OK, I'm not used to running the lunchbox locker but I have to because of cost for this one. I'm running an 03 TJ and need to pick up a rear locker. As far as the lunchbox lockers go, which is the best? I have looked at pretty much all of them but they all look very similar. Which is the best from your FIRST OR SECOND HAND experience and why? This is going in a Dana 44

my experience is that they suck and I wouldnt run one

Lunchbox in the front is ok but i wouldn't put one in the rear

Aussie

I ran one in the front and it SUCKS! I pulled the one in my DD on 33's this weekend and tossed back in the spiders! Save your money!

MJ, your advice is a little useless considering you have no idea how this rig is being used.

I had a lockrite in the rear 44 of my old TJ, I loved it. Yeah it was noisy as hell and drove terrible but was awesome offroad. I would suggest driving a jeep with an auto locker before you install one. I never had a problem driving it in snow and ice. To install it in a 44, you need to remove the diff and ring gear in order to remove the cross shaft, not hard at all just takes longer than normal.

If you do a lot of city driving, I wouldn't get one. They are much easier to put up with if you have an automatic as well.

OK, maybe I should clarify. This is for the rear of an 03 TJ on 33's that is a daily driver and trail rig. I'm military and stationed in England. With their laws, it really restricts a dual purpose rig. Due to the cost involved, a selectable locker is not an option at this point and due to the fact that gear set up is rediculously expensive over in England (almost double due to the exchange rate),a full locker is not an option either. This is a temp fix until I return to the states and build this thing for real. I have no problem driving with a locker on the road. I have done it before and know the characteristics. So, which lunchbox locker is best and why?

Powertrax No-slip is a little smoother than a Lock-Right or Aussie. The Lock-Right and Aussie are very similar. I'd say any of those 3 would meet your needs.

i have been very happy with the powertrax no slip. i bought one of the first ones ever made, and haven't broke it yet. it has better manners than most too.

i have always been of the opinion that a lunchbox is as tough as the diff it is sitting it.

I run a lockright in the front of my rig, its transparent offroad and on, except for a few clicks.

As far as DD'ing them, I know 3 people who DD with no slips, 4 that DD with lockrights, and 1 that DD's with a aussie. plus a handfull with detroits All of them have had nothing but good to say about them.
Riding in the above mentioned rigs, the only ones I could even NOTICE had lockers onroad were a few of the very short wheelbase rigs, with sticks, you would get a quick jerk each time you shifted.

I've been running Lockrights front and rear in my CJ7 for about 6 years now, and its a daily driver (shame on me, its not a trailer rig....i drive mine to the trail:flipoff2: )
I've been nothing but happy with the performance offroad, and onroad it took a bit of getting used to, but once that phase is passed, you dont even notice it.
This thing sees harsh Montana winters and plenty of ice, so i've become an expert at negotiateing slick roads with lockers....its not that difficult.
But anyway, The thing i like about the Lockright is the price and ease of installment. If i was running 60's or something and with larger tires, i would probably spring for a more luxurious locker....but i didnt see any point spending $600 and up to stuff lockers in basically stock axles. easy equation: Never spend more on lockers then the axle is worth.:shaking:

...easy equation: Never spend more on lockers then the axle is worth.:shaking:
unless it is a 14 bolt...

I have a Power-Loc in the front and a Lockrite in the rear (stock CJ5 axles). I don't get where all these "suck" accusations come from. They were both used (each less than $150), both self-installed, and both are going fine.

IMO, Lockrite or Aussie in the rear, fill the diff with 85W140, learn your new, slightly different rear end mannerisms, and enjoy.

unless it is a 14 bolt...

Shouldn't you just weld those? :flipoff2:

Thanks for the inputs. That is exactly what I was looking for. I may have missed it but is anyone running any of these in the front of a TJ without selectable hubs? I was just wondering how it acted in a frontend. Thanks again.

Two guys in my club run Powertrax No-slips in their TJ frontends. because torque isnt applied while in 2wd, they remain unlocked. These lockers depend on driveline torque to operate, otherwise, they stay open minus some clicking around turns.

Shouldn't you just weld those? :flipoff2:

perhaps, but mine came with a detroit so...:flipoff2:

Thanks for the inputs. That is exactly what I was looking for. I may have missed it but is anyone running any of these in the front of a TJ without selectable hubs? I was just wondering how it acted in a frontend. Thanks again.

Dont those axles have CAD like the newer dodge trucks?

I got aussie, front and back, no problems.

I ran one in the front and it SUCKS! I pulled the one in my DD on 33's this weekend and tossed back in the spiders! Save your money!

Sell it to me.

Dont those axles have CAD like the newer dodge trucks?
Nope, TJ's and the new Dodge trucks (solid axle) don't have CAD anymore either.
Some portion of the front axle keeps turning anyway, with a locker (lunch box or otherwise) you might get some vibration from the front driveshaft turning. Shouldn't be an issue, though, since there is no torque applied when in 2WD.

I have an Aussie in my ZJ. I DD it 20 miles each way to work, and in all conditions.. rain or otherwise. I don't know what's with all the hate, but it's cheap traction, and it works great. Mine doesn't bang or bind.. it works great. Isn't that noisy either.

the only problem I had with mine (ran a lockright in the rear for 2 years) was that it wore out. the leading edges became slightly rounded and it would really bang into place at times. turned it around and ran it the other way for a while and it was fine :D

this was also with some 33s and then 37s with tons of wheelin and also a DD.

now I run a mini-spool (cheap at the time) and it's still fine. will be probably upgrading to a full spool when I can. rear is a 9"

run a lockright up front for over 2 years now and it works great (this is on a '00 s10 with a HP D44/9" swap). it's still a DD on 37s.

