Lockers, Which one??

Lockers, Which one??
ianjcx

ianjcx

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Barrie
Vehicle(s)
75 CJ5
I currently have open Diffs front and rear. I have manual locking hubs in the front and I don't use my CJ5 for daily driving or winter driving. It is merely a toy that I cruise the strip and do a little mudding with. Nothing fancy.

I'm on a budget so I would like to know where I would benefit the most, locker in the Dana 30 up front or the Dana 44 in the rear. If I do a front, what's gonna happen with turning radius while offroading?? Also keeping budget in mind what locker and style should I go with?? Lunch box, Air locker, Electric, Manual or a Spool?

Aussie Locker has caught my eye with good reviews and good price but I don't want to waste my money. Keep in mind I'm decent with a wrench and want to do it myself.

Your thoughts?
 
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If you put a full time locker in the front it is going to make it harder to turn when you have the hubs locked in.
A full time locker in the rear is also going to take some time getting use to, as it can be kinda squirrely at times.
I've heard good things about the Aussie and the price is right. So if your set on a cheap locker I would go this way. If you have the money a selectable locker like the arb or ox would be the way I would go.
Or even a good lsd like the detroit tru-trak would do for most offroading as long as you don't play in big rocks. And it would do great on the street.
 
With the wheeling you described it would be a waste of money IMO.
Cruising /street would benefit most from a selectable locker, off when off
and on when on. But the cost is great. A cheaper locker like lock-rite will be
to unfriendly for a vehicle that doesn't see alot of offroad time.

IMO i'd spend the money on something more useful based on the wheeling you described.
 
ianjcx said:
I currently have open Diffs front and rear. I have manual locking hubs in the front and I don't use my CJ5 for daily driving or winter driving. It is merely a toy that I cruise the strip and do a little mudding with. Nothing fancy.

I'm on a budget so I would like to know where I would benefit the most, locker in the Dana 30 up front or the Dana 44 in the rear. If I do a front, what's gonna happen with turning radius while offroading?? Also keeping budget in mind what locker and style should I go with?? Lunch box, Air locker, Electric, Manual or a Spool?

Aussie Locker has caught my eye with good reviews and good price but I don't want to waste my money. Keep in mind I'm decent with a wrench and want to do it myself.

Your thoughts?
Click to expand...

If you have open difs on both ends, and for what you say you need, I would considder a Lock rite for the open 44. It's an easy install with no gear reset to worry about, and will give you a little added peace of mind off road for pretty cheap.
 
A little cheaper alternative is an OX locker. Its a selectable locker using a cable instead of air pressure to activate it. The worst thing I've heard about it is its a bit of a pain setting up and maintaining the cable adjustment. These are available for front and rear applications.
 
I have the Aussie in the front of my CJ5 . If your thinking about winter driving I wouldnt recomend it. Seems like it would be a viable option in your situation though. I use mine for more rock crawling than mud. It is great at helping get up and over rocks. As far as turning radius yes I did lose some , but not nearly enough to off set the benefit of having it in my case. If you can afford it the selectable Ox is the way Id go.
 
Hello ianjcx and welcome to our site! :chug:

My opinion, lockrite for the rear - easy and as CW said, cheap and no bearings or expensive setup costs!
 
Hello & Welcome,
These are all great suggestions and will work well. You might want to try going with a rear locker first, then decide if you need one up front.
Having a locked rear will help greatly in the mud, then you can decide if you want or need one up front later.
 
Id go with the rear first myself , especially for mud. I destroyed the whole kit n kaboodle in my front and added the Aussie while it was apart. Havent blown up thre rear yet so its still open for now. :D
 
ianjcx said:
I currently have open Diffs front and rear. I have manual locking hubs in the front and I don't use my CJ5 for daily driving or winter driving. It is merely a toy that I cruise the strip and do a little mudding with. Nothing fancy.

I'm on a budget so I would like to know where I would benefit the most, locker in the Dana 30 up front or the Dana 44 in the rear. If I do a front, what's gonna happen with turning radius while offroading?? Also keeping budget in mind what locker and style should I go with?? Lunch box, Air locker, Electric, Manual or a Spool?

