not happy with ez-locker

[durnzuki]

I also had LOTS of issues with mine and finally paid to have Lowrange set it up for me with a new one and STILL had issues.  I finnaly got tired of the undependability of it and threw it away and welded the front.

[skyhiranger]

A 1530 locker, like he had installed, does not reuse the stock sidegears, it comes with the new replacement sidegears (or couplers, I think they call them).  The 1530s are not as tolerant of bent or slightly misaligned axle housings as the 1510 lockers are.  So assuming (I know, bad to assume) the shop set the locker up correctly, then I am guessing the axle housing is bent or out of alignment.
No locker, 1530 or 1510 should slip when taking off from a stop.  One side should always be engaged and provide immediate drive to at least one tire.
I have set up 1510s and 1530s in a sidekick and my samurai and have never had a dependability issue with any of them.  The 1530 was very quiet and never made the loud pops like the 1510 in my samurai does.  I don't know if it was just the difference in the 1530 and the 1510, or if there were some manufacturing changes that attribute to the noise (I heard the lockers have been redesigned slightly, since I put my 1530 in my sidekick back in 96 or so).
One thing that does seem to quiet down the 1510 is to run gear oil with limited slip additive in it.....it still pops occasionally, but it doesn't seem to be as loud.  I would be a little leary of running 140 gear oil, that stuff would probably be as thick as grease in the cold of winter.

[RockMolester]

skyhiranger is absolutely correct with everything he said.

I should specify more accurately that I use 85/140 gear oil to quiet my lockers in all my vehicles, not just straight 140-weight.  My climate is California, which is generally pretty mild.  The coldest weather we get is about 10°F at our cabin in the mountains, where I can definitely feel the oil is t*h*i*c*k until I've driven a bit.  In colder climates, I would definitely recommend sticking with 80/90 gear oil in the winter and change to the thicker 85/140 in the summer.

[tombrannen]

ok well the only gear oil i could find was the 85-140 so i will change it out tonight. it does seem the more i drive it the less popping it tends to do. i am taking it to the park and putting it in the mud this week end so i will see what happens. although i may go ahead and have my 1510 installed in the front next week i believe i will swap to a spool in the rear asap unless the 1530 impresses me this week end. thanks everyone.

[naracermcb]

every once and a while mine will pop real bad like a bang and youll feel the truck lurch to the left and this only happens from a dead stop and starting. but other than that it seems to work fine. dotn know how much youve driven it on the street. ive been thinking i might not drive mine so much anymore cause im sure it makes it hard on the lockers. but if its popping real bad then it must be out of wack and all i can say is its made by richmond and i doubt that its a defect. i would talk to the shop you had assemble it for you. i didnt even torque boplts or nothng when i did mine just set the impact to a low pressure and buzzed it back together real wuick and put it back in. just got to make sure that the bearings are set back to how they were when it was taken apart.

[tombrannen]

it does not see the streets just a toy for the mud. it is loaded in my horse trailer right now to go to the park tomarrow.

[mikes88zuk]

I think welding the rear works great  my 2 sence 

[RockMolester]

Yeah, I tried that back in 1997, and after burning through a brand new set of tires in only 8,000 miles, I put my locked 3rd member back in along with a fresh set of tires, and I've never gone back.  The locker drives so much better than the welded diff.  Sure, there's the occasional pop and bang, but without the welded diff my Sami had half the turning circle, half the steering effort, and the tires last 5 times as long.

[Surly]

Yeah, I tried that back in 1997, and after burning through a brand new set of tires in only 8,000 miles, I put my locked 3rd member back in along with a fresh set of tires, and I've never gone back.  The locker drives so much better than the welded diff.  Sure, there's the occasional pop and bang, but without the welded diff my Sami had half the turning circle, half the steering effort, and the tires last 5 times as long.

*Surly doesn't like spooled/welded rears either.

[JRickey]

air pressure is huge on mine with regards to noise.  I ended up having a shop set my rear one up due to the same issues.  I also ended up changing out my rear housing.  Now it makes popping noises on acceleration on turns (normal) and racheting sounds when not accelerating.

[tombrannen]

ok well i took it out and well lets say the locker is shot. the others at the park say it must be bad springs. the passenger side locks in tight but the drivers side wheel has no power to it at all just side gear on locker gear ratchet racket. i gave it hell any ways had a lot of fun took the 3rd out when i got home this morning. my axles and housing are good but the drivers side side gears are almost worn smooth. oh well out with the locker in with a spool. wont have that issue again. since i never use this on the road only as a toy i might even weld up the fron since i can not find a front spool and do not plan on changing axles. when i am on park dirt roads i will just unlock my drivers side hub.

[tombrannen]

well i save money and did not buy the spool i welded the locker side gears to the locker inner gears. now it is a spool. works great now.

[Tgator]

I installed my lockers myself they work great for the price I have 15,000 miles on mine and they do have there quirks on the road that is for sure you just learn how to drive them when to shift and when to accelerate on the corners so it doesn't dart and dive but you do get use to it I am running 31s with lockers front and back I second the climbs like a billygoat I use mine for hunting and it goes anywhere I ever want to go

[skyhiranger]

the locker was installed by a local 4x4 shop in the third member for me then i just did the chunk install.

ok well i took it out and well lets say the locker is shot. the others at the park say it must be bad springs. the passenger side locks in tight but the drivers side wheel has no power to it at all just side gear on locker gear ratchet racket. i gave it hell any ways had a lot of fun took the 3rd out when i got home this morning. my axles and housing are good but the drivers side side gears are almost worn smooth. oh well out with the locker in with a spool.

Well, I'd say if you would have pulled it back out, right when you knew something was wrong, the shop should have fixed it.  But since you went ahead and ran it, even after you knew something wasn't right, then even though it sounds like the shop set it up wrong, they probably aren't really liable for fixing/replacing the locker.

[tombrannen]

I dont blame the shop. never said i did. when i took it apart i found the springs had failed keeping one side from engageing. that is not shops fault that is just crappy parts. i had already been told that the locker could not be returned do to the type of part it is and the abuse they take some times so that was not and option. i was hopeing the noise was just normal but oh well i guese not. i just turned a negative into a positive by welding it and saving me some money. when i started this thread people talked about spools any way so i made one out of it.