I do get some funny looks when I pull into a parking lot or gas station with all the chirping goin on :grinpimp:

I run a No-Slip in the D44 in the back of my rig on 35's and love it. I don't know where all the hate for insertable lockers comes from. I have wheeled the crap out of mine at Moab and alot of other local trails here in Utah and it has never failed me. Yes the No-Slip is a little more $$$$ than some of the others, but IMO it is worth it.

I run a lockrite in the front and have had 0 problems with it, i love it. A few clicks turning at slow speeds but other than that nothing.

I've had 2 friends run them in the rear, one in a trail rig, the other on a DD. Both work great, and neither have had any problems, for the price you can't beat them for the price.

I can quantify a bit for you.
I run detroits front and rear, my brother is trying to be cheaper.
I have welded a rear for him, that sucked.
he has tried a lockrite in the front, we just took that out and threw it in the garbage replaced by the stock spiders 2 weeks ago as it flat out doesnt work IMO.
banged, made grinding noises, scary steering issues.

he has another lunchbox in the rear now, powertrax or the ezlocker not sure which, they do not function nearly as well as a real detroit.
I think he is a few hundred dollars behind me now and doesn't like his truck, will be going to detroits front and rear during the 1 ton upgrade.

detroits are made/were in Ireland. if I was in the UK I would be looking for the factory.

he has tried a lockrite in the front, we just took that out and threw it in the garbage replaced by the stock spiders 2 weeks ago as it flat out doesnt work IMO.
banged, made grinding noises, scary steering issues.


How exactly did it not work? Please elaborate...


I ran a Lock Right in my front 8.5 for awhile with no problems.
It worked like it was supposed to.
Not bad at all for $200 and 2 hours of wrenching.

I have an Aussie in my 8.8 in the rear of my TJ. It seems to work well and drives just fine on the street. It does click when turning, bangs and makes noise sometimes but for the price I think it works great. Maybe someday I will step up to a full detroit - but for the price of the detroit in the rear I can have Aussie Lockers in both axles!

How exactly did it not work? Please elaborate...


I ran a Lock Right in my front 8.5 for awhile with no problems.
It worked like it was supposed to.
Not bad at all for $200 and 2 hours of wrenching.

it made horrible crunching sounds when loaded up hard and would skip rather then lock.
the rear is a different make and has problems as well, eg. doesnt unlock all the time so you get the chirps like a welded dif.

how fawking elaborate do you need? a locker that doesn't.
PM me with specific questions if you want minute details.

so let me guess, you installed them incorrectly? tossed shims when they were needed? or left shims when they shouldn't have been..

If they didn't work right, you either figure out how you fucked up the install, or send them back for warranty. I find it rather unlikely that you got two bad lockers in a row..

it made horrible crunching sounds when loaded up hard and would skip rather then lock.
the rear is a different make and has problems as well, eg. doesnt unlock all the time so you get the chirps like a welded dif.
Unless the locker was already broken when you put it in, it sounds like a problem with the install and not the locker itself...

if anything it would need more shims, reused the ones that were there as per instructions.
I don't recall a shim pack coming with.

I've been running a lock-rite for about a year now in the front - no complaints with it; it's worked flawlessly so far - doesn't bind normally on sharp turns (on occassion it will when making u-turns while accelerating) and just clicks as it's supposed to, and it has NEVER 'skipped' when my rig is being 3-wheeled (or 4-wheeled with sharp turns on slabs) on the trail. Granted it wont be as strong as a full carrier locker, but it's fine for the weekend warriors on a budget that doesnt allow an ARB (or Detroit)

I don't think you need a shim-pack with it; there are some shims you need to keep track off I think that should already be in your diff, as you need to re-use them (or maybe not and you're SUPPOSED to ditch them, meh, can't remember). Did you remember to install both the large and small spring in each of the 4 spring portals (so 8 springs installed total)? You need both inside of one another, not just one.

anyone ever run one of these in a d60 front? I was thinking about getting one, but I will probably just run it open untill I can afford a gleason or maybe a detroit.

I've been running a lock-rite for about a year now in the front - no complaints with it; it's worked flawlessly so far - doesn't bind normally on sharp turns (on occassion it will when making u-turns while accelerating) and just clicks as it's supposed to, and it has NEVER 'skipped' when my rig is being 3-wheeled (or 4-wheeled with sharp turns on slabs) on the trail. Granted it wont be as strong as a full carrier locker, but it's fine for the weekend warriors on a budget that doesnt allow an ARB (or Detroit)

I don't think you need a shim-pack with it; there are some shims you need to keep track off I think that should already be in your diff, as you need to re-use them (or maybe not and you're SUPPOSED to ditch them, meh, can't remember). Did you remember to install both the large and small spring in each of the 4 spring portals (so 8 springs installed total)? You need both inside of one another, not just one.

might have been an EZ locker, but I do not recall 8 springs.
I was the photographer for the first time it went in and just remembered I have it online.

http://www3.telus.net/mjmillar/4x4/EZlocker/

there were shims on both sides upon removal and we thought about adding another one but the decision was made to go back to stock until the d60 swap.

I would like to thank AussieLocker for PM me with offers of tech support.
unsolicited offers of assistance are rare these days. props to ya.

i have run the Aussie in the front of my dana 30 for over a year w/ no issues. always works when i want it to.