Locker.. front OR rear

[thedapperbenz]

Just picked up my first 80 series (1FZ-FE) GXL (Auto).

It’ll be getting a 2.5” lift shortly, followed by some new 35’s.

Since I wasn’t lucky enough to pickup an 80 with factory lockers, I’m looking to add one. Sadly the budget won’t allow both front and rear, and given there’s another Bub on the way (found out yesterday), the budget will now only allow for a auto locker. Probably not everybody’s cup of tea, but hey, it’s what I can afford.

Would you go front or rear if it’s an auto locker (Lokka, Aussie Locker, Powertrax Lock-Right, etc)

I’m looking at it this way:

Front:
- Need a free-wheeling hub kit
- Benefit is that the diff isn’t always locked if the hubs aren’t locked
- Downside is that a front locker might put more stress on CV’s etc.. especially with 35’s and standard gearing
- Won’t chew tyres as it’s only locked when the hubs are locked

Rear:
- Always locked (how will this handle if it’s pouring rain and I’m doing a 2 hour drive up a windy mountain road with the family in the wagon?)
- Stronger than front/less stuff to break
- Will chew tyres more frequently as it’s always locked in the rear (I do under 5000km a year though.. so not a huge issue)

If the rear is still safe to drive on road, in the wet.. then I’d go that path. I’m just worried about driving up/down winding mountain roads doing 100kph in the wet with the rear locked...

Front sounds better for on-road manners, but I don’t fancy replacing CV’s in the bush

 

[-Spike-]

Rear. And slow the fxxx down on wet mountain roads before you kill someone.

 

[thedapperbenz]

Rear. And slow the **** down on wet mountain roads before you kill someone.

How prone are the auto lockers to not unlocking when cornering on wet roads? That’s probably my only/main concern... don’t want to injure the family or someone else by losing the back in the wet

 

[-Spike-]

If you're on the gas, they lock. You learn to coast through corners when you need to. It's really not that drastic, I could spin the rear tires when I felt like it on dirt, but it was pretty controllable- and that was a pick-up. Occasionally I experienced understeer when driving on a loose surface, but only at low speeds when on the gas. If you have momentum you probably won't even know it's there.

 

[chap79]

Rear first. I’ve had an Aussie in the rear of my truck for about 25000 miles. No problems in wet conditions. But I’m not a speed demon either.

 

[chap79]

IME, if the truck is still full time 4wd, you really don’t notice the auto locker until you lock the center diff.

 

[thedapperbenz]

Rear first. I’ve had an Aussie in the rear of my truck for about 25000 miles. No problems in wet conditions. But I’m not a speed demon either.

I’m no speed demon either.. I usually keep the revs under 2k just to save fuel haha

My worry is that (from what I’ve read) the auto lockers don’t disengage when you’re under acceleration. So what happens if you’re going uphill (under acceleration) on a windy road in the wet, particularly if it’s a faster stretch of road and you’re trying not to hold up traffic. Would it stay locked, or would it still disengage even though you’re accelerating?

 

[zona]

It's my experience that on iced roads it's best to not be locked, drive cautiously and let the rig do what it do what it do, the weight of the vehicle is a major advantage. Now if you slide off the road having lockers is a major advantage.


Zona

 

[-Spike-]

My worry is that (from what I’ve read) the auto lockers don’t disengage when you’re under acceleration. So what happens if you’re going uphill (under acceleration) on a windy road in the wet, particularly if it’s a faster stretch of road and you’re trying not to hold up traffic. Would it stay locked, or would it still disengage even though you’re accelerating?

They will not disengage under load, but unless you're in a hairpin turn you won't notice. An auto-locker in the rear does not turn your station wagon into a donut machine. There is a certain amount of risk that you will lose rear traction in some situations, but with experience you learn when that's likely to happen and you adjust your driving habits a little.

 

[nukegoat]

Front if youre only going to run a detroit

 

[Pin_Head]

Autolockers independently lock or drive each side depending on the speed of the wheel and the ring gear. They switch drive sides when you change turn directions and when you go from drive to coast and visa versa. In the drive direction, neither wheel can turn slower than the ring gear, so they drive both sides when one wheel loses traction. Otherwise, one side is driving and the other side is ratcheting the vast majority of the time.

 

[BILT4ME]

Rear only.

It will lock under ACCELERATION as well as DECELERATION. It will only unlock when the power difference is near zero and you are going straight. So, in your example, it may lock before going into one corner because you're going uphill and accelerating. As soon as you straighten out, it may unlock because you back off the throttle slightly. Then lock again when you enter the next corner based on throttle position.

Speed really doesn't have anything to do with it. It is rotational speed difference and torque difference from one side to the other.

