My Aussie Locker Review

[AZTOY]

Off road, city and highway, it performs exactly as advertised so far.

Off road: HUGE difference, everything seems so easy. I drove in two wheel drive over and up things that I could not have before. And in 4wd, it was crazy capable. ( this is based on 8 hrs of off roading through dirt roads, hill climbs, rock crawling)

On road: Clicks during tight and medium turns. No lurching or wheel chirps. I can use light acceleration when turning and just clicks. You can't accelerate out of or into turns, but that's the cost of having a locker. It seems smooth to me if you alter your driving slightly. Btw, I have an auto trans. (this is based on ~200 miles city driving and ~100 miles of highway driving @70-80 mph.)

For those of you researching or thinking about getting a locker, get one if you off road in areas where needed. I could not believe the difference off road. Research and make your own decision, but I recommend the Aussie.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/125546-aztoy-build-thread.html

 

[KidVermicious]

Good to hear. This is exactly my experience with the Spartan, and seems to be the consensus among those who have actually installed one of these. Lots of people talk crap about automatic lockers, but I have yet to meet one that's actually installed and driven one.

 

[WU7X]

Good to hear. This is exactly my experience with the Spartan, and seems to be the consensus among those who have actually installed one of these. Lots of people talk crap about automatic lockers, but I have yet to meet one that's actually installed and driven one.

I ran a Powertrax No-slip rear diff in my '00 Tacoma Xcab for over a decade with no problems whatsoever. Unfortunately, they aren't made for my '97 T4R. So now I'm looking at either the Aussie or a Detroit. Thanks for the writeup, it was very positive and informative for me. :thumb3:

 

[hrt4me]

how would you assess it compares to a factory E-locker?

 

[tyr0981]

so i hear allot of un-sound things about this auto-locker in the rain, i live in Portland Oregon, and obviously we get ALLOT of rain.

so what's all the negativity about with the Ausie's and the rain and being uncomfortable driving in the wet?

 

[98OzarksRunner]

I have a Detroit TruTrac LSD (technically not a locker) and my experience is the same as AZTOY's. It's taken me places in 2WD that would require 4WD without it. In fact, on a lot of forest roads, I never leave 2WD (while my buddies are in 4WD). It works fine in the rain. I just notice a slight tug when going around tight corners when it's wet. Since it uses worm gears it's very smooth and doesn't make any noise. It's not as cheap as the aussie - $500 from Summit Racing.

 

[tyr0981]

I have a Detroit TruTrac LSD (technically not a locker) and my experience is the same as AZTOY's. It's taken me places in 2WD that would require 4WD without it. In fact, on a lot of forest roads, I never leave 2WD (while my buddies are in 4WD). It works fine in the rain. I just notice a slight tug when going around tight corners when it's wet. Since it uses worm gears it's very smooth and doesn't make any noise. It's not as cheap as the aussie - $500 from Summit Racing.

good info! how does it handle long sweeping turns where you have to have some power through the turn?

Same question about the Aussie in long corners where you need to have at least some throttle thru the turn?

i've been wanting to do this sort of project for a long time on the Runner! whew i've gotten so much useful info on this website it's making me a little overwhelmed!

:biggrin2:

 

[KidVermicious]

Disclaimer, I have a Spartan, not an Aussie, but they're the same design. Sweeping corners under steady throttle are fine, but be prepared for a butt wiggle if you let off throttle or abruptly accelerate in the middle of it. Scary the first time it happens if you aren't expecting it, but once you're ready for it it's no big deal.

You learn to become a very smooth driver when you have an automatic in the rear diff.

 

[tyr0981]

Disclaimer, I have a Spartan, not an Aussie, but they're the same design. Sweeping corners under steady throttle are fine, but be prepared for a butt wiggle if you let off throttle or abruptly accelerate in the middle of it. Scary the first time it happens if you aren't expecting it, but once you're ready for it it's no big deal.

You learn to become a very smooth driver when you have an automatic in the rear diff.

i bet it's even more "exciting" in the rain or snowy/icy conditions in a sweeping turn huh?

i guess my biggest worry is my Girl Friend driving it in less then ideal conditions.....

