i am going to be getting and 86 4runner sasd and 35's and so on... i want to put front and rear lockers in it, but im worried about driving in the snow and ice. I was thinking about aussie lockers, but im worried about trying to drive on the highway with front and rear autolockers... will i have difficulty making turns? And just how safe/unsafe will front and rear lunchbox lockers on the highway with 4x4 engaged be? And yes i did do a search on this and found some useful information, but not exactly what i need to know.
Thanks,
Andy

 

Drive with your head and you will be fine. I drove all winter with an automatic locker out back and TSL's and never had any issues. It drove better locked and in 2wd than it did when it was open front and rear and in 4wd.

 

Man, you were reading my mind. Wife was thinkin' about going Montana and Idaho this next Christmas for a little tour. And I'm thinkin' either Aussie front and rear or Aussie front and torsen rear.

 

thanks for the replies, but i need some more info.
so heres a
/bump

 

Get locked...go to an empty snowed in parking lot and play around. You get the feel real quick. I ran a Detroit EZ for a couple years in Detroit...the truck became much more predictable locked than when it was unlocked. As mentioned above, keep your head and a little practice will go a long way.

Dont autolock the front and rear...just the rear. Get a selectable for the front or deal with a good amount of bouncing when trying to turn on dry pavement.

 

I run a detroit ez in the back and in 2 wheel drive I get my as kicked (at 30psi on the pavement) In 4wd I dont have many issues. But with an open when you spin the rear end only one wheel spins nad the other acts as a lateral anchor keep in the truck pretty strait ( unless you are trying to do douhnuts). with a locker you dont get the anchor. Basiccally you do have to use your head. NO PUSHING THE ENVELOPE!!! Its no all wheel drive mall cruiser, and if you are using unsiped muds it only gets worst...........But I would never go back and I live in chicago and have to deal with some of the worst winter driving.

 

so i take a autolocker in the front is a bad idea then?

 

With ADD a locker up front won't do anything in 2wd. Handling should be normal. In 4wd though, it'll make the handling pretty squirrelly...even worse than it currently is in 4wd.

 

With manual hubs it will be fine, too. Even with the hubs locked, so long as its not getting any torque input from the T-case it will act like an open diff.

 

ADD hmm.. Attention Deficit Disorder ? j/k.. i dont have automatic hubs.. ive got manual locking hubs... an im not talkin 2wd im talking having the thing in 4 high on an icy or snowy highway.

 

In 4hi on the street you will just have to feel it with the throttle when you go around turns. Its hard to explain you just have to feel it for yourself. If you dont like it sell it lockers dont lose hardly any resale.

 

You shouldnt need 4wd on the highway, and if its bad enough that you actually do, you shouldnt be traveling at speeds high enough to be worrying about it.

 

Running locked full time in the snow really isnt too bad IMO. It takes some getting used to but...
At highway speeds, prob not a grand idea, you will notice a good deal more torque steer [or whatever you want to call it]. At the same time I agree with Joez, if you need 4WD on the highway you shouldnt be going very fast and can control it.
BTW, Ive been running lock-rights front and rear on my DD for over 3 years here in Colorado

 

4wd is needed on county roads and the highway often for a couple monthes out of the year... So realy what i want to know is will it be safe to have autolockers front and rear and drive on the highway in 4 high in ice and snow?

 

For the rear... No problem in 4 HI! The front--- 'Safe' IMO really comes to learning how your rig will handle with the full time locker in there and changing your driving style to comp for it. If safety is your main concern, def go with a selectable front locker
Just my $.02

 

safety is deffinetly a main concern because this vehicle is going to be a daily driver. Im still not realy sure what to about this.. because as much as id like selectable lockers i could buy both front and rear aussie lockers for less than it would cost to buy one selectable locker... however i guess you cant realy put a price on safety now can you.

 

I had a powertrax locker in my cruiser and it was downright scary in 2wd in snow! The locker may not have been working right, as one of my buddies thought, who knows.
Think about this though, if you ever want to do a sas, then the locker up front will be ditched, but you can always sell it. I am going with selectable in the rear because I will do some semi tough trails, but I doubt I will tacke stuff that will require front locker, but damn, you never know, I say this now but in a few years I'll wanting the sas and dual lockers. Stupid mod bug, be more funny.
But if the aussie locker is cheap, try it, and if you don't like it you could sell it and swap in selectable. Only bummer is the truck will down.

 

Most all of the mods we do to our trucks are "less safe" the best piece of safety equipment is your brain. I think you will be fine. I will run an auto locker in the front when I do my sas.

Hey people (including women ) used to drive 7000lbs cars with 4wheel drum brakes. I think I can handle a front locker 4 or 5 days out of the year.

 

4rnr
My dad still does... he drives his 51 power wagon ( gotta be 8-9000lbs) and its got crappy worn out drum brakes

dlbrunner
the 86 runner that these lockers will be going into has a sas... so i wont be having to worry about that

 

I guess I should have read the first post!! oops