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Locker works...

S

sthomp

Full Member
Joined
Aug 4, 2003
Messages
106
Location
Georgia
Had to test out the locker on my new Av today to make sure all was well...she passed the test quite nicely by climbing this little off camber in 2wd. It clicked once and locked in then pulled over the hill with the three wheel motion. Kinda disappointed in the front IFS articulation, especially coming from a lifted Jeep Cherokee with a coil sprung solid front axle , but it will do. The locker really helps. I didn't buy the vehicle to beat around in the woods but nice to know it will handle some rough stuff if needed. ;D

locker1.jpg
 
sthomp said:
Had to test out the locker on my new Av today to make sure all was well...she passed the test quite nicely by climbing this little off camber in 2wd. It clicked once and locked in then pulled over the hill with the three wheel motion. Kinda disappointed in the front IFS articulation, especially coming from a lifted Jeep Cherokee with a coil sprung solid front axle , but it will do. The locker really helps. I didn't buy the vehicle to beat around in the woods but nice to know it will handle some rough stuff if needed. ;D

locker1.jpg
Click to expand...


that is a great pic......!!!

Welcome to the club
 
Thats an awesome pic!...when are you going to put a lift kit on that bad boy? You would be the first member that I know of with a WBH lifted beast >:D
 
I went to Paragon last weekend and we had a guest speaker from Aussie Lockers. www.aussielockers.com I'd check them out, if they made one for my Samurai (my wheelin rig) I'd get one. Once I get rid of my Durango and finally get an Av, It will be hard for me to leave it stock..... >:D

KOko
 
It would be neat to lift it, but I learned my lesson on the Jeep. When you add all those goodies you just have to test them out to the extreme and I ended up with a vehicle only suited for off road use! The Av is my only vehicle so I'll have to leave her stock (or pretty close) for now, maybe several thousand miles down the road I'll tear into it, would like see a solid front axle conversion, that would be a rock crawling machine with about 38-40" tires. Has anyone swapped the 4L60 tranny in favor of the 4L80 or 4L85 to beef it up. One of my main concerns with buying the Av is the 4L60 as it is really close to the maximum torque rating on this truck, I hope it can stand the test of time. I couldnt justify getting the 2500 just for the bigger tranny.
 
capfacsurf said:
Locker? You put a locker on your Av? Or are you talking about the factory ltd. slip differential?
Click to expand...

Z66 and Z71 come with locking Diffies........
 
Thanks for all the compliments. I haven't been here long and didn't even realize there is a picture of the week, pretty cool to see it on the front page ;D I am really enjoying the Av, has been flawless so far and just a great all around vehicle. I am afraid the modding bug will bite soon tho :eek: Oh yea, here are some views from the drive up the forest road where I took that pic.

fall1.jpg


fall2.jpg
 
Sthomp, I have a Z-66 and really like the locker. I even went offroading with a couple of jeep guys last January and a few pics here is one. Keep the cool pics coming and welcome! Matt
 

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That is awesome. I had a bit of a test myself a few weeks back pulling a horse trailer full of hay thru a muddy spot. Going in I worried I'd messed up not getting 4WD but after hearing (actually, feeling) a light 'pop' the locker engaged and pulled me right thru. Awesome truck!

-Brian n8wrl
 
Kinda disappointed in the front IFS articulation, especially coming from a lifted Jeep Cherokee with a coil sprung solid front axle , but it will do. The locker really helps. I didn't buy the vehicle to beat around in the woods but nice to know it will handle some rough stuff if needed.
Click to expand...

Awww, come on ... That's not a fair comparison !

(I had an XJ lifted with limiting straps-different world altogether... Another thing the av don't do is twist much either...)

GM IFS is adequate for me though ... Just try to keep one rear planted and it's all good in AZ ... >:D

Those are some nice pics ... What kind of camera may I ask ?

Oh yeah ... Congrats and welcome !

11H
 
11H,

Have you heard of anyone disconnecting the front or rear sway bars on an Av or a GM IFS for that matter. I couldn't find it mentioned anywhere on this site. I am tempted to try it, would only take a few minutes, but was curious about the results. I don't want to pop a break line or something else so it would be nice to not be the first to attempt it. The camera is an Olympus, forgot the model#, but it is a couple of years old, has always taken good pictures though.
 
I run JKS Anti-Sway Bar Disconnects on my rear bar. I have not disconnected my front bar, yet. Last year ('02) in Moab, I ran with the rear bar disconnected and it did increase articulation. I was running 305/75R16 Pro-Comp Xterra's at the time. This year, I have not disconnected the rear as I am running 315/75R16 BFG AT's and figure they will come up into the fenderwell. If I can make it to the CO GTG this weekend I will disconnect the rear and let you know how it works with the big tires.
 
Yeah I would be very interested in seeing pictures of disconnected sway bars. Should be easy to do and I would think it would greaty help articulation.

~bekind
 
In regard to swaybars, I posted a question at the end of the Front Lift Kit thread, but I think it got buried before anyone offered up any info.

From looking at this pic of Mdz66's Av, I'd have to think they'd stop any axle droop before the shock bottomed out:

Mdz66_two_wheeling.jpg

 
I am infavor of the QD in the back but not in the front. QDs on an IFS seems like it would be a roll-over waiting to happen. The first Willy's Jeeps had IRS without a limiting strap, if memory serves. The wheels would drop down towards each other if airborn. This caused a narrower wheel tracking width when it came down and almost any lateral force would roll them.

The solid rear will not 'pinch' the wheel base though. It will keep the wheels on the ground longer.

Granted today's IFS will not come close to pinching the wheel tracking like the ol' Willy's. I still don't beleive that the amount gained is worth the effort and risk. For serious twist-ability ~ cough up the money and go solid up front.
 
I'm not really sure you'd gain much from disconnecting the front bar. IFS is inherantly limited because there's no axle to leverage the opposite wheel down and keep it on the ground.

Check This Pic - Solid axle would have kept this wheel down when the passenger side front was stuffed... disconnecting the sway bar on the IFS isn't going to do much since this off-the-ground tire is in no way obligated to do anything at this point.

By way of contrast, the rear axle in this pic is forcing the passenger side tire down when the driver's side tire is stuffed.

With that being said, these trucks perform reasonably well considering their size, weight and IFS. I've seen other IFS trucks that don't flex as much as the Av does... Another flex pic

 
Since you have a Z71 would you please go into a little detail on your addition of the locker. My first thought was that you had it in the front, but when you said you left it in 2WD I now assume you replaced the factory limited slip with a locker. What brand locker and did you consider putting it in the front?
 
Z71 and Z66 have lockers in the rear....
 
venado,

The z71 and z66 have the eaton G80 locker in the rear end, there is no anti slip device in the front on either of these models either. Do a search for eaton g80 and you should find some additional info. There is no factory limited slip differential available for the Av to my knowledge.


Crexis,

Great shots of an Av in action, these are the best i have seen and the last shot was very impressive. As for the leveraging of the axles you are correct that the compressed wheel will create a moment in the axle(with a solid axle setup). However, on our IFS it seems like the unloaded wheel would be forced to its lowest point (highest travel) by the torsion bar, especially being independent from the loaded wheel, if the sway bar were disconnected. I will prob try this eventually, just out of curiousity. I know disconnecting the rear sway would help, though.
 
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