PROS&CONNS-Aussie vs ARB lockers and front/rear choices

[bsmith123]

Any driveability issues with Aussie lockers?

Can you put an ARB in front and an AUSSIE in the rear w/o causing driveability probs

Which performs the best off road? On road?

Thanks

 

[Fast Eddy]

Driveability? It drives fine if you don't mind the clicking and skidding and squealing. You're giving up all your parking lot and drive thru 'grace' with Aussies or Lock Right-style lockers.

I got mine for $100. It was worth it, and I deal with the quirkiness ok, but I drive 1000 miles/year or so in it. I suppose I could deal with daily driving it.

Off road, my rear locker is perfect and not noticable. In this department, it works as advertised.

Selectable would be better. I've got an e-locker in the front.

 

[KOOTENAY KRUZER]

The general consensus seems to be: an ARB in the front and any kind of autolocker in the back works fine because you would only use the ARB when you absolutely need it, otherwise you run the front as an open diff.

Personal experience: I have an autolocker in the rear of my '83, I think it is a Lockrite, supposed to be similar to an Aussie locker I hear. Tends to lurch a little bit sideways when shifting up under load. Also tends to step out a bit in really poor traction simply because both rears lose grip at the same time. I have not yet run into the biggest problem but have watched others - when on a loose sidehill a locked axle walks down hill, I have seen this create real problems.

Others have said on here that the best is ARB front and rear, that way you have open diffs except when you actually want to be locked up, eliminates all driveability problems when on good traction and gives you a choice when the going gets tough.

If you can't afford 2 ARBs, put an autolocker (Aussie, Lockrite, Detroit, etc.) in the back and an ARB in the front.

An autolocker in the rear does have definite driveability issues but they don't seem to be problem if you drive carefully. They can cause steering issues in extremely slippery conditions (eg wet snow) but if you drive accordingly they are OK.

Some of this is my experience, some is what I have read here on MUD.

 

[vk7ybi]

The auto rear - ARB front is what I run in two of mine.. They click occasionally, bang occasionally, cause some weird steering in tight corners sometimes, but theyre not as bad as most make them out to be.. As for the tyre chirp, I've never had any.. The auto still allows differentiation between tyre speeds, but the inside wheel in a turn will always be the driven one, the auto allows the outside wheel to turn faster than the crownwheel, thus no chirp..
The reason I run the selectable in the front is I have no power steer and the auto locker can be a bit hard to force to unlock.. I think the setup I have is the best cost/performance compromise..
Others will suggest that the ARB should go in the rear so road manners are retained, the auto in the front where it will never be used on the road and cant cause problems..
I think what we need is a selectable auto locker, something that performs like a Detroit but can be switched to open mode when on the road..
At the end of the day, I wouldnt hesitate to run mine as a DD if I needed to..

 

[Trollhole]

I have an ARB for the front but have yet to install it. Have had it for almost two years now. I have an Aussie in the rear. When I first installed it I didn't set up the thrust washers correctly. Since then it click when not going straight, it pops and scares the crap out of me and it will bind going around corners and I get the tires chirping. Also on acceleration it will cause the ass to lurch. Wasn't bad with the old 2f but with the Big Gay 2f you have to be prepared. Others that have had it installed have not had near the problems I have had. Most likely they had the correct thrust washer clearance. They never even notice it is there.

So those of you out there with an Aussie how does yours drive?

I went wheeling this weekend and got into a couple of situations that I could have used a front locker.

First was this. Where I was coming down a steep hill and had to cross the ditch or else I would roll. The front with no locker just spun the right front while the locker in the rear just kept sliding my ass farther and father into the ditch. It was steep. The pics don't do this hill justice.

And another situation which I needed both front tires to spin so I could relieve the pressure off the front relay rod.

Had the front been locked I don't think I would have done this.

And last but not least I had a big off camber bank to get over. The front kept sliding more and more to the left since one front tire was off the ground and spinning and the ass just wanted to keep going straight. Eventually caused this.

So on top of the list is to now install the ARB and upgrade the hysteer to 4x4 Labs links.

I never really thought about needing a front locker until this weekend. Nor heavy duty steering rods.

 

[LC_Hamma]

I would NEVER rely on a stock cast metal carrier w/ cheapy little clutch plates in there - Lockright/ Aussie. You ever see how big the access hole is in one of those Use a full heat treated aftermarket carrier w/ heat treated internals like the ARB or Detroit Locker. That being said, I run ARB front/ Detroit rear in my trail rigs

 

[Fast Eddy]

Tends to lurch a little bit sideways when shifting up under load.

When I first installed it I didn't set up the thrust washers correctly. Since then it click when not going straight, it pops and scares the crap out of me and it will bind going around corners and I get the tires chirping. Also on acceleration it will cause the ass to lurch. Wasn't bad with the old 2f but with the Big Gay 2f you have to be prepared.

I forgot about the "lurch under acceleration" issue. Deceleration too. It can be a handful on a mountain highway at 45+ mph.

Troll, I will admit to making the same mistake as you did with the thrust washers, but I don't believe I did any damage other than the little springs. I think the clicking is "normal".

