If you read my Part #1 and Part #2 of the Aussie Locker experience you will know I had recently installed this brand locker in my rear Dana 44 axle on my Jeep and was wanting some real world experience with them before I gave my final verdict.
To do that, I had waited to have some challenging terrain of different types to test it out on.
So three months later and five trail runs with this locker I have based it down to my “Good, bad, and the Ugly” categories.
Trails I ran in order since installation;
- Slaughter House, Colorado
- Left Hand Canyon (Momma Hill), Colorado
- Illinois Gulch (MOAB Hill), Colorado
- Yankee Hill (Lots of snow & Mud), Colorado
- Spring Creek (3 of 4 obstacles, 4th snowed out), Colorado
The Good:
I ran my Jeep through a foot of snow, snow & mud, sticky wet clay, over loose shell rock , major off camber shelf road, over solid rock obstacles, up steep ascents, and all of the above at one time. Each time I made it no problems as this locker gave me the traction I needed to tackle the rough terrain. No holds barred performance!
I watched guys go up the same obstacle on Spring Creek I just did and saw what they were dealing with having no locker/open differentials, took them 20 minutes, where it took me less than 4 minutes, it was a night and day difference!
No locker pop experience, engagement banging, although I can probably contribute this to having an automatic now and not a stick.
The Bad:
Fish tailing through mud, snow, specifically on ascents and off camber terrain where gravity pulls you to an edge of a 100+ drop off which can cause a little raising of the heartbeat and get you white knuckling it. Going through some deep snow on parts of the slight off camber trail Yankee Hill, the people behind me said my rear was off to the side slightly as I was driving.
This is a typical full traction locker trait though, not anything to do with this being an Aussie Locker brand, as any full traction auto locker will do this. You have to learn to drive it a little different than when you had open differentials.
The Ugly:
NOISY SON OF A B#&CH!!
Aussie Locker claims in their advertisement to be quieter than other Lunchbox style automatic full traction devices however I beg to differ. My DETROIT locker was no where near this noisy, as it sounds like a ratchet going around every corner, doesn’t matter if slow or fast.
I checked, and I double checked, and everything is 5 by 5 installed. I have not ran any other automatic full traction locker to compare other than my experience with my DETROIT locker so I can not answer the question whether Lock Rite’s, Powertrax, NO-SLIP, or any other lunchbox style lockers are just as noisy. I would be interested in what Aussie Locker has to say about this?
Final Verdict;
The locker is one of thee most import upgrades to any trail driven vehicle out there. If you have never ran a locker you have no idea what you are missing and the difference it can make.
The Aussie Locker has been very pleasant from the time I opened the box. I am impressed other than the noise and that might be something I will just tune out and forget it even exists in time. The trade off for the ratcheting noise is advantage of having the extra traction and I would do this everytime I had a choice. Aussie Locker does claim to be stronger with materials and slight design changes, but it will take some time to really see the long term advantage over the other brands. Overall there is nothing revolutionary or evolutionary about this locker. Do not get me wrong about this Aussie Locker, I am very impressed with my purchase and what it is. For $250 I just increased my offroad prowess by 5 fold. The final comment will be this; If I was offered the Aussie Locker amongst all the other Lunchbox style lockers I would choose the Aussie Locker again.
