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Originally Posted by marin8703
isnt the locker the differentlial itself, except that it has the ability to lock the two wheels? or do you mean the housing? or whats up?
im just asking out of curiousity, not that i would do anything to the front.
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A locker either replaces the entire carrier in axle or, if it's case of an open differential, it can replace just the spider gears. Adding a locker of either type increases the stress put on the housing. Research on the aluminum IFS housings in many other trucks has shown that they tend to break with the added stresses that a locker adds under offroad conditions. HTH
The Eaton eLocker is indeed what comes in the H3 (with adv. pkg. obviously). The Auburn ECTED is another electronic locker worth looking into, also from an OEM, that replaces the entire carrier. But when in the off or un-locked position it functions as a limited slip. I'm not 100% sure, but I think the eLocker is either open or locked. Personal preference I suppose...
FWIW I was originally hoping to replace the differential in my H3, which I thought was open at the time, with a locker that only replaces the spider gears (sometimes known as a lunchbox locker). However, after some use, I have found that the limited slip in my base model H3 works quite well for what I need. And since it isn't an open carrier, I don't think it's worth a $1000 bill to be replaced anyway. Through the snow and mud, and hopefully the sand as well when it warms up, I have been very impressed with it!