Front Aussie Locker only?

[eyebmx]

I have found many posts about Aussie or other ratcheting lockers. But most are talking of either just rear, or front and rear. However youtube searches are mostly front only installs on Jeeps. I am interested in a front only setup, as I am not crazy about the design for a rear diff, as you basically are only getting power to the inside wheel in any turn on pavement. It is not a daily driver, and any hard packed snow or ice conditions will be tackled with my WRX.

Guess my question, are many of you running them in the front only? I understand potential birf issues, but im running a stock 1f engine, not a huge concern i dont think. A bigger question, anyone running front lockers without power steering, and how bad is it really?

 

[shelfboy1]

ive run lockers for years and never had power steering.its really hard to steer and i broke a rag joint once trying to turn one.

 

[pb4ugo]

There's a guy I wheel w/ has lockrites frt & rearn no P/S.. He's a big dude, I swear he's gonna rip the wheel off the column or twist it in a pretzel. He's constantly rocking the 40 back & fourth & cranking on that wheel. He wears leather gloves when he drives it & they squeak, from gripping the wheel so tight.

 

[camcruiser13]

You gain more traction in the rear. That's why people don't just have one in the front for the reasons listed power steering is a good idea. But I could see y you would not want a lunchbox locker in the rear.


I do have one in the rear and if it was a dd I would go for a selectable

 

[DSRTRDR]

I run manual steering and lockers front and rear -selectable ARBs- indeed, without power steering

and yes, when the front locker is engaged, there is virtually no steering anymore - when only the rear is engaged, steering binds up nevertheless more than desirable

I would never run an automatic locker in the front, though

I have wheeled Moab like 9 or 10 times now over the years (including 4.5 rated trails), so it is doable without power steering

 

[Felix]

I still wheel my 40 with manual steering, and I'll say this, it can suck to get that wheel turned in the rocks even with an open diff in the front. When I put the Aussie in the rear, it let me run a lot of stuff in 2 low, which makes the manual steering much easier.

 

[Living in the Past]

I installed a set of Lockrights in my 68 back in 1994. Mainly becausethe only locker I could find for the course spline axles was the Lockright. If I had a rag joint in the steering it would have problaby ripped by now. In most cases I just go off roading with the hub in freee wheel then only lock when needed. In 2LO with the rear lock right I can go places I could never go with 4WD and open diffs. But I also hate the road manners of the rear lock.

I did find another set of locker/LSD for the coarse spline axles. A little know diff called Torsen . If I could find anymore I would buy them. People trash them but it is what the Truetrac is based on. Toyota used the Torsen in the transfer case on the 4Runner and Land Cruiser I believe. The original HUMVEEs had them front and rear. Unlike the Lockright they are completely smooth operating. They don't jerk the rear end around like the Lockright. On the front you can steer without any problem. Detroit makes the Truetrac for the Toyota 8" but not the larger 9 1/2" for the Land Cruiser. I and a few other have contacted Detroit about making the Trutrac for the Land Cruiser but nothing so far.

 

[amaurer]

I installed a set of Lockrights in my 68 back in 1994. Mainly becausethe only locker I could find for the course spline axles was the Lockright. If I had a rag joint in the steering it would have problaby ripped by now. In most cases I just go off roading with the hub in freee wheel then only lock when needed. In 2LO with the rear lock right I can go places I could never go with 4WD and open diffs. But I also hate the road manners of the rear lock.

I did find another set of locker/LSD for the coarse spline axles. A little know diff called Torsen . If I could find anymore I would buy them. People trash them but it is what the Truetrac is based on. Toyota used the Torsen in the transfer case on the 4Runner and Land Cruiser I believe. The original HUMVEEs had them front and rear. Unlike the Lockright they are completely smooth operating. They don't jerk the rear end around like the Lockright. On the front you can steer without any problem. Detroit makes the Truetrac for the Toyota 8" but not the larger 9 1/2" for the Land Cruiser. I and a few other have contacted Detroit about making the Trutrac for the Land Cruiser but nothing so far.

Keep in mind that a Torsen style diff will not provide any power to the remaining wheel if one wheel is completely off the ground. There must be some traction.

Better than nothing tho. If you have a third leg you can use a little brake to stop the lifted wheel.

 

[Living in the Past]

I drove enough pieces of junk when I was young to learn how to operate three pedals with just two feet. I much prefer to drive the forest of northern AZ then the deserts here which means I really don't find to many times with a wheel in the air. But you do bring up a good point which I was of aware of. But if you really looking to play in the rocks a selectable locker is the way to go. At some point I hope to get a set of Toyota E-lockers setup in a FJ40. A lunch box locker just puts to much strain on the front. Adding power steering just helps hide that strain from the driver.

