Bought new to me/used Aussie, opinions on condition of it

[Breezio69]

Ok, well either way its going in the axle for now. Ill have my set of stock spiders "Fozzy Locked" in my tool box in the Heep for WHEN this locker goes out.. Last thing I need is to be in BFE with no cell service and have two open diffs again. That way I can at least get back home with minimal down time on the trail...

question 2 completely un related to the locker... Ive been pondering on this thing (locker) failing/ having metal chips in my gear oil from it.... has anyone drilled/ tapped and put a magnetic drain bolt in a diff? also making it easier to drain and not lose $20 a qt gear oil?

on the 8.25 it seems it would be very easy to put one right behind the "distinctive lip" (which 3/4" is shaved on mine now) and have it be protected... or even so, make a ring with some rolled steel and weld it on to protect the bolt head

 

[jeeperjohn]

No problem, i understand. I'm just confused by the people that have responded with "i had one that looked like that and it killed my grandmother". Obviously the piece is used but aside from a few teeth that are chipped here and there it looks like pretty normal wear. Can someone be more specific about what they're seeing that looks so catastrophic?

Besides, the point of a lunchbox locker is that it won't take you more than a few hours to stick in there

The point is that when a lunchbox locker starts to get rounded teeth, just a little wear can cause slippage. It would be a shame to do all that work just to have it slip and fail within a short time.

 

[jeeperjohn]

Okay, initiating spoon feeding hehehe...! When on the throttle, the load is transmitted through the teeth engaging. As you can see, about half of those teeth show small chips and wear. So now, when you get on the gas, all the load is transmitted by fewer teeth which will cause them to begin wearing and chipping faster. When the wear and chipping gets to a certain point, the teeth will no longer engage all the time, but ramp up over each other and slip.

From my experience with several of these, the locker pictured is close to that point. In a front axle you won't notice it as much because when in 4wd you tend to be in rough terrain and a little slip here or there can easily be overlooked.

But to your point, yes, that does look like normal wear, which is why these cost 1/3 of an ARB. They work fine for a while, then wear out.

Since the OP already bought it, its a no brainer to stick it in and try to get some use out of it.

To go into slightly more detail, the chips reduce the gripping surface area of each chipped tooth and that reduces how much torque the part can hold without slipping. When the teeth are rounded, they tend to slip very easily.

 

[jeeperjohn]

Ok, well either way its going in the axle for now. Ill have my set of stock spiders "Fozzy Locked" in my tool box in the Heep for WHEN this locker goes out.. Last thing I need is to be in BFE with no cell service and have two open diffs again. That way I can at least get back home with minimal down time on the trail...

question 2 completely un related to the locker... Ive been pondering on this thing (locker) failing/ having metal chips in my gear oil from it.... has anyone drilled/ tapped and put a magnetic drain bolt in a diff? also making it easier to drain and not lose $20 a qt gear oil?

on the 8.25 it seems it would be very easy to put one right behind the "distinctive lip" (which 3/4" is shaved on mine now) and have it be protected... or even so, make a ring with some rolled steel and weld it on to protect the bolt head

I always put a small "button" super magnet on the inside of teh diff cover when I do gears. It cuts down dramatically on wear caused by metal in the oil.

 

[Lowrange2]

Is it in there yet or are you still trying to figure out a drain plug?

 

[Breezio69]

^^^ I went today and bought a 1/2"x20 magnetic drain plug, 3/8" deep threads, so the only thing that should be sticking into the housing is the magnet. I also picked up some 3/8 solid steel rod. Trying to think of a way to either make a ring around the bolt head, or do some sort of ramp from the bottom lip on the pumpkin to the pumpkin (easier in my opinion) and give the bolt some coverage, also adding a "sliding" surface for whatever I hit... debating on going with some 1/2 though... dont know if 3/8 would be tough enough on a decent hit

 

[Demolition_x]

I have had nothing but problems with my aussie. It worked perfectly for 400 miles. Then it would get to the point where it would pop and snap going down the road in a straight line. I got a replacement locker and the same thing happened. In my mind I cannot understand how the heck it was unloading like that with all the pressure the crosspin has on the to halves of the locker.

 

[Breezio69]

I have had nothing but problems with my aussie. It worked perfectly for 400 miles. Then it would get to the point where it would pop and snap going down the road in a straight line. I got a replacement locker and the same thing happened. In my mind I cannot understand how the heck it was unloading like that with all the pressure the crosspin has on the to halves of the locker.

Yeah, this is what im worried about. I have a feeling I bought a possible turd... Well if it goes out I'll just be "fozzy locked" for the time being, already feel I've put too much time and money in the axle at this time. Maybe in 6 months I'll feel different about it and get a whole case locker when I get an ARB for the front.