installing LSD to front diff

gday mic.
let me know if you do it .i was thinking about the same thing but thinking is as far as i got.didnt survive duck season

How you going to steer???

Hi Mik,
I have 'lokkas' in the front and rear of my 4runner, i find them great, they only cost about $500.00 and you can install them easy and quickly yourself. they are not like the traditional locker, with the ones we have from 4wd systems-
http://www.4wdsystems.com.au/html/lokka.htm
the more torque you send thru to the diffs the tighter the lock is, and if your driving around on the road they disengage when turning sharp corners eg. roundabouts. they might be worth looking at, they will last loinger than an lsd which ive heard only last 40 odd km...
give it some thought

regards steve

Mik

GQ owners have been doing this for years. LSD out of the back and into the front and some form of locker in the back. On Toyota realy not worth the effort because of the weak LSD. However a constant 4wd a LSD is deadly in the front. I belive you can get a soft locker for the front of a constant 4wd now.

WayneAlways Out'N About

Hi Mik Drove a Bronco for years with both front and rear LSD, it was great went every were that the ones with lockers did. Usually had to lead as the extra width cleared the track for the toyo's and Nissans
Ray wanderin' in retirement. victor 2010

Hi Mik.

I have a '92 Troopie and I have gone down the path of auto front locker (Detroit Soft Locker) and now a LSD (Detroit Tru Track).

Changing over to a LSD is the best thing that I ever did. I had no-end of trouble with the auto locker.

In W.A. we have a hell of a lot of loose sand, especially on our beaches, and that was the problem. I wont go too deeply into it as I have, in the past posted very in-depth article on the matter on this forum.

Suffice to say, and in a nut shell. When I stopped in loose sand in 4WD and the moved off (tyres were deflated at the time), instead of the wheels walking out, they both spun in and went straight down.

Point 2, invariably, when leaving the beach, you have to go up a sand dune and make a sharp left or right turn at the top to follow the track.

I didn't, I went straight on because the axle would not dis-engage. If I took my foot off the pedal to allow the auto locker to unlock, I stalled because I lost momentum in the loose sand.

Point 3. When following other vehicles along the beach and in their tracks (or trying to) the truck always wanted to go straight ahead and not follow the weaving tracks of the truck in front, hence the old girls was all over the place, very difficult to handle.

Now come the worst!

When I tried to turn in the loose sand, both wheels would turn as the same speed resulting in one wheel steering O.K. but the other bulldozing up a huge mound of sand in front of it and most of the time, again, stalling or bogging me.

They same problems relating to steering occurred when driving in mud.

(If I was doing rock climbing under dry conditions, I could climb up a brick wall).

After putting up with this for 22 months I bit the bullet and complained to Detroit.

In all praise to Detroit Australia (I am sorry I can not recall the name they trade under) they came to the party without any quibbles and swapped my front diff over for a very minimal cost to their Tru Track LSD.

I could not be happier with the LSD, Detroit, or my Troopie.

The difference that I noticed in traction loss was next to nothing and more than adequately compensated by complete control of my vehicle.

Regards

One other point mentioning, you will lose around 3m.p.g. for each L.S.D.

Dick.

Hi guys.

I can not comment on full time 4WD such as in the 80's as I have not had any experience with them. for those of you that are satisfied with yours, that's all that counts. I had a lot of problems with mine, but then I do weigh 3.2 tonnes, that may have some thing to do with it.

It was also suggested in a past post that maybe the diff was not set up properly, that too is a possibility.

As for the comparison with an air locker in the front, I do not think that can in any way compare with an auto locker. An air locker I have compete control over, engaging or dis-engaging if an when required. In that case I would disengage the locker when doing 'u' turns on the beach or when about to turn at the top of the sand hill to facilitate the turn and then re-engage after the turn.

But like I said, if it works for you, money well spent, for me, money waisted.

Regards