tries to go faster and the cams/ratchets unlock and the wheel is free to spin at the speed it needs to while the inner wheel is being driven at the axle speed. The clicking and sometimes clunking noise is the faster wheel disengaging and re-engaging the cams and ratchets. The old Detroit lockers were very noisy but the lokka type uses different ramps etc and this noise is minimised. The reason the diffs are not recommended on the front is that this engaging/disengaging can and does affect how the front steers and you get a feeling like the front end is loose. I know this from driving a Patrol that had a detroit locker in the front in 4wd on some hard stand. A constant 4wd would suffer this all the time. I would guess driving on the road with a lokka diff in the rear will likely increase tyre wear because until the ramp forces exceed the disengagement forces the wheel will be driving and scrubbing but probably the increase in wear is probably not significant.

[Trekrider Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Trekrider]

I've just got hold of the 4WD Action Locker test and noticed it says "One downfall of an auto locker is that it can't be used in a full-time 4WD.....". Bit odd as you can get one for the Prado or is this statement based on the fact you could only get a front diff Lokka when they did the test? Shame they didn't have a rear diff version for the test, would have been good to see the results. Even so, the one they had seemed to come out pretty well.

One of these has to be on my wish list.

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You can't get a front Lokka for the Prado. It would only work if the front of the Prado had free wheeling hubs.

[Trekrider Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Trekrider]

You can't get a front Lokka for the Prado. It would only work if the front of the Prado had free wheeling hubs.

I know that Amts, I was just questioning the statement that you can't use a Lokka on a full-time 4WD when clearly you can. Should they perhaps have said 'you can't use a FRONT Lokka on a full-time 4WD'?

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Ahh, I see what you mean. Yes, they need to qualify that statement a bit more, like what you wrote.

[Trekrider Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Trekrider]

Ahh, I see what you mean. Yes, they need to qualify that statement a bit more, like what you wrote.

Sorry for the confusion Amts - I know what I meant to say but I can see it could be read differently :0)

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Hmm. If there are no front auto-lockers available for the Prado, what did 4WD Action mag use and where did they get it from?

[tassie tiger Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close tassie tiger]

Ahh, I see what you mean. Yes, they need to qualify that statement a bit more, like what you wrote.

The 4wdaction one would go;

"I was going up mungo hill in milo with fourteen cartons of xxxx and it was slippery so i drove through some protected grassland, stupid government locking up tracks, and the front left spun so the handbrake said you need a diff lock and i said yeah but its a piece of crap with IFS so you cant hey and then bill the plod saw me near the mudflats and he said yeah ya cant have auto lockers on full time 4wds which is right and thats why the last decent 4x4 was the GQ and only when its lifted 65ft with tractor tyresand then bill and i got drunk and did donuts in the grassland and then we finished off thirteen cartons and I cooked up a wallaby stew in xxxx with worster sauce and oyster sauce. Oh, and make sure you tread lightly."

[Trekrider Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Trekrider]

Hmm. If there are no front auto-lockers available for the Prado, what did 4WD Action mag use and where did they get it from?

They did their tests on a 105 Cruiser not a Prado.

[Trekrider Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Trekrider]

Love it Tassie - only surprise was the TJM locker didn't come out on top, but only because it had a wrong size circlip that fell off during the test - that's OK though 'cause TJM say it will never happen again :0)

[K & M McF Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close K & M McF]

Tassie, are your sure your name is not R00thy????