Aussie Locker has caught my eye with good reviews and good price but I don't want to waste my money. Keep in mind I'm decent with a wrench and want to do it myself.

Your thoughts?
Click to expand...

Sounds like the opinions are in, as usual I'm late to the show. The wide turning radius with front locker is true, that's why twin stick shifters are so popular. As far as lockers go I've run ARB's front & rear it's a good product, but I ran into trouble with keeping the air lines in one piece. I've run lunch box lockers & for your wheeling they might be the best, their weak spot is the factory carrier. I personally like the tried & true "Detroit Locker". A spool is as tough as they come but really hard on tires. Any way there is another opinion for you.
 
Going to have to agree on locking the rear first if you only get one.

I run an Aussie both front and rear, but I do have the twin stick setup. So, between manual locking hubs and twin sticks, I am good on the street.

Like stated, you will lose a bit of turning radius off road with a front locker, but again, the lose is offset by the gain from being locked.

FYI, I am running a stock axle setup, just upgraded to chromoly inners front and rear. Tires are 36" TSL's and no problems so far.


Welcome to the site.
 
I have messed with a lot of lockers in quite a few 4x4s, both mine and friends, and here is my take

ok first you said no winter driving, that opens you up to a Detroit in the rear.
you do not wheel a lot, a selectable would be a waste of money. the expense plus the upkeep of a air system would not be something you would want not wheeling a huge amount, and the cost of other systems makes them unattractive.
A lunch box locker in the rear would be my recommendation, not wheeling a lot then maybe a Limited slip.
up front a Limited slip would be my choice as you are not talking long rock gardens.
so a detroit, if you want to put up with the idiosyncrasies of the thing, a lunch box locker like a lock rite if you want it to be more transparent, and a Limited slip up front.
 
This is all great info guys thanks. Looks like the conensus is in. For what I'm doing I should go with a lunch box in the rear to start with and go from there. Now it comes down to price and availability between Lock Rite and Aussie.

Next question is, where is the best place to buy. I live in Barrie Ontario.

PS Anyone in my area know some good areas to go wheeling??
 
There are two different versions of the Richmond lunchbox lockers for the 44. On is the Lock-rite and the other is the Powertrax.

The Lock-rite is significantly cheaper but clicks and can have some pretty harsh engagement and disengagement noises and lurches.

The Powertrax is the newest version of their lunchbox locker and has much smoother workings - and a lot less noisy!

Here is a good write up on the differences.

Jeep CJ5 Lock-Rite No Slip Locker


We get a 10% discount from Morris so even if the price is higher then some other places - it still would be a good deal.

Summit also sells them as well as QuadrTrac and others.

SummitRacing.com


BTW - Be very sure you don't have a worn out factory Jeep LS - the parts are not interchangeable!

Also, if you have a 3.73 gear or higher you will have to pull the carrier and the ring gear as the parts will not slip out of the case.

If you do have a worn out LS, if the cross pin uses C clips - you will gave to tac weld in the cross pic as the only supplied one is for a locking bolt.
 
Can anyone confirm that this is a 4.11 rear open rear diff. I have a Lock Rite lined up and I wanna make sure of what I have.
 
That is a 3.73 open diff.

41 teeth on the ring gear and 11 on the pinion. 41 / 11 = 3.73

Posted from my CrackBerry
 
Thanks for all your info. A local shop has a Lock Rite for my Dana 44 rear that he has been trying to get rid of for a year. Picking it up on Fri for 300 CDN.


Any installation suggestions, or tips??
 
They come with VERY good instructions. You should have no problems.

Just remember to mark the ring gear and the carrier so you can put the ring gear back in the same place (some say it doesn't matter but I say why take the chance). Also don't forget the Loctite on the ring gear bolts... :)

Also mark the caps for the carrier bearings so you put them back on the same side and the same orientation you took them off!

Take some pics!

It would be great to see an Article on the tear down and install! :)
 
CJ said:
Also don't forget the Loctite on the ring gear bolts... :)

Also mark the caps for the carrier bearings so you put them back on the same side and the same orientation you took them off!
Click to expand...

Make SURE you do these things !!!

A little off subject...It looks like the deer got there limit. :laugh:
 
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