 

[camcruiser13]

A lunch box locker just puts to much strain on the front. Adding power steering just helps hide that strain from the driver.

hence the need to beef stuff up

 

[DaveWest5150]

a auto type locker drives the outside wheel and lets the inside rachet back, and with a slight mod in your driving technic you wont even care about having it in the rear. I would put it in the rear axle.

 

[Living in the Past]

a auto type locker drives the outside wheel and lets the inside rachet back

But not that smooth. Plus you still the feeling it pushing to the side everytime you push on the gas pedal. Nothing something you want when driving on snow packed and icy road roads. I have driven my 68 with lockright on snow packed roads. But because I have few Land Cruisers so it happens very rarely.

 

[rusty_tlc]

The 2WD low mod helps with steering but not once the locker is engaged. You need to anticipate and disengage the front diff before you get into a bind. Sometimes you can reverse a little and unload the front locker. However, reversing with the front wheels under a load is fraught with peril, it is the perfect set-up to break a birfield.

 

[eyebmx]

a auto type locker drives the outside wheel and lets the inside rachet back, and with a slight mod in your driving technic you wont even care about having it in the rear. I would put it in the rear axle.

It is actually opposite of this. Auto lockers will allow the wheel to spin faster than the carrier, so the outside wheel will ratchet while the inside wheel is getting the power. The inside wheel has much less traction in a harder turn, so if you goose the throttle, it will easily spin and catch up to the speed of the outside wheel and lock quickly causing both to spin. This is why people warn against them in low traction street driving.

Most of my wheeling is in the desert, and I do have a lot of problems getting up sandy hills that have been "moguled" (for a lack of a better term).

A torsen limited slip would be perfect to me as Im not looking for a rock crawler, mostly hill climbing capabilities. I have a 1964, which I understand is pre coarse spline (correct me if Im wrong) are there any torsen diffs available?

 

[eyebmx]

Guess im backwqrds on that, older years are 10 coarse spline, while later years are 30 fine splines. Im seeing what I can find for torsen

 

[Living in the Past]

A torsen limited slip would be perfect to me as Im not looking for a rock crawler, mostly hill climbing capabilities. I have a 1964, which I understand is pre coarse spline (correct me if Im wrong) are there any torsen diffs available?

Yours would be coarse spline axles. Which as far as I know your only option is Lockright. The is the only reason I used Lockrights in my early 68. Couldn't find anything else for coarse spline axles. The other options meant changing to fine spline axles. The Torsens I have came in the last FJ25 I purchased which is also the oldest. Doing a search on the internet all I could find on Torsen and Land Cruiser were people finding this strange locker in the front axle. Finding Torsen in a rear axle would harder then the front since they wouldn't use C clips. The rear axle on this FJ25 had special hubs that hold the pressed on wheel bearings in place.

 

[eyebmx]

Yours would be coarse spline axles. Which as far as I know your only option is Lockright. The is the only reason I used Lockrights in my early 68. Couldn't find anything else for coarse spline axles. The other options meant changing to fine spline axles. The Torsens I have came in the last FJ25 I purchased which is also the oldest. Doing a search on the internet all I could find on Torsen and Land Cruiser were people finding this strange locker in the front axle. Finding Torsen in a rear axle would harder then the front since they wouldn't use C clips. The rear axle on this FJ25 had special hubs that hold the pressed on wheel bearings in place.

Is there a torsen available for the front coarse spline then? If I could get power to atleast one wheel that has traction in a flexed situation it would make a drastic difference in capabilities. It sounds like my only option is ratchet lockers, and if that were the case I'll prolly go that route in the front only.

 

[Living in the Past]

No Torsens have been available for the Land Cruiser for many years. Because of the cost to make the special worm gears they never could compete with other type of traction diffs. The original HUMVEEs had them but those were going to the goverment where cost was less of a concern. The Truetrac would be the closest but those aren't even made for the 9 1/2" LCs. If they were ever made I'm sure it would only be available for the 30 count spline axle. There was only one version made. Was designed to be used in the front axle. The set I have has custom hubs made to use it in the back without the C clips you normally use with the semi floating rear axle. If you could find a 30 spline Torsen you would have to find a FF rear axle to use it.

 

[eyebmx]

Thats a bummer. I believe torsen style would be ideal for the moderate offroad use. I see they make Truetrac for old Defenders and a rear wheel drive Volvo. I would think there would be a much larger market for the FJ40. Whats up with that?

Oh well, I guess Aussie Locker it is.

 

[krzyabncanuck]

I had Gleason Torsen in my fj40 when i bought it. Having been driving the HMMWV for awhile at that time i new how to power brake the system to get the other side to lock when i had the 2 power wheels in the air as i was in charge of teaching new people how to do this.

Wish my Gleasons were still in my hands, but they were shot and it was going to be 1,000.00 to rebuild them by the one company that could back in the early 90's.