FJ80 FF rear swap or not (1 Viewer)

[mmuthart]

For $1500 you should get both axles

Yup, my bad. The point is, if you're considering putting an ARB in SF axle, you should strongly consider a FF with the Toy elocker already in it.

Oh, and I don't think it's been mentioned...the FF axle will require 16" wheels to clear the calipers.

 

[cool breeze]

No ones mentioned that if you brake an axle on the SF in the boonies its gonna SUCK!

 

[Florida 80]

No ones mentioned that if you brake an axle on the SF in the boonies its gonna SUCK!

Yea that would suck!

The more I think about the options, I think an e locker might be my best bet with the 12volt guy wiring. I think I get the most bang for the buck that way.

Thanks for you guys that suggested that...I really had not thought of going that route, but now that I did some digging, it looks pretty good...(ff rear, disk brakes and the locker for less than just the arb locker).

 

[silverhorse]

I just swapped mine to a FF. I have a spare rig for parts. A friend of mine here in pensacola has a bone yard with a few 80's with FF's FYI.....

 

[Florida 80]

I just swapped mine to a FF. I have a spare rig for parts. A friend of mine here in pensacola has a bone yard with a few 80's with FF's FYI.....

email sent...thanks

 

[jonheld]

No ones mentioned that if you brake an axle on the SF in the boonies its gonna SUCK!

You guys continually crack me up with these statements. How many 80 Series SF axles have people broken? I know of 1 in the last 20 years. I have had the rear axles out of my truck 2 or 3 times and they are freaking huge. I routinely run 36" Swampers on the rocks, tow over long distances (with street tires) and carry heavy loads.
A SF rear is not a liability IMO. They also do not require routine maintenance.

 

[Florida 80]

You guys continually crack me up with these statements. How many 80 Series SF axles have people broken? I know of 1 in the last 20 years. I have had the rear axles out of my truck 2 or 3 times and they are freaking huge. I routinely run 36" Swampers on the rocks, tow over long distances (with street tires) and carry heavy loads.
A SF rear is not a liability IMO. They also do not require routine maintenance.

I have seen your posts and know you are very familiar withe the 3fe 80s and value your opinion. I am comfortable withe the SF rear, but not as comfortable with the Aussie lockers because of the noise I keep reading about. The ARB is expensive by the time you get it installed...so to get a SL rear the e locker sounds like a cost effective solution and gets me the disk brakes.

What would you do in my situation? I am really on the fence...thanks for the input.

 

[kidglove13]

There is not as much noise as you would think or what you are reading about
I dont know what you are reading but an aussie locker in the rear of an AWD 80 is almost transparent except for the occasional clicking that is it
I know because I daily drove one for like 2-3 years at like 20k per year
Your reading to much into this
You are better off getting the aussie and spending your money on something else

 

[bhmmapping]

You are definitely overthinking it - just do the aussie locker and you will be happy. Like Roger said, with AWD it is not noticeable. If you go part time later it will be a little more noticeable but not enough to be bothersome. When I had just the aussie and AWD I actually found that driveability improved since the steering tighened up a little bit. With AWD the only time I ever heard the aussie was going around a turn next to a wall with the window down.

 

[jonheld]

I have seen your posts and know you are very familiar withe the 3fe 80s and value your opinion. I am comfortable withe the SF rear, but not as comfortable with the Aussie lockers because of the noise I keep reading about. The ARB is expensive by the time you get it installed...so to get a SL rear the e locker sounds like a cost effective solution and gets me the disk brakes.

What would you do in my situation? I am really on the fence...thanks for the input.

Everyone's situation is unique. I live in the northeast where freezing rain and slush and snow are the norm in winter. For me, an auto locker on a daily driver was out of the question. I have ARBs front and rear and would recommend them to anyone in a heartbeat. I don't like mechanical things making decisions for me. I like to decide when to lock and when to be open and on which axle(s).
Yes, you pay more, but if you install them along with a gear swap it makes financial sense. In this case you really get what you pay for.

 

[mr jits]

Everyone's situation is unique. I live in the northeast where freezing rain and slush and snow are the norm in winter. For me, an auto locker on a daily driver was out of the question. I have ARBs front and rear and would recommend them to anyone in a heartbeat. I don't like mechanical things making decisions for me. I like to decide when to lock and when to be open and on which axle(s).
Yes, you pay more, but if you install them along with a gear swap it makes financial sense. In this case you really get what you pay for.

A little common sense while driving along with an understanding of how the Aussie locker works will do you just fine in snow, ice, rain, whatever.
Being a safe driver means knowing how to drive, not what you drive and the mechanical bits in your vehicle.
Like I and others have said, "install the Aussie and spend your time and money on other projects", you won't regret it.

 

[lt1fire]

this comes down to the individual..... I swapped mine to get better braking and the ability to drive still if I break an axle since i have large tires and tend to go up and down things

For overlanding a SF should be fine, It requires less maintenance (most likely the reason that Toyota put them in the 100 series). It would suck if one broke out in the boonies but I have yet to see one break and you can get a few spares from a junkyard if you need to.

 

[jonheld]

A little common sense while driving along with an understanding of how the Aussie locker works will do you just fine in snow, ice, rain, whatever.
Being a safe driver means knowing how to drive, not what you drive and the mechanical bits in your vehicle.
Like I and others have said, "install the Aussie and spend your time and money on other projects", you won't regret it.

And like I said, everyones situation is different. I have multiple drivers which include my wife and children. An auto locker was out of the question.

 

[86tuning]

If you don't tell somebody about the rear locker, most people wouldn't even notice it. Including other people that drive your car.

They aren't dangerous even in snowy/icy conditions, IMO.

Selectable lockers are nice if they came with the truck. If yours came open diff, drop in a Lock-Rite or aussie in the back and be done with it.

If you have deep pockets, you wouldn't need to ask, just buy the ARBs

 

[jomichael]

I just swapped mine to a FF. I have a spare rig for parts. A friend of mine here in pensacola has a bone yard with a few 80's with FF's FYI.....

I'm thinking of doing the same in my 91. Local guy has a factory locked out of a 97. How hard was it to swap in the new ebrake cables?