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Post by uscgsnipe on Nov 5, 2006 17:51:06 GMT -5
I would like to know the real deal about aussie lockers from people who have used them in the past. I know everyone has there own opinion. I am mainly looking for a 1-10 scale of how everyone feels about them. Wondering if I should go budget or save up the extra couple hundred for something better. I am a weekend wheeler.
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Post by speedy on Nov 7, 2006 7:43:10 GMT -5
I have an Aussie rear locker on my truck with stock axles, it might bug me a little if it was my only ride due to the racheting cornering behavior common to all auto lockers. However once you get offroad, justification is instant! I have been spinning the tires full throttle, stressing every driveline component imaginable and have gotten to the top laughing, and I have crawled up some stuff I couldn't walk up. If you are considering other automatic lockers, go for the Aussie, they will all behave differently than an open diff on the road! If you want a smooth road vehicle, spend the big bucks on the ARB's, or take the hit and say your ride can't hang offroad but it drives around town nice and looks like a real 4x4. The knowledge that I can school an open diff 4x4 with my $250 locker is PRICELESS! Offroad score is 8(I would have gotten stuck like Chuck more times than I can remember), onroad compared to an open diff is 2. Onroad compared to a detroit, from what I hear from those that have detroits, mine is smoother so I give it a 7. DO IT!!!! Given the funds, personally I would go for ARB's, but I am not a rich man so I have an Aussie and a big smile! Not to mention I did it in front of my townhouse with a couple of carjacks and basic tools.
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Post by 91yoda on Nov 12, 2006 10:45:46 GMT -5
good reply, thanks for the info
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Post by brandon on Nov 18, 2006 9:52:25 GMT -5
im considering one of these lockers also..right now my truck has 4:10 gears, with 35'' bfg mud terrains....at first i thought the tires just sucked offroad, but now im starting to think i just need to lock it up....so once i get my 5.29's and say the aussie locker in the rear how much more off road capable will my truck be...and also how well does a locker help u in muddy situations?
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Post by rockcrawlintoy on Nov 18, 2006 13:28:50 GMT -5
well u have both rear tires spinning. so it helps a lot. i can go many more places with a rear locker in 2wd the i was able to before and i can go even farther with it in 4wd.
Drew
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Post by speedy on Nov 19, 2006 0:37:52 GMT -5
Ditto to what rockcrawlintoy said. Without the locker and with open diffs, at best in 4wd and poor traction situations, you have the tire with the least amount of traction getting all the power on both axles leaving you with basically 2wd or two spinning tires in the mud. With the locker in the rear, you have at least 3 wheels being driven. With worn out BFG all terrains, I could get up some pretty crazy stuff, in mud halfway up the tires. My tires didn't even clean themselves much leaving me with four balls of slick mud and I still did some cool trails. Once you install the locker and hit the trails, you will know it was the best thing you ever added to your ride. If you look at my pic, I wouldn't have made it up that ditch without the locker and would have had to be winched out, it was SLICK.
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Post by brandon on Dec 5, 2006 15:24:23 GMT -5
i just installed a rear aussie locker this past weekend...did it in one afternoon...and all i can say is wow...its hard to belive that a locker i bout for 239$ makes that much of a difference..i can pretty much go threw about anything now..and i still only have bfg mud terrains and 4:10's.....does anyone know how a racheting locker like this one would work in the front? just curious if it would rachet when u turn the wheels offroad...but for anyone who doesnt have this locker i strongly suggest it...its awsome.
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Post by speedy on Dec 6, 2006 13:15:14 GMT -5
I haven't put one in the front yet but from what I have been told it works great. A friend has a lockrite up front and a detroit in back and his 84 is nearly unstoppable. I plan to add a locker up front but I also plan to add a dual stick transfercase shifter in case I need to make alot of tight turns. With the shifter I could keep it in 2 low and disconnect the front driveshaft from the cab without getting out to unlock the manual hubs and let the front locker rachet easier without being under power.
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Post by 86taco on Jan 13, 2007 14:53:51 GMT -5
Definetly worth it. I wouldnt give mine up for anything. Ther is a night and day difference. If you plan on locking up the front you better look at some super birfs. Because they wont last long. It wont turn as tight, and have fun driving in the snow on the street. You will be going strait when you want to turn. Off road its not that bad , but on the street its not good.
