Tips for driving with a locker?

So I got a Powertrax lock-right put in the back of the Samurai the other day, and I can get it to work fine once I'm moving at 15-25kph, but at really low speeds it just feels like a welded diff. The manual says to keep the power on in corners but at really low speeds I can't find the trick to making it unlock - a little power does nothing, anything more than a little either makes the "chuffing" worse or lights up the rear tires. When it was installed we made sure it was ratcheting properly. Am I doing something wrong or does it just need "breaking in?" I don't want to be howling and chuffing around every low-speed corner like a Ford truck and I spend a lot of time playing car-tetris in parking lots.

It might be just one of those things you you have to deal with using a locker. They never seemed to be street friendly to me. I could be wrong.

I'm prone to agree - at low speed you're not creating enough of a differential for it to unlock, and I think if it did, you wouldn't be happy with its performance on the trail.

For what you want, you probably should have gone with a selectable locker.

I'm surprised the manual says to apply power while making tight corners. In every thread I've read about auto-lockers the unanimous opinion is to put the clutch in and coast around sharp corners/into parking spots. (I read it on the interernet so it must be true, right? )

thatsnowinnebago wrote: I'm surprised the manual says to apply power while making tight corners. In every thread I've read about auto-lockers the unanimous opinion is to put the clutch in and coast around sharp corners/into parking spots. (I read it on the interernet so it must be true, right? )

You have to treat it like a kart... lift, turn, gas... the inside wheel has to come off the ground or it wont turn. A practical application of hoonage is what you need.

I have a locker on my DD tacoma and use it for the couple track days [hpde] . It locks under 15% power and does not like slow parking lot turns , it sounds like somethings going to brake. You will learn to work around it by coasting up to those tight spots and avoiding making tight u turns . Thats a fun little truck . Good luck -John

I DD drove a CJ-7 with Detroits in both axles. It sounds like it might be better once it's broken in but, I think this is somethign you will have to love with. Like you suspescted, applying power during a turn WILL lock it up, creating more barking or just a huge wail, attracting every donut eater within 1,000 yards. Have fun in the snow if you get any. Things do get scary in a SWB, high-center-of-gravity 4X4 with a locker. Once there is 6" on the ground it's like you are driving on velcro, but when there's just a dusting, HAVE FUN!

ReverendDexter wrote: For what you want, you probably should have gone with a selectable locker.

Yeah that would have been perfect, but most of them are ZOMGEXPENSIVE to the point that you could put in an automatic locker and have enough money for 2 extra sets of tires left over (local duties really ramp up the cost of an already expensive part)...I would have installed an Ox Locker (selectable locker activated by cable rather than pneumatic / electromagnetic systems, therefore cheap and with less points of failure) if they made them for Sammies, but they don't, ARE YOU READING THIS OX LOCKER GUYS!?

I think if you coast around corners, it will behave better. I think applying power is exactly what you DON'T want to do.

hmm, if that dak is still around in another week and I get it, I was looking at a powertrax for the rear.

GameboyRMH wrote: I don't want to be howling and chuffing around every low-speed corner like a Ford truck and I spend a lot of time playing car-tetris in parking lots.

What's wrong with Ford trucks ?????

GameboyRMH wrote:

ReverendDexter wrote: For what you want, you probably should have gone with a selectable locker.

Yeah that would have been perfect, but most of them are ZOMGEXPENSIVE to the point that you could put in an automatic locker and have enough money for 2 extra sets of tires left over (local duties really ramp up the cost of an already expensive part)...I would have installed an Ox Locker (selectable locker activated by cable rather than pneumatic / electromagnetic systems, therefore cheap and with less points of failure) if they made them for Sammies, but they don't, ARE YOU READING THIS OX LOCKER GUYS!?

