Offroad-Express

Looking at buying a auto locker for the front of my samurai what are good brands and prices what are the down sides what are the gains. I will be driving it on road has manual locking front hubs also what do people think about mini spools in the rear down sides plus side and what brands and where to buy

Don't lock the front unless you can afford to upgrade axles/C.V.s as well as they won't last offroad with a locker. Rear spool is ok for an offroad hack but wouldn't want one in a daily. I had a lockright in the rear of my Samurai, they take a little bit of getting used to on road but transform it offroad. Some brands of spool break/are brittle can't remember exactly which but will see if I can find where I saw it.

It's not a daily but will be used to drive to 4wd spots mostly red rocks. So you would recommend just a auto locker in the rear I've had cars with weld rear diff which is the same effect as a mini spool and it didn't bother me much. Can you use rear Axels in the front or anything like that or do you have to buy after market ones?

I had one and I liked it, like I said it does take a little getting used to on the road but better than chirping tyres around every corner. Only option for upgrading front is chromoly axles and C.V.s a member on here sells them viewtopic.php?f=64&t=40521 got lockers too viewtopic.php?f=64&t=40523 It's a slippery slope with the front diff though as once you do axles the next thing to go is the hub bolts upgrade those then the ring&pinion is next.

I disagree a little with zukimister on the front locker , having a front locker will not break cv's and axles . They way you drive it will break axles and generally having a front locker means you can take things a lot easier than without it . What you will notice is cornering will be affected by the front locker , it will want to go straight ahead . On my 413 this was noticeable but only slightly .
I picked up my last lock rite locker second hand , was a 413 version and I installed it in a vitara rear diff as they are all the same in the side gears etc .

I have never had a welded rear diff so cant really comment but if you have and found it ok then I would say buy a locker (one that does not include side gears) and chuck it in the front and weld a rear (they are cheap enough) and see how you like it . Then if you don't like the welded rear you can pull the locker out of the front or get another for the rear at a later date ( spread the cost ) .

The most fun and capable 413 I had was with 31's , a 4.16 t/case and lockers front and rear . Went very well . Info you didn't want , if I was doing it again in order I would cut the guards and fit 31's , then get a 4.16 t/case and do the 2wd low mod ( means you can select 2wd and low ratio as the selecter ball is removed )and then install the lockers .

Good luck with what ever you do and report back on what you did and how you found it

Cheers
Chris

Personal preference really I like to be able to give it shit without having to worry about something breaking.

Unstuck1 wrote:It's not a daily but will be used to drive to 4wd spots mostly red rocks. So you would recommend just a auto locker in the rear

nah I wouldn't recommend one at all if your mucking around on soft beaches mate you'll only end up digging a deeper hole when you get stuck wider low pressure non aggressive tyres is what you want for beaches but make sure you've got the horsepower and a good clutch to keep them running fast up on top of the sand without running out of puff

I have 31 m/t tyres and run 15psi around red rocks.

5psi would be better. As long as you have a compressor to air up before driving home.

No on board air and lots of sharp rocks around there. How hard is it to set up in board air or is it easier to just buy a little 12v plug in compressor

A tyre with lower pressure is less likely to get punctured as it flexes around the rocks. I use a twin cylinder 12v compressor from repco pumps up pretty quick.

Is it one you hard wire in? Does it have a tank?. Also why do people run twin battery's

No just one of the ones with jumper leads that hooks up to battery. Was only $150 so can't complain for the price! Twin batteries... extra capacity for winching is the main one but for bigger trucks also common for camping to run fridges etc.

jumpin in this about ockers where are you based im in island bay and have a win locked sj ute welcom to try the feel of the lcker when i get the truck back from cert 0272012916 greg