Lunchbox Locker Comparison! 

I agree! And on the tires, I had actually been set on KM3's but when I went to buy them they were an 8 week backorder. I went with the Coopers and am 100% satisfied.

Lokka in the front of my pathfinder R50 more than 5 years with Zero isuues.. best mod i have done..

How are tight turns and general highway use

@@unclequack5445 it did not. Wouldn't unlock.

Driver OD is the outer diameter of the cam gear/driver, and tooth ID is the diameter across the driver to the inner edges of the teeth. I don't even remember what I was doing with cross section or what plane I was even measuring it in. None of the tooth profiles seemed to be unique enough to pay much attention to the difference.

Being that two other lockers, as well as the spider gears, were perfectly within spec in this carrier, I don't believe the problem was with the carrier. And lining up custom spacers to make it work sounds like way more effort than just getting a different locker.

I find having the rear locked has a larger impact on my ability to turn, so if I could only have one end be selectable, I'd put the selectable in the rear.

This one is not loud at all. I get an occasional audible pop when turning tight like in a parking lot. Otherwise the only way I can hear the ratcheting is if I'm running doorless and happen to be turning while I pass something like a wall or a big brick mailbox that bounces the sound back at me.

They say an occasional pop is expected. Mine will do it when turning almost full lock, such as pulling into the driveway or a parking spot. I feel it but I'm not sure I would describe it the same way you have. How was the spacing between the two halves when you installed it?

Mine did this too. It takes getting used too and it will get better as you break it in.

I removed it. After asking and searching I found many possible causes and I didn’t want to invest more time on it. The simplest answer from most manufacturers was that this type of locker is not suitable for full-time 4wd vehicles. Although it was awesome off-road, this car is a daily so I couldn’t keep it.

@@Agent.K. that's a bummer to hear. Mine is in a rear axle 2wd daily. A car at that. I just hope it holds up for a while. If not then I'll just throw my spider gears back in or weld the locker like most do that I've seen.

I've read about the No Slip. I didn't have one to compare for this, and honestly never even considered it because I wasn't that concerned about the clicking so it didn't justify the complexity. I have to coast around a corner at idle with doors off to hear the Torq ratcheting, and even then only if there's no other vehicles around and there's a curb or a wall next to the road to bounce the sound back. It's very quiet.

ive had a no-slip in my tacoma for 8 years now and its been flawless the whole time. even as a daily driver its fine and completely silent. wouldn't hesitate to buy again

Do they make one for the Jeep wrangler jk model Dana 30 up front ? I have a lunchbox locker don’t know the brand but is super noisy kinda embarrassing when trying to park

@@josuemartinezmtz the carrier is the same it should fit. The jk Dana 30 has a longer pinion shaft so the gears are different. Another option is full carrier locker like a Yukon grizzly or Detroit. They are automatic and stronger than the lunchbox lockers.

@@lol123321123321 like the duratrac ? I heard good things about it What would be the main difference from a regular lunchbox locker like torqlocker and the Detroit duratrac ?

absolutely no issues, wish I had installed it earlier. Still don't notice it in 2WD except for a very occasional pop...I think it may even be smoother now than when it was new. Next time I install a lunchbox locker it will 100% be another Torq.

thanks for the comment! my original suspicion was that the LockRight I got was out of spec and their service just wasn't interested in entertaining that possibility, but I've heard from a handful of people that had the same experience so now I wonder if their spec is just too loose for a subset of lockers that are at the other end of Dana's tolerances. Your thought isn't off-base, because there may be carriers that are better suited for a LockRight while others are better suited for for Torq or Aussie. Philosophically I like the design of the Torq because the "pins" are part of the driver and inherently can't get sideways and bind up, and I think this makes for smoother operation, so if I were to do it again I would try Torq first, and if it was too tight, I'd try a LockRight. I have no complaints about the Coopers from a performance standpoint. It took a return trip but I did get them balanced well, they've stayed balanced, they've worn evenly, and though they're louder than they were when new, they're still far from the loudest mud tire I've heard. I haven't been able to confirm with a measurement but I believe they may be wider at the tread with a more squared shoulder than some competitors with a more rounded profile like a KM3. From a traction standpoint that would be beneficial but in my case I seem to get less steering angle before they contact the arm on my sway bar, compared to other tires on otherwise similar suspension/axle/wheel backspacing.

@@freedomin4low344 got ya.. I'm super bummed I can't find a torq locker for my 1998 ram 1500 9.25 rear end. It's just the lockright and a nitro gear unit as far as I can find. Eaton makes an auto locker (Detroit - but not "Detroit truetrac") that comes with the whole carrier. but I hear they are the weakest of the bunch for my diff because they have to remove too much material on the carrier to make it fit.. not sure if that's accurate. But here's the big issue I just found out- I have a factory LSD and would have to get an open diff carrier for any auto locker to work 😆 so dang... I think it is just going to be a selectable locker makes the most sense. I have had selectable before.. and would prefer the auto lockers because they are always locked in straight line as far as I can tell and I like that, not having to engage and disengage all the time...