 

[Pighead]

Detroit in the rear. Much calmer and gentler than other lockers. Hardly know it's there...

 

[thedapperbenz]

They will not disengage under load, but unless you're in a hairpin turn you won't notice. An auto-locker in the rear does not turn your station wagon into a donut machine. There is a certain amount of risk that you will lose rear traction in some situations, but with experience you learn when that's likely to happen and you adjust your driving habits a little.

Ok.. so I’m guessing having the fronts driving also, negates the effect of the rears locking slightly. As the front will continue to pull you straight even though the rear is breaking traction.

I’m envisioning my first car... a 13B Turbo RX3 with a welded Hilux diff.. let’s just say it’s an absolutely fluke that I’m still alive. Now I’m envisioning my 2yo and pregnant wife in the RX3 and maybe it’s due to old age, but it’s not something I’m keen on. If an auto locker in a full-time 4wd behaves differently than that, then it may not be so bad.

 

[-Spike-]

I hadn't even considered the effects of having a full-time 4wd, to be honest. My experience with an auto-locker was in a part-time pickup, and the only times I could easily break the rear end loose was in 2wd. My point is that a rear auto-locker won't cause you to lose control all the time, and you will adjust your driving habits to compensate for the change in handling. I'd bet an 80 would be even more docile. Fortunately there are folks on the board who have them and they'll probably chime in at some point.

 

[cybrstar]

I’ve ran a spartan/Aussie on the back of my rigs many times. It’s less giving on the lighter 4runners even in 2wd, maybe because of the weight.

But when properly set up on an FZJ80, you’ll hardly even notice it’s back there till you lock the CDL. I’ve drove it in icy conditions snow wheeling many times, not at 60mph but more like 30 on the freeway, and never pushed or pulled one direction. Remember we are talking about the rear only not in the front.

And wheeling, man are they strong. I’ve abused the sh!t out of mine riding through the rubicon 3 times in this year and it never gave me a hiccup along with the other countless trails I ran this year.

Auto locker rear/selectable front is as good as it gets, and if not better than a factory locked. Reason being is that I’ve seen so many of those lights blink when they’re need to be used (whether it’s the front/center/rear). Luck for some of them they’ll still have a winch that hopefully still work too.

BTW, it all depends on what type of wheeling you do. Lockers can be more over rated than the type of driver you are. Just more stuff to break if you don’t know what your doing.

 

[TexasJack]

In my opinion, always a rear locker first. In fact, I would drive a vehicle with only a rear locker but I would not consider driving a vehicle with only a front locker.

 

[ajax1]

Why not save your money and get a selectable locker when you can afford it instead of settling and possibly doing things twice.

 

[gummycarbs]

First, almost everything I've read says that you can't use an auto-locker on the stock, full-time 4WD 80 series system. But I think @Pin_Head has questioned this logic in other threads.

I have a Lokka part-time conversion and front auto-locker. I can tell you several things about it:

1) It doesn't just lock on acceleration. It locks on (some) deceleration. For example, turning while braking to pull 180 degrees into a parking spot and CLACK CLACK CLACK it's constantly locking and unlocking. Braking while pulling into the left turn refuge, followed by a hard, coasting turn? Similar CLACK CLACK CLACK.

2) With the center diff lock off, you still get odd steering. It will occasionally pull a bit to one side or the other. It's subtle, but there. Enough so that I wouldn't let a normal person drive my Land Cruiser with the front hubs locked. With the center diff locked and the hubs engaged, steering gets *really* weird. Not only would I not let a normal person drive it, but I would fully expect passengers to scream.

3) With the part-time conversion, you lose ABS with the front hubs disengaged. With them engaged you get clanking and pulling. Kits exist to move the ABS ring so that it works in 4x2, but when I bought mine they didn't list a price.

4) The additional traction is really, really neat. In a straight line, anyway.
​

Here's my final opinion: unless you have specific reasons to do otherwise, keep the standard full-time 4WD and save for an electronic or air locker. With the viscous coupler in the transfer case limiting front/rear slip, the 80-series 4WD system is the best stock setup I've ever come across. A selectable locker adds tremendous traction in situations where it's needed without interfering with the otherwise excellent manners of the vehicle.

 

[tacosupreme]

I would go with an Auburn Limited Slip in the rear end in your situation. AG542030-PRO

I have ARB's front and rear on my rig. The front one leaks. It's like $20 and some wrenching to fix it, could do it in a day easy. It's been that way for over a year. Meh, don't use the front locker all that often anyhow. In fact the only time I used the front locker was when I was stuck, and frankly all it got me was stuck again, but deeper.