4x4 Lockers Traction - eaton Elocker - Photo 29273430

Back to Article

Another switchable locker is the Eaton ELocker. This unit is for the Dana 30 front axle, and has seen a sharp rise in popularity among weekend-warrior Jeepers now that 30-spline axle shafts are available. After a long period of development, Eaton has gone to a four-pinion design for strength and reliability.

You could argue that traction is easily as important as ground clearance and suspension travel when it comes to dealing with tough terrain. In this situation, traction alone would be the limiting factor. Without locking diffs, this kind of crawling would be impossible.

One of the best-known lockers worldwide is the ARB Air Locker. It's a true locking differential that the driver actuates. The rest of the time, the differential functions as an open differential, making the ARB suitable for use in front and/or rear axles. This particular unit is for a GM 14-bolt axle.

Another switchable locker is the Eaton ELocker. This unit is for the Dana 30 front axle, and has seen a sharp rise in popularity among weekend-warrior Jeepers now that 30-spline axle shafts are available. After a long period of development, Eaton has gone to a four-pinion design for strength and reliability.

The Auburn ECTED is another true locker that actuates by electromagnetic switching, though the internals are a bit different. Auburn sources advise that the ECTED also incorporates clutch packs that can act as a sort of limited-slip when the differential is not locked up.

Inside a Detroit Locker there are no pinion gears, so the Detroit can distribute forces over a wider, stronger surface area than most lockers, and the carrier is built to last. The Detroit is known to be extremely strong, but a little rough in transition, so they are generally not advisable for use in daily-driven vehicles that might see slippery surfaces. On really tough trails, the Detroit lives up to its reputation.

The venerable Positraction, known since the muscle-car era of the 60s, is still on the market but in a much-improved form. By adding space-age materials to the clutch pack, this limited-slip diff is no longer so much prone to wear. By adding stronger or weaker springs, the Posi can be "tuned" to the user's preference.

The Auburn Limited Slip uses cone-shaped pieces to generate torque biasing force, rather than clutch packs. Like the Positraction, the Auburn can be set up for fast, abrupt transmission of force, or a more gradual binding of the center diff, depending on the springs used.

A spool is a device that locks both axles so they turn simultaneously. Spools are inexpensive and there is nothing to break. However, since the wheels cannot turn at different rates, spools are not a good idea for any vehicle that needs to turn without hopping or winding up the drivetrain.

The Eaton Detroit Truetrac is a versatile gear-type limited slip. It generates good torque biasing with relatively few side effects, so it can be used in the front axle of a trail machine, in the rear axle of a tow vehicle, or practically anywhere else. The Truetrac has a reputation for lasting a long time without any significant reduction in effectiveness.

This device, developed on an OEM basis by Eaton under the name EGerodisc, is a hydraulically operated, electronically controlled limited-slip that provides an optimal stability/traction solution at any speed. The next generation of this type of differential will have "torque vectoring" capability.