E-locker oppinions...brand wise, ect

ncgamedog

ncgamedog

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 30, 2005
Location
Greensboro, NC
I am curious as to what the general consensus is on the different types of electric lockers out there now. Anyone have experience with one? How well does it function? Reliability? ect.
For reference, if i go this route in will be in a d44 rear application. I know Eaton, Detroit, and Auburn offer them...
:beer:
 
I've got an eaton e-locker in my front 44 and haven't had any issues, although I know of one that had one break in his front 60. I like it and have been wheeling it several years now. I knew I wanted a selectable locker and wanted to avoid the air lines and extra expense of an arb...so far so good..
 
we have had nothing but trouble out of them and have pulled many out to be replaced with an ARB. im speaking of all brands, they all basically work the same way and just are not a great design. if you are wanting an electric to save money over an ARB, dont do it. the only nice thing about them is one of them (the auburn unit i think) is a limited slip when unlocked but can be switched to a spool, which i think is a cool feature if you drive in the snow.

people give ARBs a bad rap with the air actuation system, but if they are properly installed and setup you will never have any issues with it for the life of the truck.
 
Yeah I have actually had good luck with ARB's in the past, I just like the idea of electric for simplicity and costs...but if its nothing but trouble it's no advantage. I too also like the idea of the Auburn Ected's LSD function for a rear app.
 
Eaton E locker

I had one in the rear of a XJ I just sold. It was a D44 and worked flawlessly. I wouldnt look at anthing else..... It was open and drove great on the street, when you needed it, just push the button and your locked.
 
I was thinking of an Auburn Ected for my 01 TJ but after talking with Chase & Jon at ECGS, I went with ARB and I have no regrets.
 
OX or ARB I prefer the arb . the electric lockers all of them are fine for stock vehicles but are not built to withstand the abuse we put them through. lets face it most every axle we put in is overloaded. we upgrade axles and just get bigger tires and motors.
 
there is a thread on PBB right now discussing the Eaton E locker. I have no personal experience with them, but reading the thread, seems there is a general concensus that most are dissapointed in the Eaton E locker
 
I had two different Ecteds in my front dana 30.

On 33"s it was perfect. On 35"s I broke the magnet that operates the clutch/locker system. After talking to Auburn they said their D30 Ecteds were only rated to 31"s, but their other models were supposed to be stronger. I got a full refund and bought an Ox.

Either way, I was extremely pleased with the Ecteds and beat the hell out of them. I ran around 15 trails in Moab and around 35 to 40 trails in Colorado with mine.

Now I'm on ARBs and of the three (Ected, Ox, ARB), I have been happiest with ARBs. For the longest time I was an ARB hater, but they have been great so far.

:beer:
 
I was disappointed in my Eaton e-locker. I had it out back in the 8.8 rear on my Bronco on 36's. I tried to be very careful with it when engaging and disengaging, but I still ended up stripping out the engagement pins. When I went to tons I replaced it with an ARB and don't regret it for a second. Don't let the price of adding a compressor keep you from going with air lockers; you don't HAVE to use the expensive ARB compressor. Any old $30 cheap-o electric compressor will do, because all it has to do is make 90 psi and a very small volume of air. If you're interested in what the guts of a trashed e-locker looks like, check out this thread. I really don't think that it is a terrible product, but it's just not great for serious off road use. If I had a vehicle that was going to be 99% street and only light occasional off road, I would consider the e-locker for it. Otherwise, go with the ARB. Yukon recently also came out with an air locker that is very similar to the ARB, and a little cheaper, but only time will tell if it's any good or not. I thought it looked promising.
 
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