Front Locker for FJ60 axle

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AlexJet

AlexJet

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Jan 29, 2008
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Toronto, ON
I have axles from 1982 (if I'm not mistaken) FJ60.
I want to put those axles under my 40-series, and I have a question on lockers for 60-series axles.
My truck is mainly for trails, but I'm going to drive it to the trail and back.
For the rear I decided to go with Detroit.
Question: What are my options for the front?
 
If you're just driving it to the trails and back you could go with a Lockright or an Aussie locker. Much cheaper than the ARB.

I would only put an ARB in my front axle because my 60 is a DD. A mechanical locker like the Aussie would limit driveability on pavement
 
Another selectable option is the 80 series rear e-locker. That's what I have in my 62.
 
there are no issues with DD a 60 with an aussie locker in the front unless you have 4wheel drive engaged.

I have an aussie locker in the front of my 60 and I would say its a good value and seems to work fine off-road.

If you plan to engage 4wheel drive on teh pavement (snow, or other ocnditions) then I would purchase a selectable locker like the ARB.
 
fishontro said:
trials only, weld it up. use transfer to disengage.
Click to expand...

Not every trail requires locked front, plus sometimes it takes 4-5 hours to drive to the trail. I don't want full time front locker, so spool is out of the question.
 
May be driven daily sometime, but rare.
I like the idea of ARB, but it's price tag and it's air supply is worries me.
 
RockDoc said:
Another selectable option is the 80 series rear e-locker. That's what I have in my 62.
Click to expand...

I've heard you have to grind of axle housing to fit eLocker. This kind of scary me.
 
Elbert said:
there are no issues with DD a 60 with an aussie locker in the front unless you have 4wheel drive engaged.

I have an aussie locker in the front of my 60 and I would say its a good value and seems to work fine off-road.

If you plan to engage 4wheel drive on teh pavement (snow, or other ocnditions) then I would purchase a selectable locker like the ARB.
Click to expand...

There is a possibility in North climate, like here in Canada.
 
AlexJet said:
There is a possibility in North climate, like here in Canada.
Click to expand...

then you need a selectable locker in my view, because if you need to use 4wheel drive on teh pavement.....I would not want a mechanical locker in the front differential.

So....some type of air locker (ARB) yeah they are $$, or some other type of selectable locker would be the logical choice. Not sure what is avliable outside the ARB but I know some trucks have cable and electrical operated lockers. In Canada you might be able to find a cable locker for your setup... There are other mechanical lockers but they are all in teh same boat....in my view I would not use one in the front differential of a truck where I planned to drive on teh pavement in 4wheel drive. I'm sure you'll get all kinds of opinions on that but I have a mechanical locker in my 60 (both front and back) and I would only engage 4wheel drive for a short distance on the pavement (snow or whatever) just to clear the obstacle. (my view). Don't think front lockers on pavement are predictable nor are their road manners tolerable even in heavy snow etc... I think ice would be the deal breaker.
 
Elbert said:
there are no issues with DD a 60 with an aussie locker in the front unless you have 4wheel drive engaged.

I have an aussie locker in the front of my 60 and I would say its a good value and seems to work fine off-road.

If you plan to engage 4wheel drive on teh pavement (snow, or other ocnditions) then I would purchase a selectable locker like the ARB.
Click to expand...

X2
If you are running a non-selectable in the rear (Detroit) then a selectable up front will not be any advantage in the snow & ice.

Aussie lockers are awesome for the price and they are not noticeable up front for normal driving unless the hubs are locked.
 
AlexJet said:
I've heard you have to grind of axle housing to fit eLocker. This kind of scary me.
Click to expand...

I didn't find the grinding to be worrisome, but I had the housing off the truck when I did it. Some say you can get away without grinding, but sliding in the third is tight if you don't. Finding the long spline inner is the hurdle (easy if you go Longfield).

x Whatever on selectible up front if you use 4wd on winter roads.
 
ozwallaby said:
Cable lockers (I prefer them over Es) were available in saharas and maybe in other model 60s..... may be pricey tho...

Alexjet... your inbox is full....
Click to expand...

Cleaned the inbox.
 
Elbert said:
then you need a selectable locker in my view, because if you need to use 4wheel drive on teh pavement.....I would not want a mechanical locker in the front differential.

