like i said, i have aussies f/r on my daily, and i honestly CANNOT tell on road, UNLESS i make a tight u turn. then i start chirping a little bit, other than that, offroad is the only place i can tell i have em. they dont make much noise if you use the appropriate gear oil they tell you to. they do seem to engage/disengage very well.

 

I wouldn't trade my arbs for anything else for my dd. the best of both worlds. Its so nice on snowy roads to fire up the compressor, hit the switch and have consistent traction. The only leak I've had was my fault for not sealing the threads.

I saw a deal a while back on kijiji locally. 2 arbs for toy 8", viair onboard tank, compressor, everything needed to use em and 2 sets of 5.29 gears, everything new in box, $2200. The ad was only up for a day. The deals are out there.

 

I had a Lockrite locker in the rear of my last truck . Traction and off capability was vastly improved over an open diff . Daily driving was fine , coast through turns , gas when you straighten out etc. It was no big deal . I would get it again without hesitation .

Now I have ARB's front and rear , definitely an improvement over the auto locker, but my wallet is a lot lighter !

I guess it all depends on your budget and wheelin' goals . Don't get caught up in all the "auto lockers suck" non sense. . They are fine for what they are : a cheaper and simpler alternative to a selectable ....

 

very well put.

 

I run an aussie locker in my rear and I love it.

Pros:
-Automatically engages
-VERY inexpensive
-Incredible traction offroad ( I go everywhere i went in 4wd now in 2wd)
-no wires, air lines, etc.
-Barely notice it's there

Cons:
-when you take tight turns and gas it, it engages and chirps/skids
-It clicks on turns but only loud with thin oil
-Slides tail end on ice/snow


If you get it in the front it'd be great because you'd never know it's there till you lock the hubs (click) or stick it in 4wd (traction out the wazoo)

Front and rear aussies would be half the price of an ARB too. ARB's are just simply the best, just overpriced BIGTIME.

 

I ran an Aussie for a while. It was ok. I got used to it pretty quick. It had a few quirks though. There will be a bit of slack in the drive line. That is a part of a lunch box locker. It does not hurt anything but you will notice it. You just have to adjust your driving around the locker. If you run thick oil it behaves much better.
I changed my gears and put a ARB in and that is the best thing by far that I have added to the drivetrain. I have had no problems at all. I love it. Push a button and it is locked. The ARB is pricey, but well worth it.
Good luck

 

Just outta luck browsing Craigslist and picked up a stocker 4runner 3rd with 4:88's with the nice v6 carrier for cheap, thanks for the input guys I think I will be going with a selectable locker.

 

I've been debating the same thing myself for over year. Due to driving a lot in the snow I think I'm going to have to save my money and go with a selectable up front.

 

why up front?

 

Because it doesn't affect daily driving.

 

This might just be an opinion but if you want to only lock the front I would just buy a mechanical locker it would be way cheaper but you would still receive the same benefit and would only work if you have the hubs locked , that is assuming you have manual hubs or in 4x mode if auto. Now If you want a selectable locker you can do it in the rear and not even bother with 4x in most cases, that's what I'm going to do.

 

its selectable.. it wont affect daily driving anyway. put a mechanical up front and a selectable in the rear.

 

Maybe I am wrong and those here who have more experience can help me decide...

I can only afford one locker right now and I felt I would get more bang for my buck when rock climbing with the front end locked since the front tires usually contact the obstacle first. I would get more pulling power?

 

That is true however when you get your front end up, all the weight is now on the rear end. That is now where you need more traction. That situation happens much more often than your front pulling pulling you up in my opinion.

Another thing, with a locker out back you can do more in 2WD resulting in less fuel usuage

 

I run a Spartan locker(lunchbox) in the rear and I can't even tell it's there. I'm not sure if it's because I'm running 35s but the drivability is just as good as it was when it was open. It was also a breeze to install!

 

if you only afford one selectable, get 2 lunch box lockers instead... lol. just my opinion.

 

That's good to know. Thanks

 

I have a 87 4runner with a lockright in the rear end.
As far as daily driving goes it's great most of the time. I have a 5 speed, and the only issues with it is turning a sharp corner, mostly right hand turns. I find speed up into a turn, press the clutch and coast through it. Easy as pie! Honestly it took me all of 15 minutes to "learn" how to drive with a lunchbox in the rear.
Though if I'm honest, a locker in the rear can be a bit of an issue during icy conditions. I found that if I ran it in 2wd it was really hard to stop the back end from "fishtailing" out constantly. The easy solution to that was to simply keep the front hubs locked all the time in the winter and shift into 4wd when I needed it.
And if I'm honest that would be the biggest draw back to having a lunchbox as a daily driver. I live in Canada, in an area where come November all our streets are packed snow/ice. In that situation a lunchbox makes the rear end "fishtail happy" and there is virtually nothing you can do about it. You can control it, easily, all you have to do is put the truck in 4wd and you'll stay pointed in a straight line.
Honestly a selectable is a better option, but a lunchbox isn't as bad as some people make it out to be... nor is it a great as others say it is. If you can afford it, or can find the factory parts cheap enough from a wrecker then get the e-locker, or an ARB. Otherwise, buy and install the lunchbox, it will work, you just have to not be an idiot driving when it's slippery.

 

Hey John what did you end up going with?

 

I ran the Aussie auto-locker in my 88 and have the Spartan in my 93 and they are both excellent. Within a few days I got used to clutching around corners, but I wouldn't install these in an automatic. I had one scary instance early on, taking a corner too fast in the rain, but the locker disengaged as soon as I let off the gas. Now I just take it easy in the rain/snow. It takes a bit getting used to but I love it. But I probably would go with a selectable if I lived in an area with lots of rain or snow (I'm in CA).

I like that I don't have to worry about engaging/disengaging the unit. Particularly since my wife does most of the offroad driving nowadays, at least until we get to a "scary" obstacle, then I take over. If I had a selectable and left it on a lot, I'd probably be wearing out my tires faster, but maybe this isn't significant. But if you have a selectable, I believe you have to engage it before you get stuck/crossed-up, because the tires need to turn a bit before the locker engages; may not be significant though.

Up front, I run a LSD. Besides being cheaper, I figured if I wouldn't want to fully lock the front with a selectable locker since I think the front is more prone to breakage, particularly when the wheels are not straight. I may be wrong about that though, I just know my brother popped a birfield with an ARB up front. I personally would rather get stuck than break something (I'm not to proud to pull out my Hi-lift!).

Anyhow, for the wheeling I do, I have never regretted my choices. Particularly since it left me money for other things I wanted.