Quick Help!

adkinsadam1

adkinsadam1

New member
Hey all.

I need to know from those who are knowledgeable about this kind of thing just how practical/possible/expensive it is to retrofit an e-locker onto a 2000 4runner.

I am about to buy a vehicle tomorrow that does not have one, but there is another option for a vehicle that does - except it is $1000 more. I can't decide whether it is worth buying the one with the locker. The one without the locker is manual, which I like, and the one with is automatic. The one without the locker has great off road tires, and the one with the locker has awful street tires.

I want to get the one without the locker because it is less expensive and has a manual, except I don't know about retrofitting one later on. Is this something I could even do? What kind of place would do the retrofit for me? If I want a locker should I just buy the one with the locker now and spend the extra $1000?

Also, the one that is $1000 more with the locker has 125000 miles on it vs the manual with 145000. Is this mileage difference significant in your opinions? Is it worth getting the more expensive one because of that mileage difference? Or is 145000 just fine on a well maintained vehicle?

Thank you all for your responses. Tomorrow is a day of decisions!
 
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It can surely be retrofitted for less than $1000 if you can do some of the work yourself. I'd think buying a new locker and paying someone to do all of the work could easily push the envelope, but not by a lot. Buy the vehicle you want!
 
The 125k w/locker sounds more appealing, but that kinds depends on how it's been maintained vs. the one with 145k. Check BigFishAllDay's build thread for the retrofit. The 2000 should be a little easier than the 01-02 models but still some work. I, personally would go with lower miles and factory locker. I don't know though, CO folks seem to want WAYYY too much for these trucks. Odd to me being it seems there's like 9 million of them up there with little or no rust. If ya want to save a few bucks, look around down here in sunny Omaha. I usually find ones similar to what you're looking for pretty often for far less than CO prices.
 
With the assumption that maintenance is equal on the two rigs there are a couple things that you should consider. Let's see if I can break it down:

Runner 1 (no locker)
-good tires
-145 miles
-Manual
-1000 cheaper

Runner 2 (locker)
-e locker
-needs tires ($1000?)
-125 miles
-auto
-1000 more expensive

Unless I'm missing something the elocker runner will cost you $2000 (1000 more expensive and ~1000 for tires). 20,000 miles is nothing in a well maintained buggy. You said you wanted a manual so given the above go with that rig and find a elocker and swap it in. Or save the money, get the maintenance to a good level and use some $$ for a lift, bumper, winch, whatever.
 
I am going to test drive the one with the locker tomorrow morning.

So the way you get an e-locker on to your car is you have to literally take somebody else's axle/diff? Is that the way it works? Sounds complicated.

It kills me that the locker one has terrible street tires. They are brand new, but are not made for off road at all. Right now I'm leaning toward the manual without the locker and doing a retrofit. Because apparently 30,000 miles is negligible difference?
 
I should also mention that the non-locker is an SR5 "Highlander" and the locked on is a limited. I generally prefer the look of the Highlander, and I believe it is preferred by most, correct?
 
Diesel_Dog said:
With the assumption that maintenance is equal on the two rigs there are a couple things that you should consider. Let's see if I can break it down:

Runner 1 (no locker)- Highlander
-good tires
-145 miles
-Manual
-1000 cheaper

Runner 2 (locker)- Limited
-e locker
-Has street tires (sell for ~ $300) buy new tires ($1000?)= net $700
-125 miles
-auto
-1000 more expensive
Click to expand...

Is that about right?

Sounds to me like you have to decide on how bad you want a manual transmission. That is more expensive than a locker swap. Also, the limited has some body panels that aren't too friendly to hardcore off road stuff, so thats a consideration as well. Lots of people like the highlander scooped hood (I am one of them). It also has color matched bumper (though you may replace those if you are an off road type).

I say buy the cheaper one. For $1000 you could almost do an air locker in the rear. Plus tires. Also, you dont know what you are going to find once you have bought wither one, so unless you really love the limited, I would rather have the $1000 to spend fixing little stuff.
 
I didn't know the Limited had body panels that were less favorable for off road. The thing I keep thinking to myself is that the Limited is an auto, locked vehicle. I me you can't get better than that for off road. And I also think: I would drive that limited maybe two years before it got to the mileage of the other one.

Thanks for all the comments! Decisions are hard.
 
Btw, does anybody think the 4 speed is not preferred because it is too few gears? I want a manual mainly because I want 5. Is 4 really no problem?
 
Comparing the manual to auto 3rd gen is apples and oragnes in my opinion. You either want an manual or you don't
 
I have 2 4runners both 4cyl one auto the other man. Neither came with the locker. I do enjoy driving the man way more than the auto. So it is really up to you as what you prefer to drive.
 
Thank you.

The thing is, I've never had anything other than an automatic, so I don't know if I'll love the manual. I know I wanted one, but have no experience.
 
Take them both for a test drive. You shouldn't worry about the tires. If you plan on keeping the truck for any length of time you will eventually have to change the tires, since they will eventually wear out.
 
I think I have made a decision! I have decided to go with the manual 4runner without the locker. I drove the automatic, and I felt that it did not have enough power, and I felt that I did not like the four-speed. Therefore, I've decided to get the manual 4runner and retrofit an e-locker onto it this summer.
 
Ask and you shall receive!

I am taking it in this Saturday for a 150,000 service, and NEXT Saturday is the E-LOCKER RETROFIT. Very exciting. Let me know what you think!

So far I've put new tires on it, and taken off the running boards.
 

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