Lockright vs Aussie vs Torq locker comparison

[freedom_in_4low]

This started as a failed install of a Powertrax lockright and has turned into a side by side lunchbox locker comparison. Rather than bury this in one of the threads asking for quality locker or complaining about one not working, I thought it would be better served as it's own thread. It might go better in the Resources section but I'll leave that call up to the admins.

Most of the differences are very minor, so small as to be imperceptible without calipers. The LockRight has more chamfered edges which gives it a slightly more finished appearance but I don't expect it makes any difference to operation or installation

The teeth are close enough that each coupler (the replacement for the side gear) will mate with the other manufacturers driver, and vice versa, without any perceptible difference in engagement. The Aussie driver is slightly smaller which results in a small decrease in the cross section of the tooth, but I'm not aware of teeth stripping out as a failure mode so whatever the Aussie has seems to be enough. The Aussie teeth are also slightly deeper so the driver has to push against the springs just a hair farther to ratchet.

The crosspin ramp hole is somewhat significantly different in width, which changes the slope that the drivers ride on the crosspin to lock up. I imagine this probably has some impact on lockup behavior but I don't know what and I won't find out since I won't be able to drive with both of them. I could speculate that the Aussie ends up putting more force into locking up but requires slightly more carrier rotation to do so.

What DOES appear to make an observable difference, and I believe is a make-or-break deal for me in particular, is that the total stackup of the locker assembly is 0.023" larger for the Aussie than the LockRight by adding up the components (0.030 when I actually measure them assembled...maybe the way the teeth engage adds a little?), and if you saw my other threads about this, my LockRight wasn't working because it was too loose in the carrier. Since they have identical driver spacing requirements of 0.145-0.170", the Aussie's slightly larger dimensions are likely better for someone with an older (more worn) carrier or like me, who apparently has an almost new carrier that just isn't tight enough for a LockRight to work. The Torq boldly claims "no measurements" in their sales literature and while elimination of the spacers does eliminate one measurement, the installation manual still dictates a driver gap spacing requirement of 0.145-0.175" which allows for 0.005" more spacing; not exactly "no measurement". It did stack up even another few thousands thicker than the Aussie so it should fit snugly in the carrier and land well within spec.

Next post I'll talk about how the pins and springs fit together in the drivers.

 

[freedom_in_4low]

Pins and springs.

Not sure there's a whole lot of notable difference here. Dimensionally, they're almost identical. The hole pattern has the same radius, the pins are effectively the same diameter. Both have a round hole on the pin end and a slightly oblong hole on the spring end. Both alternate so the drivers are identical, with the spring holes oriented 90 degrees from the pin holes, and the pin holes on one driver mating up with the spring holes on the other. The oblong hole is 0.008" shorter on the long axis on the Aussie than the LockRight, so this would imply that the Aussie allows slightly less driver misalignment than the LockRight, which may improve issues with binding and breakage of the shear pins.

The installation is significantly different. The Powertrax has a window on the outer face of the driver into which the spring is inserted and pushed in until it seats into a pocket. It would be nearly impossible for the spring to come out on it's own, and even if it did, the pin would stay in place.

The Aussie has a slot almost the full length of the spring well, with just a pocket in the end for a spring seat. This makes for easier installation of the spring but I would also think the spring would more easily pop out. Even the pin easily fits through the slot, so once the spring comes out, the pin is likely to follow. The pins do have a small nub on the end that go about 1 coil deep on the spring so that should help keep the spring in place. I don't know if this is the cause, but I have come across reports on the internets of the pins coming out on lunchbox lockers in general. I was not able to find them in number significant enough to establish a pattern with a particular locker model or manufacturer. My gut prefers the LockRight design here, but at the time of this Motortrend article, the makers of Aussie claimed to never had a report of such a thing occurring. https://www.motortrend.com/how-to/154-0910-head-to-head-lunchbox-drop-in-locker-shootout

The springs themselves are roughly the same length and coil count, but despite the Powertrax having two concentric springs, the single Aussie spring is noticeably stiffer due to using thicker wire. Squeezing the two drivers together by hand requires significantly more effort on the Aussie than the Powertrax, which I would expect to result in more torque required to unlock a wheel, and possibly louder ratcheting noise, though I've read a lot of reports that the Aussie is the quieter of the two. The Torq cuts the spring count to two, but they are noticeably larger than the others and end up requiring a very slight amount of additional force over the Aussie to fully close the driver gap.

I borrowed this photo from a Motortrend article to show the spring and pin arrangement.

Since it includes a photo of the Spartan pin which is larger and nests the spring inside the pin, I pulled up the Spartan installation manual. It's pin and spring arrangement looks like the most difficult to install, but probably the most immune to losing a pin or spring. The pins and springs are contained entirely inside the driver, using wire in some small holes to hold the pins down while installing in the carrier, and then you pull the wires out once done.

The Torq dispenses of the pins altogether and uses "keys" machined into the driver halves themselves. They are oriented in such a way as to allow the second driver to slip into the carrier without the keys blocking the way.

The keys are roughly 4x the cross section of the pins used in the other lockers so it seems like there'd be zero chance of shearing one off. The spring retention doesn't seem any more secure than the Aussie - each driver just has a pocket for a spring seat.

 

[freedom_in_4low]

This post probably should have been first but I got excited with all the dimension stuff.

Researching the history I learned that Torq-master Technology (the manufacturer of Aussie and Torq) was started by Bill Cole in 2003, a co-founder of the company that originally produced the LockRight, and designed a new locker with improvements, which became the Aussie. The Torq appears to have come after TorqMasters was acquired by Cora Jokinen in 2014 upon Cole's retirement.