So....some type of air locker (ARB) yeah they are $$, or some other type of selectable locker would be the logical choice. Not sure what is avliable outside the ARB but I know some trucks have cable and electrical operated lockers. In Canada you might be able to find a cable locker for your setup... There are other mechanical lockers but they are all in teh same boat....in my view I would not use one in the front differential of a truck where I planned to drive on teh pavement in 4wheel drive. I'm sure you'll get all kinds of opinions on that but I have a mechanical locker in my 60 (both front and back) and I would only engage 4wheel drive for a short distance on the pavement (snow or whatever) just to clear the obstacle. (my view). Don't think front lockers on pavement are predictable nor are their road manners tolerable even in heavy snow etc... I think ice would be the deal breaker.
Click to expand...

Canada is no difference to States on availability if not worse. I'm planning to send my 3rd south to US for Gear/Locker job.
I do drive sometimes on 4WD as weather is not predictable here, but most of the time it's just 2WD.
Detroit on the back shouldn't be a problem, am I right?
So, basically, if I don't lock the hubs locker on front would be fine, but if I do lock the hubs, driving on pavement is bad for stability and parts wear/breakerage???
 
detroit on the rear is fine....make sure you get use to the raod manners of a mechancial locker, before you hit snow/ice as the locker will change the way the truck handles to some degree.

Yes basically a locker in teh front is not working until the hubs are locked. But on the pavement I would not engage 4wheel drive and just simply leave the front hubs unlocked.

Offroad I generally lock the front hubs on my 60.....and then engage 4wheel drive when needed with the shfiter from inside the cab.

On the pavement 4 wheel drive is not engaged nor or the hubs locked unless in snow conditions that would merit it, with lockers on front and back I would limit the time 4wheel drive is engaged. Of course down here where I live we might see snow a few days in the winter ...I"m not speaking just to my geographic area.

From what I've read...a detroit locker is the top of the line for mechanical lockers, its tough and works well, you just have to get used to the way it behaves on pavement. It basically will take all the slack out of the driveline. You should ride with someone or maybe get someone to let you drive their 40 on the raoad that has a locker in the back to get a feel for this. If you have stock size tires the impact of the locker will be greater then if you have oversize tires....at least this has been my experience. The locker is more aggressive with smaller tires if that makes sense.
 
So far as I understand my options are the following. The question is what would be the better choice.

Limited-Slip (are they good for Front Axle operation in 60-series?):
- Auburn ECTED (542030) $600 -- limited to 35" tires; will it work for front???


Selectable Lockers:
- ARB (RD142) $950 -- air lines and o-rings are weak points.

Automatic Lickers:
- Lick-Right (1630) $340 -- drop-in, limited to 33" tires
- Aussie (XD-21230) $300 -- drop-in?
- Detroit (187C152A) $850 -- full locker, not recommended for pavement.
 
Last time I was looking around the only LSD unit that works or is generally avaliable for the FJ60 is the Auburn PRO LSD limited slip, the same part # is used front and back. For offraod the Auburn unit is better than nothing but I had one and I would only reccomend it for gravel road type stuff for the most part. The Auburn needs wheelspin in order to work and that translats into some speed, which does not work well in rocky terrian.

I thnk all of the mechanical lockers exhibit some bad manners on pavement, some worse than others, and in my view the other factors are if you run an automatic transmission and how large your tires are. Automatic transmission and larger tires will make the bad manners less noticeable.

Others may have different view.
 
Elbert said:
Last time I was looking around the only LSD unit that works or is generally avaliable for the FJ60 is the Auburn PRO LSD limited slip, the same part # is used front and back. For offraod the Auburn unit is better than nothing but I had one and I would only reccomend it for gravel road type stuff for the most part. The Auburn needs wheelspin in order to work and that translats into some speed, which does not work well in rocky terrian.

I thnk all of the mechanical lockers exhibit some bad manners on pavement, some worse than others, and in my view the other factors are if you run an automatic transmission and how large your tires are. Automatic transmission and larger tires will make the bad manners less noticeable.

Others may have different view.
Click to expand...

No, it's Manual transmission (4-spd). I plan to run 35s.
 
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