Oh, I agree, and OX was actually what I was gonna suggest. I admittedly don't know much about Samurais, though, and thought you might be lucky enough to have a Dana in the rear.

i had the same kind of locker in my f-150, and basically the easiest way to do it would be to make sure the inside rear spun, so then the outside rear will help push you around the corner. it was either that, or you had to be really gentle witht the power or the axle would wind up and the inside tire would hop. when you are making those tight turns, its the inside tire thats driving you forward, so on a short wheelbase vehicle like your sammy its going to feel like it doesn't want to turn ( like its got a locker in it, duh) so you have to either break the inside tire loose or plan ahead.

just wait till the first time it skips on one side right after you change gears as your reapplying power. its like theres a ghost sitting next to you that just grabbed the wheel and gave it a tug. then by the time you react, its already caught the next cog on the locker and you're going straight again. also they're pretty sensitive to tire pressures, if you have one tire get low or get "off" from the other by 5-10 psi, it'll want to wander on you under power.

I've got one w/ a set of 4.55 gears for my Sprite. I swear I'll try it eventually, but I twist the splines off axles already w/ an open diff, so I'll need to lay in a supply of spares first...

Had a Lockrite in my old truck. Hateful experience.

For turns, mild power applied helped. Trying to coast through a turn would result in terrible lock/un-lock cycling, and the most violent front-back lurching. Mild power would unlock it.

Now wait until you have to brake hard and manage to lock one of the rear wheels. Oh my!...

foxtrapper wrote: Had a Lockrite in my old truck. Hateful experience. For turns, mild power applied helped. Trying to coast through a turn would result in terrible lock/un-lock cycling, and the most violent front-back lurching. Mild power would unlock it. Now wait until you have to brake hard and manage to lock one of the rear wheels. Oh my!...

Same thing, mild power is the only thing with a chance in hell of unlocking it. Coasting or engine braking makes it skip over the road.

BTW my kit was missing some springs, luckily the guy who installed it had some seemingly identical springs from an SJ410 Lock-Right kit. Apparently it's a very common problem:

http://www.lonestarjeepclub.org/board/showthread.php?t=32595

I've heard tire pressures can make it harder to unlock (edit: just read it again in the post above) so I'll try equalizing them this evening (I'm running about 10% lower on the passenger side because RHD sammies are MUCH heavier on the driver's side)...but really this thing is almost as agressive as a spool. I've ridden in Ford trucks with Detroit lockers and they make awful noises and they're violent, but they unlock much easier than my Lock-Right.

JFX001 wrote:

GameboyRMH wrote: I don't want to be howling and chuffing around every low-speed corner like a Ford truck and I spend a lot of time playing car-tetris in parking lots.

What's wrong with Ford trucks ?????

A few things but I was really talking about the crude and violent lockers they come with.

You may want to try and find a tow hub for driving on the street. When my dad welded the rear in my mom's Malibu he put one on so she could still drive us around.

Strizzo wrote: just wait till the first time it skips on one side right after you change gears as your reapplying power. its like theres a ghost sitting next to you that just grabbed the wheel and gave it a tug. then by the time you react, its already caught the next cog on the locker and you're going straight again.

It's not that bad in the Sammy. The back just wiggles a bit, it doesn't hold a candle to what crosswinds will cause...

Wally wrote: You may want to try and find a tow hub for driving on the street. When my dad welded the rear in my mom's Malibu he put one on so she could still drive us around.

I'm actually looking into something like that. I was thinking of modifying the transfer case (you just have to remove a ball from it that prevents certain gear combinations IIRC) that allows you to access other gear combinations like 2WD neutral and 2WD low. There's actually a twin stick transfer case shifter kit available to make it easier to access those gears (http://www.zukeviltwin.com/index.html). That doesn't take care of the locker drag issues but it takes care of the safety issues (apparently some really bad things can happen towing in 4-neutral). I'd only need to tow it in case of a breakdown though.

OK I'm starting to figure it out..it's like the manual says, "slight acceleration." It takes a lot of precision and finesse but if you just move very slightly while turning at low speeds, the locker will unlock and will stay unlocked until you give it a decent amount of gas, or come off the gas sharply. The "butter zone" for unlocking the diff is very small. Definitely not something you could do if you were in a hurry and it doesn't work on gravel.

Sounds like you basically want minimal force acting in the driveline, in either direction. Don't want it to be accelerating or loading up.