Hey all, so i am getting some 4.56 gears installed on the truck (05 fx4)here pretty soon instead of getting her lifted.. Mainly because i will be driving her from iowa to florida when i get back from afghanistan in June/July, and i think getting the new gears installed would benifit the truck quite a bit since i put the 35's on her.

Heres my question, Should I get lockers installed as well? I know Eaton makes the E-locker for the front and it runs around 750. But what about the rear? I do not want a full time locker, i want selectable, preferably one that is LS when not engaged.. Does anyone make one?

IF no one makes a selectable locker for the rear, would it be worth it to put the elocker up front and keep the ls in the rear? I take the truck offroad everyonce and a while, but not tooo often, and its mostly mudding.. I am stationed in Florida(panhandle), but havnt been there long enough to KNow any good wheelin spots.

SO what do you guys think?

THanks for the help,

James

 

I think you don't need a locker unless you do a lot of rock crawling.

 

Thanks man. I mean its cool to say 'yeah my truck is locked front and rear' but I honestly dont think I will ever use it.. And the rear locker is 1100 for the locker and install kit the front is 720... lol. OUCH..

 

detroit makes a trutrac gear driven locker. it acts like a LS on dry pavement, but locks up when the wheel slips.

i just bought the detroit for mine. got it in the mail this morning.

here is my thread about it.
https://www.f150online.com/forums/ot...it-locker.html

 

I put a TrueTrac in the rear of my 2wd and I love it.

But, to be clear, the Detroit TrueTrac in NOT a locker. It is in my opinion the best LS by far, but it does not "lock" the axles together. And under some conditions is will only spin one wheel.

For example, if I have 1 tire on pavement and 1 tire on icy packed snow, it works great. But if I have 1 tire on pavement and 1 tire on glare ice, more often than not, it will just spin the tire that is on ice.

 

\
actually, the gear design of the trutrac locks up when power is applied to the front wheels shockloading the rear causing the differential bias of the torsion gear to engage and apply power to both wheels causing one tire to spin with the other one at the same time.

 

I would lock it if you can afford it. I did it on my jeep and that thing is awesome. I can climb anything with it. Lockers are great if you go offroad.

 

I would leave the front diff alone, and put a tru-trac or detroit in the rear. Lockers + 35" tires is going to be stressful on those stock CV joints.

 

lockers are te way to go. but you must get the real deal, detroit locker. none of that crap that is sorta like a locker but not really. i know of 2 superduty's with detroit lockers and they are daily driven trucks and both truck owners are very pleased with them. they hardly notice any ratchet noise and say that they would never go back to a clutch type limited slip again. i have a locker in a street driven 60's ford and i will always put lockers in my cars that i build for toys.

 

Just a suggestion... Get an ATV. They are cheaper than a truck and can get you into more places. Most atv's have the rears locked and a lot of the utility atv's have front lockers too. And if you break them, you can still run your truck as your daily driver...

The biggest issue around here is where to drive them...

I used to be pretty bold with my trucks until I got an atv. Now my trucks last longer, have less problems, and I can ride my atv to satisfy all of my offroad cravings.

 

Unless you are doing a lot of off roading you don't need a Detroit Locker. I have had them over the years and I love them but they are not that asphalt friendly. They will chirp in hard turns and you will notice that they are there. It is a small price to pay if you want great off road performance but unless you routinely use your truck off road, don't bother. I am putting the Eaton TrueTrac in my rear and debating on the front when I do my 4.56 gears in the not too distant future. For average off roading the TrueTrac is usually more than adequate. I have not heard good things about the E-locker, nor the OX cable locker. Both have mixed reviews. I had an ARB on the front of my 76 Blazer and I was happy with it but it is pricey.

 

does arb make an air locker for the rear axle?

if you don't offroad much i wouldn't waste the money unless you just have to have it and their is no persuading you other wise. if it's an occasional offroad i'd get a hidden winch mount and mount one behind your front bumper instead. you can always sell or transfer a winch to your next truck, you can't (easily) with lockers.

 

Looks like ARB makes one for both the front and rear. As for the winch, I have had several and they are great but unless you are an off roader, they are an expensive purchase. I would like to do a hidden winch on my 07 but Warn doesn't make a setup for mine. I am considering fabbing my own but I will probably just put that money into my 78 F150 that i am building.