needing lockers which way can i go?

[mkguyvr]

anybody running a limmited slip in the rear?I guess i am looking for a combination that is reliable,safe and cheaper than selectable lockers.The aussie lockers sound like the way to go for the way i am going at the moment. 35s -spoa-hysteerand & gears

 

[Elbert]

Yes I have an auburn LSD in the rear and will have one in the front shortly. I removed the powrtrax no-slip locker, since I grew tired of its operation on the street. I'll post the locker in the for sale area soon. It will have the carier, the ring&pinion and the power trax. I regeared to 4.11 at the same time. I think mechanical lockers are the $hit for off-road...., not so great for street. I grew tired of the way it operates at low speed on hard concrete. You defentily have to develop a different driving style....mostly by having the clutch in on low speed turns on hard ground. Off road I think its pretty much unbeatable. Only had the locker in the rear differential. The best soution is probally air-lockers if you want to spend the $$. I like the operation of the mechanical locker and its something that's always there and it works. THe on-road manners are annoying to me....others may find it livable, not that its real bad, just aggrivating to me.

 

[ginericLC]

Since I'm planning to get a FF rear end, I'm investigating the option of putting front FZJ80 3rd members in my truck (from what I've read, you need to use a front FZJ80 3rd on a 60's rear FF) and swapping out the electric actuators with the kit from Downey.

Haven't made up my mind yet on whether or not to go this route, since I'm still gathering info, but so far it looks like a viable option given that I really want cable lockers and this could be more timely to do than waiting to find real deal Toyota cable lockers.

You will need the 80 rear elocker. The 80 fronts are high pinion and smaller and will not work.

The folks who seem to love the cable lockers in the US are folks who have never used them. Personally, I think they are a PITA. The cables get weathered and stiff. The actuators bend. etc....

I wouldn't hesitate to put in a fulltime locker if I lives some place without winter. I didn't like the lockrite in my 60. I replaced it with an ARB and was much happier. I would never run a full time locker in the front as there are times when they cause binding and you can't turn. My issue with the lockright may have been in fact something in the setup. I didn't change c-clips. But I could let off the gas and the truck would switch lanes on a two lane road from the release of the locker. That was not a good feeling.

I've had reasonably good luck with the elockers. The main downside to them is the lag time they take to engage compared to an ARB. If you know you need or think you need it and plan ahead this isn't a problem. And by the way the cable locker takes the same amount of time to engage as it uses the same number of engagement splines.

If money weren't an object I'd go ARBs front and rear.

In my project I'm going with a spool in the rear and an elocker in the front. and later I hope to go with an elocker in the rear or an ARB.

The spool will not have the locking/unlocking affect that lockrites and Aussies have. But it is very hard on tires on the road. Since mine is a 3rd vehicle and will mostly be used off road this is OK.

 

[RredFJ40]

I think I've said this before but what the heck....

I've got an Aussie in the rear. We have snow and potential snow for 5 months out of the year. In the two years with a locker I have never had an issue with the rig behaving wildly. I drive with my head firmly attached to my shoulders.

That being said and given that I run with my hubs locked nearly half the year (I locked them a week ago and won't unlock them until March at the earliest) I won't install an auto locker in the front end. Seeing as the OP is in Florida this wouldn't be an issue.

For those that DD autolocked front ends... any issues with steering? under steer and what not?

You will need the 80 rear elocker. The 80 fronts are high pinion and smaller and will not work.

The folks who seem to love the cable lockers in the US are folks who have never used them. Personally, I think they are a PITA. The cables get weathered and stiff. The actuators bend. etc....

I wouldn't hesitate to put in a fulltime locker if I lives some place without winter. I didn't like the lockrite in my 60. I replaced it with an ARB and was much happier. I would never run a full time locker in the front as there are times when they cause binding and you can't turn. My issue with the lockright may have been in fact something in the setup. I didn't change c-clips. But I could let off the gas and the truck would switch lanes on a two lane road from the release of the locker. That was not a good feeling.

I've had reasonably good luck with the elockers. The main downside to them is the lag time they take to engage compared to an ARB. If you know you need or think you need it and plan ahead this isn't a problem. And by the way the cable locker takes the same amount of time to engage as it uses the same number of engagement splines.