@@Christian.jsf1 based on how mine behaves in the front axle (when in 4wd) I wouldn't want an auto in the rear anyway. John Currie has a great video about why they run selectable rear and auto in front on their race vehicles.

@@freedomin4low344 ah.. so is it... based on how cumbersome it is when the front one locks up in dirt, makes you think that if you had one full-time in the rear on pavement it be a huge pain in the ass?

@@Christian.jsf1 yes sir. If it's loaded at all it wants to lock up and is much more resistant to unlocking. Also, if you trace out the paths of the rear tires vs the front in a sharp turn, you see that the rear axle actually needs to differentiate quite a bit more than the front, so a locked rear wants to understeer even worse than a locked front. Less of a deal on mud or loose dirt or gravel but it sucks on slickrock or pavement. I could see running a rear auto locker on a trail only rig in the east, but I'd want the selectable for anything street driven or wheeled on grippy rocks out west.

YES! Thank you for getting the reference! lol

@freedomin4low344 RSK my dude

never used one personally and I didn't address them in my video because it's a full case locker, requiring a backlash setup in your gears, and I was going for an easy install and much lower priced lunchbox locker. Detroits are generally thought of as the gold standard in automatic lockers, but in most circumstances I'd probably just spring for an E-Locker over the Detroit, simply because the jump in price and installation complexity between the two is very small, and I like being able to turn it on and off.

I've only run the Torq but I'm happy with the noise level. I only hear it ratchet if I idle around a residential street corner with the windows off. If I'm off idle, the fan drowns it out, windows block it, and if I'm not in a neighborhood there's no curbs or mailboxes to reflect the sound back at me. I do have the occasional pop as I round a corner which is more audible, but that's just an auto locker thing.

@@freedomin4low344 Thanks for the info brother... 👍 👍👍👍👍

I'd only know to check the websites of Torq, Powertrax, and Spartan. I know the earlier Ranger TTB suspension used Dana centers so I would suspect so, but I don't know what they were doing by 99 with the IFS.

Since the LockRight failed the spin test, I never drove with it installed. The Torq though, operates as expected. I get an occasional pop in tight parking lot turns but it doesn't feel harsh or anything, and I don't even hear the clicking from inside the Jeep. Very happy on road. Still finishing up some details of the build before I take it offroad, but I'm hoping to in the next few weeks.

Thanks! Just out of curiosity, where are you from? I've heard a hard "ss" more than "zz" but my part of the US is known for pronouncing things a bit differently 🤣🤣🤣

@@freedomin4low344 haha, yeah I never hear the ‘SS’ used unless it’s on tv or RU-vid from someone overseas. Otherwise it’s a solid ‘ZZ’.. like you’d say Ozzy for Ozzy Osborne I’m from South East Queensland 🇦🇺 Pretty much the middle of the East coast of Australia.

I'm running 85W140 oil, the HP Dana 30 cover is extra thick, and I have the Warn diff skid plate; between all that I don't hear it even with the windows open. Looking forward to some slow wheeling with doors off to see if I finally hear it there. I don't think I'm hardcore enough to run an auto locker in the rear. I like the selectability of the E-Locker back there.

Nice observation - the torque is unique in that regard - the other lockers don't deflect the spring laterally. I don't *think* it'll be an issue but time will tell.

No TJ came with manual hubs and there are thousands of them with a lunchbox in the front axle, yet almost all the complaints about them focus on operation at initial install and almost never from wearing out. Mine sees about 5k miles a year so even if it only lasted 30k I'll probably have another excuse to have it apart by then anyway...so I'm not worried about it.

There's little to no wear and tear on a front auto locker in 2wd - regardless of hubs

​@@freedomin4low344 What I meant was the constant loud chattering, clicking, wheel hopping and tire scrubbing when turning. Other than these things, I like the simplicity.

@@TorqMastersIndustries What I meant was the constant loud chattering, clicking, wheel hopping and tire scrubbing when turning. Other than these things, I like the simplicity.

@@trustme7731 I don't know if those characteristics are widely overblown, or if the Torq is just very well behaved, but I don't have any of those issues. I'll get an occasional pop in the sharpest of turns, but it's once in a drive, and sometimes not at all. If it's unlocking and ratcheting as it's designed, all you should hear is when it's ratcheting, and even that I only hear with doors off, going around a corner in a residential area with no traffic, stereo off and cool conditions where my fan isn't on.