4bangerjp.com
General Forums => The Mess Hall => Topic started by: chrisfranklin on April 29, 2006, 10:12:10 PM
-
Ok, upon the arrival of my Aussie D30 front, all front-only lunchbox locker haters will soon be smitten by the greatness that is widsom of the front-only Aussie install.
You will see how, while rockclimbing difficult trails, my rig will shift weight to the rear keeping both Revo 29s (tires so good, if they were any bigger they'd cause all tires on rigs within a 5 mile radius to slip there rims) planted and the D35 in action while my locked D30 keeps the traction in the front and both axles doing the work!
You will see how the mighty Aussie will never need its warranty, because its alloy construction will shrug off torque loads that would break other more expensive lockers, their puny strength hidden by their great size!(Power will get to the ground consistently through two axles due to weight shift on hill climbs, so the synergy of two axles sharing the load will safeguard the weak D35...so no, "yeah, strong locker, but you shafts are going to break."
You will see people putting their hands to their ears trying to hear the silence that is the operation of the Aussie Locker, the locker too busy working to make noise!
Believe!
(Photos will document the Aussie in action...close your eyes if its mightiness is too much for you :lol:
-
nice writeup... 8)
-
I'm telling you, I ran a front Lockright for years upon years before I did the rear. I've been through many a trail with front only, and lived to tell about it.
You will rock with your front locker!! You will wheel in places you never thought possible.
My only request is that you install it yourself, or help the guy doing it. Know your front end. If, for some unforseen reason, that U-joint lets loose, you'll have to disassemble the whole thing just to slide that broken axle or U-joint out. Stuff a shop rag in the hole and get yourself back home.
Experience talking here...
-
I still need to install my front lockright locker :shock: Hopefully next weekend :(
-
i only have a rear locker :cry: but then again im not even done with stage 1 of my image for my jeep and havent goon off roading with it yet... the front locker is to come ether befor or just after the 1st time i take it off raod..
-
Remember:
Lockers get you stuck, winches get you unstuck!
-
winches AND friends, for most of us i'm going to say friends :lol:
-
i'll wait till i swap in the 8.8, then i'll re-gear and get a locker...
-
I have to ask. Doesn't having a locker in the front cause strange driving characteristics OR are your rigs strictly trail Jeeps? I use mine mostly on the tarmac, but would love to have a locked up front end for those occasional off road adventures!
-
I have to ask. Doesn't having a locker in the front cause strange driving characteristics OR are your rigs strictly trail Jeeps? I use mine mostly on the tarmac, but would love to have a locked up front end for those occasional off road adventures!
On a YJ it will cause the front driveshaft to turn even when in 2wd. The front shafts aren't balanced. 9 out of 10 need to be balanced.
-
If, for some unforseen reason, that U-joint lets loose, you'll have to disassemble the whole thing just to slide that broken axle or U-joint out. Stuff a shop rag in the hole and get yourself back home.
Why would you have to disassemble the whole thing? The D30 in'st a c-clip.
I have the aussie up front and I love it. It does make a bit of light clicking in turns on the street but while in 4WD off road it doesn't do any of the popping like the Lock-Rite I have in back. As for different hadling. in 2WD you never even know it's there. In 4WD the steering(I don't have power) is very stiff, but manageable. You willnotice a huge difference in off road capability.
-
I have the aussie up front and I love it. It does make a bit of light clicking in turns on the street but while in 4WD off road it doesn't do any of the popping like the Lock-Rite I have in back. As for different hadling. in 2WD you never even know it's there. In 4WD the steering(I don't have power) is very stiff, but manageable. You willnotice a huge difference in off road capability.
That's the insider info I like to hear, Arkypro. Just got the Aussie yesterday. My YJ is saying to me, "What are you waiting for... Put it in, Put it in...Weekend is coming up!?!" I'm like "Baby, i got work and all, I'm getting to it" :lol:
-
As for different hadling. in 2WD you never even know it's there.
That's good to know. I always thought that the rule of thumb was to have an LS or selectable locker in the front. I've never heard of the Aussie locker, but I'm assuming since it's being mentioned with the Loc-rite that it must be a better device.
You've peaked my interest! Now getting it by the wife is a whole other matter. :D
-
You don't need to dissemble the whole outer to get the shafts out of the way. It's a lot easier to unbolt the wheel bearings and slide the whole outer out with the shaft in once piece. If the U-joint breaks you can do the same thing...
-
So on the off chance that I bust the U-joints and/or shaft in the D30 --which ain't real likely given that I'm planning only to do slightly more difficult lines on the over-populated trails I've already been on -- does the wheel on a broken front shaft ('94 YJ) "walk-out" the same as one on a broken D35?
-
does the wheel on a broken front shaft ('94 YJ) "walk-out" the same as one on a broken D35?
