rear aussie effects on the street

i searched the site (not too great with computers) and found a post about lockers effects on the front axle. i can't afford selectable lockers at this time, so i was wondering what the effects of sticking an aussie in my rear axle would do to its driving manners. my xj will see the pavement when driving to and from trail runs, and on nice days when i just wanna drive it. thanks for the info in advance!

An Aussie is really no different than a LockRight. I have an Aussie now and I have had a LockRight. You have a clicking noise when turning and I have to coast more. You might chirp your tires more and it might click/bang a bit when going straight again.

It hasn't failed me offroad and it is definitely there for traction. I would be weary if you have to drive in a lot of snow or ice. I take mine up to the mountains during the winter and I am very careful with it.

The part that I don't like is the backlash, that is where the pinion will spin about 1/4 - 1/2 rotation before it tranfers the torque to the wheels. So with my Manual transmission it can get bucky at times and more so with lower gears (I have 4.88's).

All in all I wish I had a selectable locker, but I can definitely say I'm getting more than my moneys worth from it.

i was thinking of going with 4.11's in the back to, and i have an aw-4. i'm not someone who likes a lot of throttle (except for wheeling). so i might hear some clicks and chirps, and thats about it? do these things handle poorly on the freeway @75 mph?

ttms91xj said:

i was thinking of going with 4.11's in the back to, and i have an aw-4. i'm not someone who likes a lot of throttle (except for wheeling). so i might hear some clicks and chirps, and thats about it? do these things handle poorly on the freeway @75 mph?

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I wouldn't say poorly I would say quirky. You may expierence torque steer, which is when you say try to pass someone and step on the gas, you can feel the vechicle wanting to switch lanes but then it will straighten out. You get use to it and it becomes predictable.

From what I have been told, the only quirky thing with an auto is when you but it in gear you may hear a clunk and that is from the backlash I mentioned before.

ChuckD said:

I wouldn't say poorly I would say quirky. You may expierence torque steer, which is when you say try to pass someone and step on the gas, you can feel the vechicle wanting to switch lanes but then it will straighten out. You get use to it and it becomes predictable.

From what I have been told, the only quirky thing with an auto is when you but it in gear you may hear a clunk and that is from the backlash I mentioned before.

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Well said.

I have an Aussie in my 8.8. It is my DD. The thing I first noticed was when I was going straight and came to a stop sign and let off the gas. The rear of the jeep would "shimmy" once (for lack of a better term). Nothing startling, and you do get use to it. I know it's the locker locking and unlocking, so it dosn't bother me. I hardly ever hear it ratcheting in drive however, I do hear it in reverse.
When I first installed it, it was quite loud both forward and reverse when ratcheting, but has since quited down drastically after the break-in period.

I like it, and would buy another.
Works great on the trail as well.

HTH