[thenoblesock]

so the locker sat in its box for far too long and after 2 weeks of new gear break-in time the time came to install it. plus the weather really shaped up enough to wear a T shirt and not get frostbite. (one of the main parameters)

this isn't by any means an in-depth install description. in fact I’ll simply link to the PDF I used off of aussie's site...the locker itself is pretty self explanatory.

so just do the regular stuff. yank the tires/wheels. then the axle shafts...for some this may mean pulling the C clip from the inside of the carrier. or if you did the 44 swap then you can just pull the semi float bolts located inside of the drum brake assembly.

with the shafts pulled it's time to take the carrier out. this may or may not be a huge deal...if you've already pulled it recently you can probably get away with using two crow bars and maybe hammering one of them. (make sure you aren't crowing of something important....ring gear/bearing somehow).


the empty housing, you can see my crowbars used to pull it out on the ground.

if it's really tough try heating up the housing around the bearing races..but not the races themselves. then go back to the crowbar hammer combo should find you with a carrier separate.

luckily there is nothing to bother with the shims or anything else. just don't mar up any of the bearings or the surfaces.

in case you haven’t pulled spider/side gears from a carrier it's amazingly simple. find yourself a punch 3/16 diameter is perfect. and pop the roll pin out from the carrier housing, this will free up the cross bolt, then knock the cross bolt out with another punch/socket extension.

then simply roll the spider gears in a circle and they fall out, along with the side gears.

DON'T LOSE THE THRUST WASHERS. but replace them if they are too chewed up. they should be smooth.

now a good thing to do is set everything out. and take a picture of it if you're smart...but I forgot so I stole this one. but they all look the same.


locker layout from top to bottom: cams, spacers, bag o springs/pins, and axle gears


put the spacers inside the cams so that that if you look at the toothed side the spacer has the depth and on the other side it is essentially smooth. also remove the four pins from the bag and put 2 in each cam. the pins have a flat side and a stepped side (to retain the tiny spring) place 2 pins in each hole on the cam, step side down.

basically the fit together with the 2 axle gears on the outside, DON'T FORGET TO PUT THE THRUST WASHERS FROM THE SIDE GEARS ON THE NEW AUSSIE AXLE GEARS. Then the cams with the spacers already inside before you put them in. also the cam that goes on the ring side of the carrier goes on second..for some reason they fit together in order like that.

before you go punching the cross bolt through you have to line up the cams so you can slide the pins from one cam to the other, then insert the springs into the now available space in the cam then put the spring over the stepped part.

carefully send the cross bolt through and line it up so the roll pin can once again be punched through and then it's just reassembly. torque those ring bolts if you have a non C clip axle and had to remove the ring gear. and the bearing cap bolts to 55-60 foot pounds.


lining up the cams for the spring install. a vice makes this job a breeze.


getting some of that delicious grease on just about every surface...ew.


everything back in and torqued down. ready to go.

installation complete.

DRIVING IT

now since I’ve never had an auto locker like this when I backed out of my driveway and cut the wheel to straighten out I was greeted with a horrifying clank snap kinda noise.

this is going to be the new sound you get when you turn anymore than about five degrees. it's loud at low speeds. at higher (20 mph) turns it sounds more like a clattering...and much tamer.

so I made my way over to our local off-road haunt..and pulled the jeep over a log that usually hangs me up pretty good. I managed to land the front diff on the log a bit but a little pedal and the rear end locking up had the jeep lumbering over it (no pun intended) pretty effortlessly.

did a couple more runs over some big dirt mounds made of sticky mud and I was convinced. this had to be one of the better upgrades I’ve made so far.

I give it a 9/10

cons include the loud clicking noises, and having to pull a carrier...mainly if you've never pulled on out of the housing on your jeep. but aside from those minor points the trade off of having this in your jeep and not spinning just one tire helplessly is a no brainier.

and at 250 shipped you really can't go wrong.






oh and here's a fun pic. while I was out test driving I managed to separate my exhaust right where the pipe I used to ditch my cat meets the lead pipe near the Xmember. so it dropped off because the U bolt wasn't tightened enough. and when I nailed the gas pedal it shot the pipe off. (yes this has happened before)

Suddenly the exhaust sounded really good...so with a ratchet strap I resecured it to the cross member. And had about 5 min of engine run time before the thing burned through the nylon ratchet strap.

No I didn't have the right socket size to tackle an exhaust U bolt clamp to just pull the whole exhaust off. [/url]




here's the pdf install manual, in case i was vauge...too bad.
http://www.offroadlockers.com/display/Manual_d.pdf

[iwishihad1]

give that aussie time to break in. mine was pretty loud and i was dissapointed at first a little. but after about 2 weeks its completely dissapeared. i havn't noticed it on the street in weeks. mine is in the front though, so im sure there is some difference

[iwishihad1]

also is it a 44 or 35 your putting it in??

[Cody_00_XJ]

Originally Posted by iwishihad1

also is it a 44 or 35 your putting it in??

that looks like a d44

[Cody_00_XJ]

Originally Posted by thenoblesock

and at 250 shipped you really can't go wrong.

where did you get it?

[sjd78]

His rear end is a 44

[Chuck Cook]

Originally Posted by Cody_00_XJ

that looks like a d44

Let's hope the picture of the locker is a stock photo; because it clearly says the kit is for a D30 and the XD-13027 corresponds to a D30. I know because mine arrived yesterday for the FRONT of my XJ. Chuck

[joey-nac]

Originally Posted by Cody_00_XJ

where did you get it?

Northridge4x4.com has them for 250 free shipping. Offroadlockers.com has them for 229 plus shipping so 6 one way half dozen the other.

[thenoblesock]

it's a 44 rear yes simply by what you see. as i mentioned in the original post i mentioned that i stole that picture. haha like i said i didn't have the foresight to take pictures of it laid out til i had the thing in the jeep.

i got mine direct from aussie. they were out of stock for about 4 weeks and i was on backorder until it showed up about a week after i regeared...figures.

thanks for the feedback about it quieting up after awhile. it has already become more silent. and it kicks the *** offroad so i don't mind the noise

[thenoblesock]

Originally Posted by iwishihad1

give that aussie time to break in. mine was pretty loud and i was dissapointed at first a little. but after about 2 weeks its completely dissapeared. i havn't noticed it on the street in weeks. mine is in the front though, so im sure there is some difference

also how are you running that up front? do you have a vaccum disco style 30 or did you get the hub upgrade. and if neither how does it do as a DD in the turns and stuff. does it jerk the wheel bad?