Nope - the disc rotor will hold it...
-
Finally have a chance to get this Aussie for the D30 installed today. Planning to give it a run on Sunday over at "Dishpan Springs" near Big Bear, San Bernadino, Ca. area (but, might settle for Miller Jeep Trail about an hour north of LA). I use synthetic gear oil in the front and rear diffs, now, and have some Mobil Synth for the install.
Only trick I've been having is finding a shop to do the work. The two 4x4 shops I checked out in the Valley (San Fernando Valley, where they shoot most of the Porn videos out there :) are both installers and parts retailers. That means that these guys want to sell you their limited selection of parts and install them for you, too. You walk in with an auto locker that you picked up online for low price and that kind of screws up how the way they do business. These guys are willing to do the install, but start quoting ludicrous install prices like it was some kind of revenge for not buying your parts through them (guy quoted me $300...I was like, "have a nice day, man" :)
Frankly, that model of doing business -- doing repair/install and dealing in parts, too -- needs its own sort of "modification." Consumers just have too many choices online; a smart shop would just say, "we can't compete with the choices you can get online for parts or with their price, either...so, we'll just specialize in doing custom install work...bring us the parts you buy online and we'll install them for you." Or they should do some kind of kick-back referral fee deal, where the shop directs the customer to buy a part from a certain low-cost online retailer and then gets a fee from the internet retailer for the business. Also, the Tire Rack-type system seems to work well, too, for local tire installers -- I bought my tires and Tire Rack shipped them to an approved local retailer who then did the install.
Anyway, probably going to a truck transmission/rear-end shop to get the install done. If I had a garage, I'd DIY
-
You don't need a garage to do it. It's easy enough and should only take an hour or so. I recommend doing it yourself so you will know how to take it apart when/if it does break.
-
I agree man. But, I've got to pull the axles out like 6 inches on each side, I've got to pull the carrier. I've got to pull the calipers off. Frankly, I'll see if I can't play an integral role in helping an installer do it.
My place has security guys driving around on Golf carts, so I can't get away with doing any work here
-
Won't get any simpathy from me. :wink: I installed my first set of gears in a car port on a Military Base. :lol:
Have you check to see if you can install the locker without taking the carrier out? Most have enough room to do this. You're looking at 5 15mm bolts per side to remove to get the axle shafts out once the tires are off.
-
This morning, I've been on the phone with a half dozen shops in the So Cal area, north of LA all the way down to Long Beach...
Price quotes today have been $300, 400, $550 all the way up to $800 (the $800 place is called the friging "Jeep Shop" (?!)and is in Santa Clarita). I tell these guys, "look I don't need bearings, this isn't a driver controlled locker, it's an Auto Locker like a Lock-Rite, just different make. All you are going to have to do is drain the fluid, pull the differential cover off, slide the axles out about 6 inches, pull the carrier out, drop in the autolocker and then put everything back together. You guys could probably do it blind-folded in 45 minutes cause your a good shop..."
Course, everybody hates the old style Lock-Rites or are truck shops that are somehow unfamiliar with autolockers?! and frigging overprice the install. Can't beleive I am going to have to pay $300 to get this installed...frigging unbelieveable. Shop in Reseda quoted dropped to $200 the other day after first quoting $300, and I walked out on $200 thinking I could get a better deal. F$%^! :(
This is seriously messing with my weekend plans.
-
What were you expecting to pay?
I think any shop out there hates mail order... Mail order low balls these guys and then, if they do the install they end up dealing in any warranty issues or missing part issues that may arise. It's difficult to take someone else's product and just install it, labor is not 100% profit.
Where are you at in So. Cal?? Off Road Unlimited in Burbank at (818) 563-1208. Mike Duncan at the 4x Doctor at (818) 845-2194. Four Wheel Parts are all over the Southern California area...
T&J's 4-Wheel Drive Center in Orange at (714) 633-0991. Rock-Tech in La Habra at (562) 690-8321. Tri County Gear in Pomona at (909) 623-3373.
Do any other these guys help?
Gotta remember, you're also paying for the job to be done right... And if not, a good shop won't charge you to fix thier mistakes.
-
Make some friends and have one of then slap it in for a few beers and lunch... :lol:
-
That's why they call those 'Lunchbox lockers' ;)
-
Thanks for the shop suggestions SMC. Did talk to one 4 Wheel Parts location and they said that they didn't do any kind of diff/gear install work and suggested a specialty truck shop out in Long Beach, which probably isn't a bad idea. Look in to the others tommorow and see if I can get it installed then, too. Probably going to be down for minimum $200 and tax for a quality job and warrantied work; know I could DIY for nothing :evil:
My friends out here are all apartment dwellers like me, but I will do what you say and find some coharts who I can buy lunch and brews for. :lol:
You guys should make it down this way and we can hit some trails here.