 

[KidVermicious]

i bet it's even more "exciting" in the rain or snowy/icy conditions in a sweeping turn huh?

If you're going too fast for conditions, sure. I don't worry about the rain, but I regularly get passed on slushy/icy freeway by FWD and AWD cars, and I have to use the pullouts on the way up to the resorts or I collect a stack of mad open-diffed 4wd's behind me, but I get where I'm going.

An autolocker is a great budget option for an owner of a daily driver that sees enough trail time to justify it. If I had a rig that only saw pavement to and from the dirt I'd lincoln-lock it and be done, and if I had more money I'd install a selectable. In fact, I'm saving up for one for my new build right now. But there's absolutely no need to be scared of an autolocker, it fits a need and works well within it's limitations.

 

[gannonrt]

I have an Aussie in the rear. The day before yesterday had a significant amount of snow on the ground that was fresh. About 6-8" came down over 4 hours. The plows had trouble keeping up so I played around on my drives around town and on the highway to better understand the effect of the Aussie. Also, my wife drives a '97 T4R with an open diff so I took that around town in the same conditions to compare them. Both vehicles act exactly the same with no gas pedal applied. The difference occurs when the throttle is applied in 2WD. When going in a straight line the rear end breaks free on the aussie locker more quickly than the open diff. Its hard to say exactly how much quicker but it is slightly noticeable. What is more noticeable is when the throttle is applied while executing a turn. The open diff allows for different rear wheel rotational speed between inner and outer wheels and only breaks free if you give too much gas. The aussie rear seems to stay locked in low traction turns so it breaks free at a much lower speed. Again I can't give specific conditions since I was not tracking turn radius or speeds during this testing period. However, it was primarily breaking free in neighborhood type roads that involved sharper turns and more acceleration. I didn't notice much of a difference on the highway. This difference goes away when 4WD is engaged. I've driven with 4WD on for the past few days without any problems.

Only once in the past 18 months have broken free in the rain. It was a very heavy down pour and I gunned it going up a road with a 20 degree incline from a complete stop. Midway up the 1/8 hill I broke free slightly and quickly threw it into 4WD.

I see a significant amount of rain / snow in Columbus, Ohio and consider the Aussie locker to be my single best modification. I have had to learn to drive more smoothly but it is unstoppable off road. It makes formerly excited trails tame and allows me to hang with some heavily modified j**ps.

 

[man jerk]

I daily drove trucks with aussie lockers installed in the rear diff for 10+ years. This included snow / ice / whatever you can find in Minnesota or Colorado. People think about it to much. If you want a cheap locker, buy one and install it. If you aren't willing to deal with the quirks then save up and buy an ARB. Aussie/Lockright/spartan design has been around since the stone ages. You get used to it.

Hell my wife daily drove my 86 4runner with a rear locker for about a year, if she can than anyone can.

 

[98OzarksRunner]

good info! how does it handle long sweeping turns where you have to have some power through the turn?

Same question about the Aussie in long corners where you need to have at least some throttle thru the turn?

i've been wanting to do this sort of project for a long time on the Runner! whew i've gotten so much useful info on this website it's making me a little overwhelmed!

:biggrin2:

For the Detroit TruTrac, I never have noticed anything but a slight tug when turning sharp corners. On long curves under power I notice nothing at all, even on wet roads or snow. The TruTrac is not a locker nor a typical LSD (which actually runs 'locked' and breaks loose when needed). According to the Eaton manual, it does not 'lock' both wheels but transfers power to the wheel with the most traction. It also needs some traction to engage. If you raise one wheel off the ground it won't move (I tried it with a jack!).

I recently sold a 65 Mustang with an Explorer trac-lock rear and it was engaged all the time until you turned. It definitely felt different than the TruTrac in my 4Runner (and with 550HP it needed to be 'locked' all the time :wink2.

 

[tyr0981]

good first hand info, thank you very much for taking the time to inform my ignorant arse!

:thanks: