John101477

Hey just a question of which should I do now? I have the option of a small lift or air lockers.

toyota4x4907

locker.

yoder519

most def locker

Junkers88

Locker. A locked rear will get you farther into, and more importantly out of, places than a lifted open-diffed vehicle.

edit: Just noticed you said "lockers", as in you can afford more than one? If that's the case then you could go with the ARB for the rear and a little lift. Then you can wheel it for a while and see if you really need the front locker. You'll be surprised how far you can go with just one locker.

Ed H.

that's a weird option?, price difference is huge definitely lockers.

toyota4x4907

Thats what I was thinking, but he didn't ask our thoughts on that

a4runnerfreak

Lock it, then lift it

John101477

Ok first to clairify. I ment locker as in rear. Which is roughly 600 ish. And the locker is about 800ish. The lifted front will probably come in a few months along with a set of 2in leafs which will basically level it out. Sounds like the locker will be the top priority. Does anyone know if the automatic has different gears than the stick or if it will mater with the locker?

904_runner

John if you want to wait until we go wheeling i will let you test out a auto locker to see if you might like that.. It is alot cheaper.. under $300...

John101477

Does locker turn off? That's kinda my big concern as my wife drives the runner once in a while, hate to have it come out from under her?!?

904_runner

Well ill let you check it out...

They automatically unlock in turns... I haven't had a problem with mine.. IT does click around turns but thats about it... Unless you drive really aggressively, gassing it around turns very violently, etc.. its hardly noticeable..

Junkers88

Corect me if I'm wrong but you have an auto tranny yes? If so then you'll never even know the locker is back there unless you stand on it in a turn.

As far as it causing problems with the wife driving I can only see one instance where that might be a problem and that's in snow/ice. In that case just lock the front end and put it in 4 high. This is what I do if I have to drive on ice and snow and it's like driving on a dry street just as long as you're not a ding bat with the skinny pedal.

Go try 904's rig with the auto locker and see what you think. The Aussie (if that's what he has) is less than 300$ shipped, you can install it yourself and it's a damn good upgrade. Then the other 300$ you have left you can spend on a set of springs (I'd go with some 3" Downey's since most leaf springs tend to sag about an inch in a 4runner) and a set of BJ spacers up front. Well the springs and spacers may cost a little more than 300$ but not much. Then you're lifted and locked.

904_runner

That maybe the case...

I didn't know you were auto tranny.
I am running a lockright which is the same principle of a aussie locker..

John you have a front bumper i would invest in a rear locker, and some more armour.. i know if i had some sliders and bumpers before i sas'd i would have tried more trails etc, cause i wouldn't have been paranoid about body damage.. Now it doesn't concern me too much, but i still don't want to destroy mine.

Junkers88

Sorry. I didn't see the 3.0 in your signature.

John he's right the lockrite functions the same as the Aussie with just as much performance and the same little quirks. I also need to agree with him that a little bit of armor goes a long way. One of the first things I crushed and had to replace was the t-case cross member (this was after I'd installed the front and rear Marlin Crawler bumpers and the locker and it just figures that the one thing I hadn't considered got mooshed). That thing is a rock anchor and the Budbuilt I have now has a much lower profile and is a lot tougher.

I guess the choice is finally yours to do with your money what you want. So after having the rig for a while are you finally deciding to do some wheeling or are you still going out to photo spots?

I'm thinking the progression for goodies should probably be

1) a little armor
2) a locker for the rear
3) lift if you need it. Remember that you should lift as much as you need but as little as possible.

Let us know.

thook

Typically, the auto's do have different gears. Not sure in foreign countries, but yours will probably have 4.30's whereas a 5spd typically has 4.10's. Regardless, ratio has nothing to do with locking or not except for when you choose the locker to fit it. Functionally, it has no bearing on anything, though.

As for the type of locker, if I understand correctly, Aussies/etc. are limited slip types. I have a limited slip rear end on my Peugeot sedan. It's great in every situation. But, on ice and slick snow it can be tricky, tricky, tricky. But, that's something you can quickly get used to. You just have to be aware of how the vehicle will respond when you accelerate, turn, or come slowly to a stop. I noticed on the last snow/ice we had that the Peugeot....being an automatic....had a tendency to want to pull to one side when coming to a stop. This is because the drivetrain is always engaged (in D position) and there will be torque going to the wheels. All you have to remember, though, is to throw the vehicle in neutral and it will no longer push against your braking. When accelerating, you just have to do it easy like......no quick throttle. And, when in turns, just don't accelerate into the turn. Follow? Hopefully, you just go slow anyway when there's ice or snow. Seems a lot of people still don't get that part even after years of driving and have otherwise avoidable accidents.

904_runner

No the ausie locker/lockright is a locker that unlocks in turns..

If you are hanging a tire in the air it doesn't matter because the other wheel gets power..
It is amost like a ratchet... where it will unlock in turns and relock in straigts..

This will sometimes have asmall quirk and you can feel it engage, but it only happens sometimes.

http://aussielocker.com/

Read up a little bit...

John101477

Ok so which locker do I need with the automatic? Also been lookin at more armour - bud built skids, deciding on two different types of sliders, and the rear bump is the tough one. I actually want to build something.

a4runnerfreak

Aussie doesn't make a locker for our 3.0 V6 trucks and 4runners. Lockright is pretty much our only option for an autolocker. I'll be ordering my lockright over the summer

Junkers88

Any locker is a good idea. With the auto tranny you'll feel the auto locker less than those of us with sticks.

As far as armor goes Budbuilt makes the best t-case plates on the planet, period. With the rear bumper I'd go with Marlin Crawler, I've beat the crap out of mine and it still looks great. Very shallow departure angle, heavily built, solid to the frame........ it's a God built bumper. Sliders are a good idea to help keep rocks/trees/Jeeps out of the sheet metal.

I guess the best advice I can give is to step back, take a look at where you want your rig to be, where you want your rig to take you, what you want your rig to drive over and decide from there.

Little brother you need to decide what your "end game" is for the rig. Everything else is just money wasted. Decide what you want, save for what you want, buy what you want, install what you bought, wheel what you built.

Load it, lock it, lift it and don't look back. Jeeps in the mirror only make you laugh and you can't wheel and giggle at the same time.... you might hit trees.

thook

Righto. I'm confusing my lockers, then. S'tho s'tharry...

Still, doesn't the aussie behave the same on ice and snow. IOW, have tendency to pull to one side when not in a turn?