If money weren't an object I'd go ARBs front and rear.

In my project I'm going with a spool in the rear and an elocker in the front. and later I hope to go with an elocker in the rear or an ARB.

The spool will not have the locking/unlocking affect that lockrites and Aussies have. But it is very hard on tires on the road. Since mine is a 3rd vehicle and will mostly be used off road this is OK.

 

[Spook50]

You will need the 80 rear elocker. The 80 fronts are high pinion and smaller and will not work.

The folks who seem to love the cable lockers in the US are folks who have never used them. Personally, I think they are a PITA. The cables get weathered and stiff. The actuators bend. etc....

I wouldn't hesitate to put in a fulltime locker if I lives some place without winter. I didn't like the lockrite in my 60. I replaced it with an ARB and was much happier. I would never run a full time locker in the front as there are times when they cause binding and you can't turn. My issue with the lockright may have been in fact something in the setup. I didn't change c-clips. But I could let off the gas and the truck would switch lanes on a two lane road from the release of the locker. That was not a good feeling.

I've had reasonably good luck with the elockers. The main downside to them is the lag time they take to engage compared to an ARB. If you know you need or think you need it and plan ahead this isn't a problem. And by the way the cable locker takes the same amount of time to engage as it uses the same number of engagement splines.

If money weren't an object I'd go ARBs front and rear.

In my project I'm going with a spool in the rear and an elocker in the front. and later I hope to go with an elocker in the rear or an ARB.

The spool will not have the locking/unlocking affect that lockrites and Aussies have. But it is very hard on tires on the road. Since mine is a 3rd vehicle and will mostly be used off road this is OK.

Er, yeah, rears. I meant that. Lysdexia struck again

From my understanding the electric lockers are good stuff, but with the cost of the motors, the wiring harness, and the lockers' ECU, I figure it'll be much more cost effective to go with the Downey cable conversion (or someone else if a more rugged one is offered by the time I'm ready to do it). I know the cables themselves will be an issue, but I've got a few ideas for circumventing (or at least severely slowing down) any corrosion that might hinder movement. I'd like to maintain the road manners of having an open diff, so I don't really want to go with an automatic locker. The lag time of the e-lockers, like you said, will be a concern, but I don't plan on going anywhere that I'll have to instantly lock or unlock my diffs. I definitely plan on using lockers, but only in situations where I'll see it coming beforehand that I'll need 'em locked.

 

[ntsqd]

Seems to me that using a Morse type of control cable would be the best possible cable solution. Though not the least expensive. Even with those I suspect that the cable would have a finite service life, the length of which would depend on what it was exposed to. If you used an off the shelf length then easy replacement parts wouldn't be too hard to find. Even if it had to be a custom length they wouldn't be too hard to get in the U.S., just more expensive.

In living with my 2 Detroit'd vehicles I have arrived at the necessity of an air pressure balance hose. Every time I re-set the rear tire air pressure for pavement use I connect the two tires together with a self-coiling air hose that has clip-on air chucks at both ends. Failure to do this pressure balance step nearly always results in squirrelly pavement behavior.
Some take it a step further and add a Schrader valve so they can inflate with the hose in place. Due to the flow restriction of the small hose I've found that to be slower than just inflating each tire separately and then connecting them together for a few moments.

There was a period of time when I had a slow leak in a rear and could not afford a new tire. That tire eventually cost me a lot of work. Detroits do not like having tires of two different rolling radii, even though the difference is rather small. The side 'gears' ate into the differential's case badly enough that the exposed axle splines started also eating into the case. That is a sound that you don't want to hear. The cost of a Detroit case is high enough that you may as well buy another whole unit. In a still on-going experiment I bored the case and inserted oilite-bronze bushings, and then bored them to support the side 'gears'. That was about 8 years ago. So far, so good.......

 

[Letsgomoreplaces]

Well there are many choices. We stock them all because each has advantages & disadvantages. In order of cost:

Mini Spool - 100% locked, easy to install, very inexpensive, no mechanical noises, But does not allow differentiation, so will chirp tires on corners

Aussie - just a copy of a Lock Right

Lock Right - 100% locked, easy to install, inexpensive, but will make some noises & not as strong as a full carrier unit

Japanese HD clutch LSD -Hooks up very well in most situations, more forgiving for frontend use, Smooth on street, reasonable cost, but not 100% locked for more extreme wheeling & not compatable for c/clip rear.

Auburn Pro LSD - Hooks up well in most situations, more forgiving for frontend use, Smooth on street, reasonable cost, but not 100% locked for more extreme wheeling

Detroit Locker - 100% locked, Strong, Dependable, but will make some noises

ARB Air Locker - open or 100% locked, strong, good for street & offroad, but is expensive and more complex due to added pneumatic & electrical components.

I am looking to do lockers front and back but the price for air and e lockers are up there .Are there any streetable combonations that will work for a primarily weekend crawler ? Can I run a regular locker up front and spend the money in the rear? I just have no experiance with lockers of any kind. any help would be great.

 

[All Four]

I have aussies in the front and rear. That said, i live in the south and see snow maybe once in a blue moon. With the hubs unlocked, I can't tell that the front locker is even in there. The rear does make a bit of noise on the pavement, when turning mostly, and it isn't enough to hear over the radio or even the 35's for that matter. Doesn't affect handling except when trying to turn very tight turns in a parking lot. These things are reasonably priced and dependable so I put up with the few negatives.

 

[ca62cruzr]

Aussie locker in the rear. Works awesome. Spent whole weekend at Surf n Turf in 2wd. Gotta go a little slower in the around town turns but totally worth it.

 

[krookedpandas]

I love my aussie. Yes it will clank and shutter but when I turn hard, I mean HARD though. I've never experienced any driving problems with it. I drive as I did before, I don't even do any of the recommended changes in driving like clutching in turns. Its great off road and I think the cons of them are a bit over exaggerated.

Oh one thing I did experience I'm not happy with. Breaking an axle in the rear sucks with an aussie! Its a PIA to disassemble.

 

[Trapper50cal]

and

and it sucks to break a pinion gear in the back too, have to disassemble the aussie to get the axles out, then get the chunk of pinion out, then reassemble the aussie to keep the axles/c-clips buttoned up to limp out on front wheel drive

 

[ntsqd]

I just drove my '84 Mini, "Patch", to work today. That reminded me why I need to put some time into it. The Detroit 'popped' at 60-ish on the freeway during the drive home and for a moment there I was all wonky in the lane. Catching it with the original steering was interesting. (time for X-over, sigh, more projects...) Could be that there is something wrong with that Detroit as it's had some troubles (see post above), but the Detroit in my '91 Suburban does the same thing.
The Lock-rite that I have is in the front of Patch, so no pavement input on that.

 

[3pits]

I just put a lockright upfront, it is a compromise, I always said I would put an arb/selectable locker up front but the 1100+ compressor set up just made it unfeasable, it would be cheaper and more reliable to put in the lockright, and a full set of 30 spline longs/axels/hub gears,,, the only issue would be leaving it locked on pavement, but I dont know how big of an issue that is going to be

I live in the south, I dont see snow, I dont even know why not to be locked on snow,,, I plan on looking that up one day,,,

 

[Ducks]

Has anyone had problems with having an Aussie up front in the snow?

 

[All Four]

I just put a lockright upfront, it is a compromise, I always said I would put an arb/selectable locker up front but the 1100+ compressor set up just made it unfeasable, it would be cheaper and more reliable to put in the lockright, and a full set of 30 spline longs/axels/hub gears,,, the only issue would be leaving it locked on pavement, but I dont know how big of an issue that is going to be

If you are not using 4wd, it shouldn't be an issue at all.

 

[mwalls54]

i put a aussie in the rear of my 60 and went wheeling with it for the first time a few weeks ago and it was awsome. i dont notice it that much on the road and this winter i am going to probably put one in the front along with some longfields.

 

[chicago]

Ive got an Aussie the front, and a lockrite in the rear.
For the front, I was pleasantly surprised that the steering was not affected all that much, but you do lose some of the turning radius. Ive been running it for about 3 months and I hardly notice its there when I wheeling anymore.
The rear is a no brainer. Its just there, it works, and you dont have to think about it. I clicks in parking lots etc and unloads some times, but its basically a non issue.
I love the fact that I dont have switches, lines freezing, or breaking and I didnt spend a small fortune to get GREAT off road traction.

Just my experience.

Chicago