 

[John Smith]

For those of you who did not measure for the proper shims... If you drive in a straight line and you hear the clicky clicky clicky sound like when you round a corner with no load on the rear end your locker will soon be toast due to a stripped drive plate.

When I broke a pin on my old LR in the rear it would make one click noise everytime I took off from a stop. When I pulled the rear I found that the drive plate with the broken pin had rounded teeth.

Even though the LR lasted nearly 8 years I put an ARB in the rear because I was very tired of the quirks you get with a autolocker. The body sway everytime you get on or off the gas is not so bad with a stiff SUA suspension but gets old fast SOA with flexy springs. If the LR in the front end ever dies I will put an ARB up there also.

My .02, if you have the money for ARB or Detriot you can't go wrong, if not go Aussie autolocker. I would not let anyone drive my truck on the road when it had the autolocker in the rear unless they had previously driven one. Before you make the jump try to get some seat time in a rig with an autolocker in the rear and same size tires as you run. Bigger tires mask the autolocker quirks I found.

 

[fueg0]

I am just coming off of an aussie install in the rear diff, and yeah, there's definitely some new quirks that I've got to learn about my truck now. Damn thing unloaded on me pulling out of my driveway & scared the crap out of me.

I've been thinking about putting an aussie locker in the front, but from what I can tell, I'm going to have to throw a set of Longfields at it, or risk blowing out the birfs in the front. Neither of which sounds real fun...

I don't really want to throw the kinda cash that an ARB is gonna require, and seeing as how adding an Aussie/Longfield setup won't be any cheaper, I am planning on leaving the front diff open. I don't do all that much wheeling anyway. if/when that changes, I might consider doing the aussie/longfield combo.

--fueg0

 

[kyot4x4]

I put an aussie in the rear but didnt like the way it acted when shifting gears so I put it in the front and welded the rear. only problem is kinda noisy on low speed tight turns but other than that i drive it 40 miles every day and seems to be ok.

 

[lcwizard]

The same situation as troll describes occurs in off camber icy snowy trails
or driving on pavement in snow or ice at more than a jog speed. I had a detroit in the rear of mine until I came around a sweeping curve in Washington, hit a small icy patch, swapped ends and stopped a foot shy of a power pole.
On snowy off camber trails trucks with open diffs were having an easier time staying on the road.
I've gone to fr/rr ARB's. Good rule of thumb is only use them when you have to.
Pricey but worth it

 

[bsevans]

I run ARBs front and rear. I've never had to do anything other than activate them when I needed either the rear or both axles locked. If you can afford them, they are the only way to go in my opinion. Personally, I think ARBs are the best solution for all the types of road conditions you will see both on road and off.

 

[Pin_Head]

On road, most of the problems with autolockers can be overcome by adjusting your driving style. They don't like going back and forth between coast and acceleration around turns. Keep a steady pressure, eithr accelerating or decelerating, around turns and you won't notice them. If you don't adjust your driving style, you probably won't like them.

Off road, they are similar, but ARBs are spools. Both tires always turn the same speed when they are engaged. Understeer, hard steering, birfield loading and pulling are even worse with spools (by about 50%) than with autolockers where one wheel can always ratchet as long as the other wheel is not slipping.

 

[KOOTENAY KRUZER]

The thing about ARBs is that they are open unless you want them locked. sometimes in very slippery conditions you don't want any kind of locker.

The original Warn hubs were siomply drive plates with the splines machined out because the soldiers in northern Italy during WW2 found that jeeps couldn't be steered on the ice, even in 2WD, because the drag of the front drive train was enough to make the front wheels slide.

It doesn't happen often but I have seen, and others have told me, of problems going where you want to when driving sidehill in poor traction with vehicles with any kind of a locker system. This would not apply to selectabel lockers that are unlocked.

 

[mustardfj40]

I run ARB in both front and rear but.....the trail spared third member has an Aussie locker inside.

 

[bsmith123]

lockers

That's good info,

Since one of the uses will be for driving in the snow that's a consideration as usual a lot depends on what you plan on doing with the vehicle what works in AUS or MOAB may not be the ticket for B.C. or Maine.

I appreciate all the posts though very informative

 

[marks69cruiser]

Nice thread guys! I am stoked on the Aussie locker. I am going to run them in both axle's. I should have a report in a few days.

 

[bdiemer]

Mark, I see your in Oregon, not sure how much snow and ice you get. If your street driving on the white stuff I would go selectable lockers. If no white stuff I would go Aussie. I have them front and rear. My only advise is to be careful with the front aussie and the skinny pedal. Ask me why? I've got Longs on order and I'm running the F motor.

 

[aussie42]

I know this is an old post, but I have a question I don't see here.
Being that the front will have locking hubs, and normal street driving is done with these open, why not run the Aussie in the front and a selectable in the rear?

 

[Bang Bang]

I run a Spartan (just like an Aussie) in the front of my 40. Sometimes I wish I had an ARB when out on the trails but I am not willing at this point to put out the funds.