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Front CIG Locker Questions

Tech Talk for Suzuki owners.

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Front CIG Locker Questions

Post by purefmx »

Im contemplating welding the front centre, now i know theres the pros & con's for doin so, however im a lil' bit greedy and want the extra drive, the rear lock-rite is goodtimes, however the front would be better. Ive ran CIG's in my old street car without major hassles except for the whole tyre wear bit and the screech screech around corners. Im told that running a front CIG in a 4wd is a pain for turning, wouldnt be the same as installing a 600 dollar lock-rite? My rear Lock-rite is practically locked 100% of the time. Anyways when the hubs arent locked the front centre might aswell be not there at all, so it shouldnt affect on road behavior???

Failing that i was toying with the idea of installing a hydraulic front handbrake with a bias valve, so that way when i get some hangup and the load shifts causing one wheel to spin in the air, i can apply the braking force to that particular wheel, thus transfering the drive to where its needed. The set-up is very similar to a turn-brake in a dune buggy set-up.
What do all the Zook techo's think?
I figure it to be the cheapest and most reliable locker around.
1985 LWB Suzuki Sierra, Lock-Rite Rear, SPOA, 2" Body Lift, Climax shackles, Rancho's,
Series 1 Rockhoppers, 31x11.5 MT'S, "To return from the dead very sooooon!"
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Post by N*A*M »

you'll probably pop cvs all the time with a fully locked front and you'll get sick of getting in and out to unlock the hubs.

personally i want to retain good maneuvrability and experiment with the brakes. sounds interesting. 8)
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Post by purefmx »

In theory it seems as though it should work a treat, just need someone to test pilot the idea now.
1985 LWB Suzuki Sierra, Lock-Rite Rear, SPOA, 2" Body Lift, Climax shackles, Rancho's,
Series 1 Rockhoppers, 31x11.5 MT'S, "To return from the dead very sooooon!"
[url]http://www.cyberdesigns.tk[/url]
[url]http://www.purefmx.tk[/url]
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Post by Dozoor »

The fiddle brakes ,as we call them work fine on the back until the drums get a dose of water, But if you set them up on the disc with a hydulic actautor should be great.
The idea that a welded diff busts C/V would be a bit of a myth ,I reckon more c/v die at the hands of lockrights than any other centre , the ratcheting that goes on is throwing huge shock loads onto the c/v.
On the other hand you will find it very hard to steer a totally locked front end specially with low pressure big rubber.
Some guys on here have done it and i think they would agree on the hard steer bit ,
If you decide to weld make sure its a good job ,and if done with a stick remove all the slag or it will destroy the ring and pinion when it comes loose.
alternative to welding and still cheap , biuld a spool using two transfer case flanges and some machining ,this is what i run in mine .
my missus can't drive my car in 4wd and nether can a lot of my friends its just to hard for them to turn the steering wheel so is not much fun. :D
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Post by purefmx »

i thhink i might end up being the test pilot for the front handbrake, it'll feel like my old Subaru. :P
1985 LWB Suzuki Sierra, Lock-Rite Rear, SPOA, 2" Body Lift, Climax shackles, Rancho's,
Series 1 Rockhoppers, 31x11.5 MT'S, "To return from the dead very sooooon!"
[url]http://www.cyberdesigns.tk[/url]
[url]http://www.purefmx.tk[/url]
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Post by christover1 »

a mate of mine has f &r welded centres, no problems if you add power steer. personally, I would have welded rear, and use the lokker up front. just my thought, we all differ, but I have a welded rear, and am considering welding the front, as you say, no probs in 2wd, christover
4WD SUZUKI CLUB VICTORIA
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Post by zookjedi »

im running detroit ezylocker rear and cig up front same as one of my mates , never touch wood done a cv im only running 31" muddies and my mate has 215s sure the steerings hard but for the added traction its worth it . turning circle is crap , but with dual lockers you can crawl over what the others have to go around (subject to terrain). as for unlocking the hubs go most places in 2 high and leave left hub locked and then you only gotta hop out and lock in the driver side hub and engage 4wd that way your steerings not affected just dont engage 4wd with only one hub locked. use a mig to lock the centre gas not fluxed core that way theres no slag or better still make a spool as old mate suggested , and start on the roids. this is why ive got dual lockers to get out of these stinking ruts without snatch em straps and the like
if its worth doing do it intensly , better still do it with MADPASSION

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Post by stu »

i hear a great way to lock the front is to melt aluminium into the diff center. this provides a removeable front locker, once you finished with it heat the center and remove the alum. Also since alum. is soft it will start to provide a bit of give before it lockes.

I havn't done this myself but i've spoken to a friend of mine whose finding out from the bloke who done it.
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Post by greg »

we've got a fellow in the vic suzuki club who is running a welded rear and a lock right in the front... seems to work no worries - he's running 36x12.5" swampers and still has all steering / on-road driving ability...

i reckon move the locker from the rear to the front (assuming that would fit?), and weld up the rear...

cheers,
Greg
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Post by M&M Custom Engineerin »

in a zook the side gears are different front to rear as the the front axles are smaller than the rear.
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Post by purefmx »

in a zook the side gears are different front to rear as the the front axles are smaller than the rear.



really? ive been told a coupla times that the lock-rite in the rear is exchangable with the front. (entire centre) :?:
1985 LWB Suzuki Sierra, Lock-Rite Rear, SPOA, 2" Body Lift, Climax shackles, Rancho's,
Series 1 Rockhoppers, 31x11.5 MT'S, "To return from the dead very sooooon!"
[url]http://www.cyberdesigns.tk[/url]
[url]http://www.purefmx.tk[/url]
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Post by M&M Custom Engineerin »

the front and rear diff carriers are the same, crown wheel and pinion are the same, the side gears are different.
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Post by skjtb »

as Mick said the side gears are different front to rear. they have different sized splines. depending on the type of lock rite you may be able to move it to the front. do this and then weld up the rear. I know a couple of people who have front cig lockers and they say they would never do it again. yeah the traction might be good but its too painful getting out to unlock the RH hub all the time.
oh sh#t, not more dents :D
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Post by purefmx »

looks like ill opt for the handbrake option to start with, seems easier
1985 LWB Suzuki Sierra, Lock-Rite Rear, SPOA, 2" Body Lift, Climax shackles, Rancho's,
Series 1 Rockhoppers, 31x11.5 MT'S, "To return from the dead very sooooon!"
[url]http://www.cyberdesigns.tk[/url]
[url]http://www.purefmx.tk[/url]
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Post by camskizook »

Id be trying to put the lockright in the front as well, and weld the rear. I remember Sam telling me a while back that he no longer enjoyed driving his zook with the front welded asi it was just too much effort
CAM
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Post by Slunnie »

Are Zooks affected much by having the rear locked (in terms of wind up, steering effort, radius etc.)
Cheers
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Post by camskizook »

Ive had the rear of mine welded for 3 months now and havent had any problems apart from a minor bit of vibration through the driveline...it handles fine in the wet with the MTRs...it is a cheap alternative that works, but if your are doing a lot of road work i wouldnt reccommend it because it does place a lot more stress on driveline parts, bearings etc
CAM
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Post by Slunnie »

Good stuff. Thanks Cam.
Cheap is whatthis Zook is all about. What size MTR's do you have?
Cheers
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Post by camskizook »

31s...i rekon its a good alround size tyre for a zook..if u wana go really hardcare then u can go bigger...i personally dont want to but..im happy with the way 31s go
CAM
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Post by Slunnie »

No judgements on your truck, I have 31's also but was wondering more in relation to axle durability and tyre size with the locked diff.
Cheers
Slunnie

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Post by camskizook »

I spose the bigger u go then the more likely u would be to break something..i have narrow track axles (wont for much longer but) and i wouldnt really go much bigger with a welded rear...
CAM
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Post by Zookymatt »

To set the record straight, if you have a lockright that uses the sierra's sidegears, then yes you can put it in the front using the front sierra sidegears. If you have a lockright that comes with the replacement sidegears (or couplers as they are called) then no you can't put it in the because the spline in the coupler suits the rear axle size.

Dozoor, I think that the lockrights breaking CV's because of the ratcheting is a myth. I have broken numerous sierra CV's with a lockright and they were (obviously!!) all under load at the time (generally going up rock faces, ledges etc.). Being under load means that the lockright was locked up and not ratcheting at all. Remember the lockrite will only unlock and ratchet (while power is applied) if the outside wheel is driven faster by the ground than the inside wheel. So in any serious climb etc. both the lockrite and the welded diff will behave the same. If anything, doing tight turns on a high traction surface with a welded diff and locked hubs is far more likely to bust a CV than with a lockrite.

I would also say to move the lockrite to the front and weld the rear. Then you can do the 2wd low mod and have nice and light steering.

Regards,
Matt.
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Post by Dozoor »

ya your probly right matt , i wouldn't have the faintest iv'e never ran a lockright , so can't really comment .
my 26" tires don't get much traction and don't really get out often
although it did make a terrible sound while driving out my front gate the other day,i usually forget to lock the hubs anyway.:(
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Post by OVERKILL ENG »

Don't weld the front it will take the enjoyment out of driving I ran welded front and rear for ages. For comps it didn't matter as the adrenalin made the steering alright but for weekwend wheeling it gave mwe the shits no end. Weld the rear and save for an air locker for the front.Or run Hydro steering.
SAM
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