So after some thought, a locker has emerged.

I'm so tired of not being able to accelerate at all on rainy days. Along with snow. I live in Chicago, and while my jeep ate up the +18 inches of snow we had while in 4wd, it sucked in 2wd.

So, what are the pros and cons of locking your daily driver?

I was going to go with a Aussie locker.

I've been told they're an easy install. Do you have to mess with backlash, ect?

I off-road more to recover my friends that for pleasure, but I do take her on the trails.

 

any soft locker will be fine.

aussie is a great choice alot of ppl DD them

 

I've installed an Aussie locker before, you do not have to mess with removing the carrier in order to instal the Aussie, so no need to worry about back lash. You only need to remove the side and spider gears. Should be no problem to have one in your daily, my buddy has had a lunchbox locker in his S-10 for over twenty years with not a single problem.

 

I have a Spartan (same type of locker) and its fine on pavement. Just have to be easy on the throttle while turning at lower speeds or you spin tires pretty easy. in the snow it was a huge upgrade. I live on a steep hill and normally have to put it in 4wd to get up it if there is more then 3-4". we had 5-6" on the road and it was nothing going up in 2wd.

people talk bad about lockers int he rain/snow for some reason. you just have to know your vehicle and adjust your driving habits a TINY bit and things will be better then open-diff. the lunch-box lockers will pop and make clicking noises. it doesn't bother me one bit, but some complain about it.

 

Ive had a powertrax no slip locker in my XJ for a whlie now and i love it. It doesnt click like the other lockers but it does help a ton on the trails. I recomend you get one and x2 on the spinning tires on corners

 

Well, I'm gonna be heading off to college in a couple months so I'm trying to not break the bank with this. And honestly, my jeep is so noisy as it an extra click and pop probably won't be heard over the exhaust and stereo.

I've been looking around and the cheapest I could find the Aussie was for about $300 plus shipping. I saw on another forum that there was a cheaper lunchbox locker, but i don't remember the name and I can't find that thread again. What are the other lunchbox brands?

 

there are lots of options.... Aussie, lock right, spartan, power tracks, and i think i am missing 1 or 2...

this guys lists 199$ for the Aussie. PM him and see...http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showt...142846&page=49

 

although i personally am not locked yet, i know lots of ppl who are locked with lunchbox lockers. they can be a little noisy and if you over do it on sharp turns you can skip the tires a little, so you need to adjust to them. but just driving my buddies i already now how to drive well with them, not to hard.

power tracks are the ones i heard are the best for a lunch box but they are expensive. lockright and aussie are close seconds and both fairly cheap.

as for snow and rain, i live in durango co, we ave 68" of snow per year and have no problem in it. it actually helps when we want to go back country skiing and such. we have even made it over molas pass (exceeding 400" per year) we were in four low with the aussie front and rear, but we made it all the way to silverton when no one else could.

 

I'm aussie locked front and rear no complaints

 

Drop in any "lunchbox" locker and you won't regret it. Some people prefer one over the other but I think you would be hard pressed to find one that is really better than another. If you want something that is absolutely quiet go with a Powertrax No-Slip. Otherwise a Spartan, Aussie or a Lock-Right are all good options and great lockers.

The only real drawbacks to installing one will be if you tend to have a heavy foot around corners your either going to chirp or slide. Tire wear shouldn't really be any different unless again you have a heavy foot while turning.

Zero gear setup is required to install any of these.

The Spartan is marginally easier to instal due to the design of the pins. We are talking a very small margin, maybe five minutes overall time of install. Also a bit cheaper than the others. ($20)

The Aussie, Lock-Right and No-Slip all install the exact same. The No-Slip comes at a heavy premium for a quieter operation.

 

I have a Aussie in the front of my Jeep. It gets DD most the time, usually cause it's at the back of the driveway. I did take my carrier out to put the front in. Maybe you don't have to in the back?

Anyways, it's fairly non-noticeable. But ... on snow it makes some racket because one wheel will slide on ice and the other one maintains speed. A little un-nerving in the front. This is in 2WD BTW.

 

Thanks for the input guys. Seems like it would be easier just to take the carrier out to install.

Hopefully once work picks up again this will be the next upgrade. Just gotta look around for a good price.

 

The ones I have put in personally did not require the front to be removed but it sure makes it easier to do! Either way no additional set up is needed; just make sure when reassembling that bearing caps go back on the same way they came off on their respective sides.

 

It was my first try so I needed to see how things work. Felt like I was putting together one of those bar puzzles.

 

I've been thinking the same but just want to lock the rear and would prefer not to go with the limited sleep