Troy replied:

Allan, spend the cash, go the ARB.

Its much better to be able to control when it goes on and off. Having a full time locker will increase tyre wear also, and make handling a little worse (even in the back).

Definately lock the rear, and maybe look at the front also !

troy replied:

supposed to............ supposed too !

ok - here is the thing - what do u want from a locking diff ?
a: a solid axle. both wheels turn at once.

q: what does a Lokka do "automatically" to turn ?
a: UNLOCK ! hence no locked diff !

q: are all 4x4 tracks straight ? (to keep the diff locked)
a: no !

a mate of mine has a Lokka (in the front tho) and for the life of us we cant get it to unlock when on track..... steering sucks !

in my opinion, you never regret paying for quality....


Troy..

dave replied:

Allan.

I have Lock rights in the front and rear of my troopy. I have found them to be excellent, and certainly fantastic value for money. They have transformed my vehicle. Steering is an issue on hard flat surfaces, even off road, but the way i see it, if the ground is that hard and flat i don't need to be in 4wd anyway. I can travel further in 2wd with rear locker than i could in 4wd before the lock right. There are times that I would like to be able to just switch off the front locker, but it is not exactley difficult to move the transfer lever a couple of inches, go into 2wd, turn the sharper corners, and then reingage 4wd.

Dave

Allyn replied:

I would fit Lokka Lock Right to my front diff firstly, then you'll probably find you may not want to upgrade your rear diff. You should be able to do this for about $500 if you do the work yourself and I can tell you it easily doubled my 80 series off road capacity.
I also have Lokkas to rear(there's not too many places I wouldn't take my vehicle I can tell you) but LSD would have sufficed. They are a bit noisy but a good cheap alternative without air lines, compressor, electrics etc.

Gray replied:

Hi Allan, Lockers are great but it comes down to your expected usage ?
Lokka & detroit lockers do have driving characteristics, they
can be torque reactive to varing degrees, depending front or
rear fitment.Being locked all the time and having to unlock can
put extra stress on axle & wheel studs causing falure on those
parts.
I have only heard of one problem of a cracked casing but can
still comes down to how it's used.
Detroit & ARB air lockers are in there own casing and being
somewhat stronger than original.
The air lockers are a premium product, there either in or out
So only used when necessary, no undue stress on driveline.
The only minor problems i know of are, you may get a small /
very small amount of oil come up the airline from the diff
which means put a fitting on the solenoid valve and a hose &
the second is just, that on the solenoid a small lever of which
i've knocked a couple of times, turned & didn't release the
air. Between front or rear fitment "Front"
I hope this is helpful. I have 2 airlockers.

royce replied:

Hi Allan. I've got Lock Rights on the back of my 88 Arkana landcruiser. WOW! They're great! I can go places in 2WD that I couldn't get in 4WD. I'll be putting LSD on the front because of steering retriction that the lockers may impose. Air lockers should be good to play around with, but you have to get your timing just right, because if they're in lock you can't turn corners which is a bit nasty if you really need to..... cheers Royce.

Member - Nigel replied:

If your going to compare auto and manually controlled diff locks then you should compare detroit with air lockers. The Lokka and Lock Rights are lighter duty and therefore quiet a bit cheaper. Whether or not a light duty locker will suit you depends entirely on your driving style and expected usage.

Conrary to what was suggested above, automatic diff locks don't become open diffs when you turn. The wheels on the outside that is travelling faster unlocks to overspeed the drivetrain, but the inside wheel is still fully locked and being driven.

I personally think that all these products have a place, but it's also a case of you get what you pay for. The air locker is the ultimate for the offroader that knows how to use it properly and will be pushing thier vehilce beyond what the manufacturer allowed for (In my opinion all 4WDs are designed primarily for road use and need some modification).