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Post by teamhaymaker on Mar 9, 2007 23:54:54 GMT -5
your not supposed to put the aussie style locker in the front unless you have manual hubs, and for those of you that leave the hubs locked all the time, you definately should NOT use an aussie, it will be very hard on the front end and the reps at aussie say not to use it.
but to stay on topic, i was looking into the aussie obviously, and this just helped sell me
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Post by 4xfred on Mar 11, 2007 4:57:41 GMT -5
I would like to know the real deal about aussie lockers from people who have used them in the past. I know everyone has there own opinion. I am mainly looking for a 1-10 scale of how everyone feels about them. Wondering if I should go budget or save up the extra couple hundred for something better. I am a weekend wheeler. ;D A solid 8! I put an Aussie in the front of my truck 2 months ago. The 1st time I got to try it out was @ Paragon in about 6" of snow & ice. I couldn't be happier!  Sure, it wants to go straight but nothing crazy. Even in snow, I had no problem driving it. Way quieter than a Lock-rite, beefier springs & pins, more teeth on the side gears. I've had both & the Aussie is a flat out better product. Later...
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Post by chaka454 on Mar 19, 2007 18:24:17 GMT -5
Hey guys anybody in Southern California that could give me a hand to install Aussie lockers front and back?
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Post by 91toytrck on Apr 1, 2007 21:39:57 GMT -5
Is the ratching that bad for a daily driver? is it really that loud? or just something to get used to over time?
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Post by speedy on Apr 2, 2007 1:58:54 GMT -5
I drive mine on the road all the time. You will not notice it on the freeway at all, you will not notice it on 90% of all city driving, you will feel it 10% of the time in sharp turns or hard acceleration into turns from a stop. The inside wheel will occasionally bark. I doubt this will change the tread life much at all. I haven't noticed it a bit. You can change your driving style a bit and not give it as much gas going into a sharp turn to ease off the ratching. I still get into some seriously tight turns and it likes to make some nasty sounds (probably because the truck is so light) and jump around a little, but nothing that would change my mind. I am tremendously happy I have one and would highly recommend it to anyone wanting to get some serious traction off-road. Most of the time I don't even notice it and I have naturally changed any habits that tend to make it obvious. If I had the $, I would go with ARB's in a heartbeat, since they are selectable, but I am working on too many other issues like suspension, driveshafts, transfercase gears, tires, interior, STEREO, exocage, winch etc... I pulled up to work the other day and a co-worker told me my rear end was shot because it was making a weird clicking noise. The guy claims to be a 4x4 expert. I laughed for a good long while at him since he couldn't identify the signs of a locker when he heard it. I told him he could only dream that his so called 4x4 would make the same sounds and challenged his wanna be truck to a test, he declined. He drives a 2004 Dodge Ram 4x4, bring it on baby! I also drive a 04 Hemi Durango 4x4 and know better(I wouldn't drive it down any trail now that I rock the Toyota). One day that engine might be so lucky to end up in my Toy! Long story short, it's a trade off, you WILL lose some smoothness of your daily driveability, it WILL be worth it IF you want to go up and around some tough obsticles that an open diff couldn't dream of! You can not beat the price on ANY other locker in it's class and I have yet to hear of a good horror story of an Aussie locker breaking a diff case or anything else despite many people saying it is too strong and it should only be put into a new case. My truck has 300,000+ miles on it and it LOVES this locker. Nuff said!
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Post by myexonenine on Apr 13, 2007 22:48:58 GMT -5
I want two for my 85 runner, but I can't find a supplier is Australia, anyone willing to ship me a couple?
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Post by speedy on Apr 14, 2007 17:28:32 GMT -5
Can't find an Aussie locker in Australia, what is the world coming to? Did you try to get one thru www.offroadlockers.com. That's who I got mine thru. |
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Post by myexonenine on Apr 23, 2007 5:51:37 GMT -5
I emailed them about 3 weeks ago, but they have not responded... or my email spam filter ate the email :/
I have emailed them again using there online contact form.
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Post by live4yotas on Apr 26, 2007 19:11:37 GMT -5
Whats the difference in price verses a Detroit? I was thinking about putting a true trac in the front of my yota. But 239.00 isnt bad for a locker. You dont have to reset your gears on the installation of this locker?
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Post by speedy on Apr 26, 2007 23:53:42 GMT -5
The price difference is the Aussie is probably less than half the cost of the Detroit. With the Detroit you will be replacing the carrier and will have to do a lot more work dialing it in. With the Aussie or a Lockrite, you might have to reset your backlash as it just replaces the gears inside the carrier. I did it with no special tools although I would have liked to have had a dial indicator at the time. I am redoing my gears now so I will be able to set it up perfectly now with the correct tools.
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Post by aussielocker on Apr 28, 2007 13:17:13 GMT -5
I emailed them about 3 weeks ago, but they have not responded... or my email spam filter ate the email :/ I have emailed them again using there online contact form. We only sell where we have technical support available. While our lockers are manufactured in Australia currently our sales are primarily in the USA and Canada. We struggle to keep up with demand in these markets and we are not looking to open new markets until we can not only support the product technically, but also meet the market demand for the product. |
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