Locked Front Consensus from Those Who Know

I had an Aussie locker in my old TJ. Ran it for ~3 years & only lost 1 axle joint. That was from a short 4x run on pavement (bad idea), t-case didn't shift to 2x in time.

The XJ I just bought will be getting front & rear Aussies as one of its first mods. At least the front will be in before the lift & tires go on.
 
Red97XJ said:
How does it handle on ICE and snow on the roads in 2wd?
Click to expand...
Drove up to Big Bear for some skiing on iced road (snow melted during day and froze over night on the black top). Haven't felt a thing.

How bad is it in 4wd on ice and snow?
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On ice? No clue. Snow? Every so often my jeep thought it knew better where I wanted to go, although I'm not too sure if open I would have had much more to say about it :D
 
Lock it....you will get used to driving it. Wont know its there in 2wd, 4 wd just takes some getting used to and then you wont give it a second thought
 
Low speed turns in 4x on ice it will push (not want to turn but these are more fun in 2x anyway). Patchy snow covered roads the locker will steer you away from the tire with the best traction but, you shouldn't be running 4x with a front locker in these conditions anyway. Roads should be at least mostly (85%+) covered IMHO. Dry pavement + lockers = trip to parts store. On snow the difference between locked front 4x and open 4x is about the same as going from 2x to open 4x.

Lock it and you'll wonder why you didn't do it sooner.
 
Red97XJ said:
So this sounds like a no-brainer on my daily driver...

Is there anyone that can think of a BAD thing of having a front locker?
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extra strain on your axle, but that is it. get some spare shafts and learn how to change them if you have to on the trail.
 
just with winter driving. I am familiar with all front lockers and how they behave in most situations. ecxept for ice/snow.
My opinion. don't get a detroit or LB locker. get an Auburn Ected.
 
Winter driving is not that bad. You just need to adjust your driving style a little. I went through 2 winters with a LB locker in the front only. The first time it snowed it took a little getting use to, but I took it slow & easy & did not have any problems. You have to learn the locker. Now I am locked F&R & very rarely use 4wd on the street. JIM.
 
Front Locker = the single best mod I ever did.
 
Red97XJ said:
So this sounds like a no-brainer on my daily driver...

Is there anyone that can think of a BAD thing of having a front locker?
Click to expand...

Yep, all those places that were a challange to wheel before will now be BORING.
 
I have found that a little locker addative will reduce the clicking and popping tremendously. Its been a couple of weeks since using the addative, and I dont notice the noise at all.
The only time I wish I had a selectable is when turning on rock slabs.
 
i broke a shaft when i had 260's. the ujoint went first followed by the ball joints and then the shaft. the tire was only connected to the jeep by the brake line but i was given it hell at the time
 
RevinXJ said:
Did anybody brake when running locked thirty with 35's? What did u brake?
Click to expand...

1. Get alloy shafts
2. Get better ujoints (CTM? OX? LONGFIELD?) or at the very least full circle clips.

And still expect things to break.....
 
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