Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Hey 40 owners!!!!!!

Quite serious about getting a manual locker as my parents are going to the USA, going to get them to post one back, unless i get impatient and order one.

Firstly who has a manual locker in the rear???
What brand???
Your thoughts on it?
How much has it helped your vehicle offroad?
Issues on road??

Cheers.
Oh and i read the following, but would you expect to break CV's if your front diff was a standard open diff?

1/ Climbing a hill under power: Both lockers are locked in, so there is absolutely no difference in performance.

2/ Climbing under power and turning: Lockrite remains locked, Airlocker can be unlocked at will, to reduce turning circle and reduce steering effort.

3/ Downhill (throttle off) and turning: Airlocker can be switched off, but the Lockrite remains locked and there is nothing you can do to reduce the stress on your front axle. Most of the vehicle’s weight is now on the front axle and therefore there is little tyre slip. Right now, CV joint breakage is common.

I just put an ARB in the rear of mine after lot of research - will fully test it on our 40 weekend here in deep mexico this weekend and i have no doubts at all about it - no doubt you will read the results soon come on make the trip

i won't go into pros and cons but-- look at what they go through
blokes i spoke to running mega HP and real big tyres have had minor probs like airlines / seals but have not heard of many new gen arbs exploding

bullsh!t control over when on and off and pretty much on the fly engagement

runs independent of other accessories = downfall to some vacuum operated ones = easier to isolate problems

i looked into jack macnamara (melbourne) lockers and other electric operated on market but then thought if i ever broke down and desperately needed to fix could die waiting for parts

the arb stuff is available EVERYWHERE on earth

and that way you can buy compressor here and skimp on freight - or set up to more capable onboard air setup
if they can carry in luggage separated you may avoid import duty

maybe i should add i used to run lockrites (auto lockers)
wicked traction yes but i broke a lot of stuff in both front and rear
in rear much much more fun the on/off means a lot less stress on driveline if or when not needed

not really fearful of airline damage = technique.... other probs etc not reeeally cause its warranteed (maybe think about that applying to o/s purchase?) there's a chap on the site in lebanon who is amazed that they are cheaper outside aus . . . . . . . . .


just my 2c
happy shopping!!
cheers scott

scotto, what did you break in the rear with the lockrights in??

and how hard were you going??

did you ever run lockright rear and open front??

i was hoping having an open front might ease some of the stresses on things??

and did all the breakages happen offroad or some on road??

feel free to PM if you dont wanna post it all up, but its much appreciated!

well i can get a lockright US made for 350 AUS$, thats well and truelly under an ARB. i would go ARB but i cant afford one or 2......

I am not slagging off to the LOCKRITE fans merely voicing my experience mkay

REAR felt super tight, rarely lost it on gravel (though i drive diesel and don't have the opportunity really to go real fast good for fishtailing too , overall found it held the track real well) in mud and sand was wicked . on rocks was great too but experienced some of the details below, due to constant need for diff to distribute torque hey rocks are like that

On road was a b!tch, i have been told SWB are notorious bad handlers of them. cornering you feel the pressure/torque open up and feel the freewheel take place, good thing. when it engaged after cornering you feel the re-lock sometimes this takes form of vehicle twitching left or right (nothing tooooo bad but a bit unnerving). i was quite forgiving to the diff re: when and when not i accelrated for example not 'bunnyhopping' into / out of corners = keeping the throttle smooth like in driver school...but the effect of locker on road still not quite right

when this happened sometimes get a ratchet sound and clunk, like a very heavy metallic mesh / engaging which i didn't like one bit. three months after i put it in i took it out, three teeth were missing and numerous chips on others. was replaced under warranty by Opp Lock, thank you again and rebuilt it. I also sheared my hub studs SEVERAL many times and this sucked even more cause I would always find bearings good and firm when fixing. and I ended up carrying spare rear hub assy. Dude forget that cause it's not fun unless youre loaded and enjoy shit jobs liketrying to easy out high tensile metal threads.
(I have since put 100 series studs in the rear hubs much much stronger maybe cnsider it ) On real steep stuff the locker kept pushing to point of wheelstanding but hey thats about limits and self control the damage in rear i reckon was caused by wear and tear not flogging it.

ANY READERS YES THE F@#ING BACKLASH ETC WAS CORRECT
I RECKON IF YOU PLAN TO USE AS DAILY DRIVER NO WAY PUT ONE IN THE BACK.

FRONT
Steering became noticeably heavier even with power steer in my BJ.
In H4 when on / off the juice, the vehicle twitches for same reasons above. No better / worse in L4. Again awesome off road . I found did respond reasonably in tight turns but overall turning circle a bit pooey. It was awesome to crawl up and over and will NEVER look back at that.
Yes some wind up on lumpy downhills and you feel the front wind up, but propery set they should disengage for long enough to let wind up out.

I blew a CV to bits one day during a very heavy recovery. Replaced with stronger axle/CVs for $300. Never broke another one. This was done yanking at a Hilux for half an hour and it was under best part of a metre of clay. We should have given up and called earlier, as it goes took a 18000 pound PTO on the back of a megatow truck to get it out.
Again, limitations...

If you are bad front end phobic:
you will need to unlock hubs when not in 4X terrain as the wind up within the diff will not "spin out" while your front shaft case is not engaged and you will still feel the twitch. But it's not THAT bad...what steering you have? It just means you'll have to rethink driving style and keep everything mech sound.

SO

did you ever run lockright rear and open front??

YES IT WAS PROB DOUBLE AS CAPABLE IN FRONT OR REAR ALONE
rear more problematic front sometimes frustrating to steer
you engage 4X half as often except in the real stuff when in rear

i was hoping having an open front might ease some of the stresses on things??

YES IT WILL ESPECIALLY ON YER ARMS

and did all the breakages happen offroad or some on road??

rear - on road too much wind-up
front - off road only cause i was a dickhead pushing it far far too hard
and cause ya don't use FWD on road!!

HOW MUCH ON ROAD DRIVING DO YOU DO?
DO YOU DRIVE LIKE A MADMAN?

SORRY FOR THE ESSAY

but this is something I learned the hard way.
If you are on a budget and ARB is absolutely out of question -
I would say go for lockrite - maybe by the time you can afford it whack an arb in the rear you'll never look back...and at that price, mate ol buddy ol pal...nah I spent too much this month already LOL

Example - look at my link below find the pic on the rock i pretty much idled up and on to with locker in front...no real weird feeling at all...only really when corneering..

PM me your number I will call if you like

HOPE YOUR NOT ASLEEP and this is useful for you and maybe others...

cheers scott

Guys only putting one in the rear, leaving the front open.

and the best price i can find is $340 Aussie for a lockrite.

anyone got any ideas where is a good place to look to try to beat the price down???

I've got a US Lockright in the rear of mine and love it. Never broke anything.

You guys Down Under have a lot more manual locker choices than we do in the US. All we have here for the Landcruiser is the ARB and the Toyota electric locker, neither of them are especially cheaper than in Oz. The only American branded manual locker is the Detroit Electrac which is not available for the Landcruiser.

If you have your heart set on the Lockright, these are some prices:
US$252 - http://jtoutfitters.com/category/traction.lockers/
US$260 - http://nationaldrivetrain.com/shopsite_ ... page8.html

Dave

turbo4t, excellent news. thanks mate, that gives me some more confidence to get one. cheers. are you running all stock gear??

beanz2, mate are you sure??

im noticing in the US you have lockrite, you have the no slip by powertraz also,
you have detroit about 3 varieties.
plus "ox" but i havent looked into those.
Eaton, although not for cruisers.
ARB's, etc.

I am seeing Detroits for around 700 AUssie dollar in the US, here i have been quoted around 1100.

but lockrites, here are from 650-950 depending on aussie made or USA made. but i found a place last night who do them for $240 US. my heart isnt set on them, but my wallet is.
thanks for the tips, been to those 2 sites. i am shopping.

Also i found bikini tops for 40 series from Bestop for 53 US.

DIRTY ROCK STAR wrote:
beanz2, mate are you sure??

im noticing in the US you have lockrite, you have the no slip by powertraz also,
you have detroit about 3 varieties.
plus "ox" but i havent looked into those.
Eaton, although not for cruisers.
ARB's, etc.

I was just talking about the selectable (manual) lockers available from the various vendors. The Lockright and Detroits, etc. to me are auto lockers. I guess if we count all the non-cruiser lockers we'd have a list the length of our arms, LOL.

Are your parents going to be in the US for just a visit? I'd suggest ordering the items and have them shipped to a friend or family in the US before your parents arrive. Some vendors may not stock the items they advertise and take a long time to post, and most LC part vendors are nowhere near tourist destinations.

Dave

I had front and rear lockrights in my shorty,
Very twitchy around corners as was previously mentioned but with the correct driving habit mods the problem is reduced.
The rattle and clunks are also normal and something that you will have to learn to put up with, and It can be entertaining to watch pedestrians faces as they look to see what just fell off your vehicle!

As far as the front, look for another alternative! in the bush it made the vehicle unsteerable, both in the arms and in the fact that the front refused to free wheel when not under load in a corner resulting in a seven point turn on a corner that a troopy could negotiate in one hit!
I ended up dissengaging the front hubs so that it would not throw me off the side of a mountain

The rear is now a detroit soflocker (More expense but a lot nicer on the road) and the front has been replaced with a Mc Namara Air locker Very happy with the current configeration

At the stage the lockrights were taken out the rear had been in the bush and in the city for about 12 months and it looked no different to the one that had been used less than an hour.

Yep, all stock except for the 60 series diffs, sprung over with a turbo on the old 2H. Forget about getting one of the Australian (Taiwanese) Lockrights though, must be US.

Thanks for the feedback guys.

and i will be going the US made ones for sure.
for 240 US why wouldnt i, although the place for 240 hasnt replied to my email. next on the list was 248 US. still cheap as.

if i dont like it in the 40, i will take it out and flog it off. i think i can near get my $$ back.

oh and at shorty40's request here is the link to the cheap bikini tops if anyone is interested.

http://www.tellico4x4.com/catalog/produ ... froad/8621

if anyone knows of a cheaper place please let me know.