Powertrax is currently a subsidiary of Midwest Truck and Auto Parts which is the parent company of Motive Gear, Richmond Gear, Ten Factory, and World American, which deals in the heavy-duty aftermarket.

The LockRight comes in a quality looking box with styrofoam packaging inside, as well as a sticker and an installation/operation manual (it came clean, the greasy smudges are mine).

The individual parts were in open plastic wrapping but those were misplaced during my installation process, with only the small zipper style pouch remaining for the pins and springs.

The Aussie comes in somewhat smaller packaging so the manual has to be taped to the outside.

Torq-masters color scheme looks less like an offroad traction device and more like some sort of electronic gadget or a cannabis dispensary.

It uses cardboard around the couplers and takes advantage of the parts inherent capability to nest within each other, and actually is more effective at keeping the parts in place than the polystyrene in the LockRight box.

Notably absent (and the reason for the smaller package) is a new cross pin. Since both lockers retail for about the same price, I suspect the cost of a crosspin must be close to the cost saved for Powertrax by producing this in China instead of the US. The Aussie is made in the US, somewhat counterintuitively given the name. If using the Aussie, I would probably buy a new cross pin from Dana just to have a new part - the clearance between the spacers and side gear is a critical feature that has a tolerance window just .015" wide.

Torq, being the higher priced, upgraded counterpart to the Aussie and made by the same manufacturer, is also made in the US, but has even more basic graphics on the box than the Aussie.

Rather than redesign the packaging to include the crosspin, they cleverly use the spacing of the parts to snugly hold it between the drivers and the sides of the box.

It's also notable to me, since all three lockers rely on having a healthy side gear thrust washer, that both companies decide not to provide a new set and instead just have the customer re-use theirs. This part sets both the spacer-crosspin clearance and the driver spacing, which has a 0.025" tolerance window, and in an effort to get the LockRight driver clearance where it needed to be I bought a pair for $3 from 4WP. They are also readily available on the internet from both Dana (34095) and more expensively, Yukon gear (YSPTW-014). Torq also uses, but does not include, side gear thrust washers. That said, I've come across reports of TorqMasters having superb customer service, to the point of providing different thicknesses of thrust washers to help users get their spacing correct. Had Powertrax offered that, this thread would never have happened and I'd be running a LockRight in my LJ's front axle.

The LockRight and Aussie each come with a 2 year warranty; Torq is warranted for 4 years. Only LockRight specifies a mileage component to the warranty term, which is 100,000 miles.

The Spartan locker from USA Standard Gear is not officially a part of this comparison since I didn't buy one to examine, but it has a 1 year warranty and my understanding is that it does include a cross pin and doesn't use the side gear thrust washers at all. That fact on it's own is what pushed my interest toward Aussie - I think if Dana or Chrysler thought those thrust washers were necessary, I'd prefer the $3 washers stay and take the wear instead of the $100 carrier (which would also require a partial gear setup to be replaced).

 

[MountaineerTom]

I'm really leaning towards getting the Torq Locker. Looking forward to seeing more on it.

 

[MichaelGH]

Nice comparison write up!

The first lunchbox I ever installed was a Lokka in a HP Dana 30. It’s the Australian made Aussie Locker essentially, and the original I believe. Worked fantastic…

 

[freedom_in_4low]

Nice comparison write up!

The first lunchbox I ever installed was a Lokka in a HP Dana 30. It’s the Australian made Aussie Locker essentially, and the original I believe. Worked fantastic…

Very interesting. I went to Lokkas website and found this:

They don't mention Bill Cole at all, and the history I find on TorqMasters and Aussie start at 2003. There may be an interesting story there. Somebody on this forum probably knows it. The way the pieces fit together almost makes it sound like maybe Cole didn't actually design it, but licensed it from Lokka until sometime in the 2010s (maybe 2012?) when it became manufactured in their facility in Rochester, NY.

I swear the name "Lokka" had to have been coined by an American as a play on how it sounds to an American to hear an Australian say "locker".

 

[MichaelGH]

Very interesting. I went to Lokkas website and found this:

View attachment 290970

They don't mention Bill Cole at all, and the history I find on TorqMasters and Aussie start at 2003. There may be an interesting story there. Somebody on this forum probably knows it. The way the pieces fit together almost makes it sound like maybe Cole didn't actually design it, but licensed it from Lokka until sometime in the 2010s (maybe 2012?) when it became manufactured in their facility in Rochester, NY.

I swear the name "Lokka" had to have been coined by an American as a play on how it sounds to an American to hear an Australian say "locker".

From what I understand Lokka was originally and only Australian, named and manufactured. Since at least the mid-90’s…

I believe the Aussie (USA) version started being made here separate and distinct in 2012’ish maybe…

Before Aussie started making them here I am almost certain Lokka was making them for Aussie and Aussie was selling them here as their own…

 

[TWiG01]

Great write up and comparison. While not part of the comparison, I thought I had my mind made up for a power trax no slip up front, but this definitely has me thinking..

 

[freedom_in_4low]

Great write up and comparison. While not part of the comparison, I thought I had my mind made up for a power trax no slip up front, but this definitely has me thinking..

in fairness, based on how different the Torq is from the Aussie, I can't suggest that the No Slip shares my issues with the LockRight. Being a newer and improved design, it may very well be more suited for successful installation and operation.

 

[freedom_in_4low]

It's not Project Farm level, but here's the comparison video I made for this in case you'd rather watch than read:

 

[PRNDL]

It's not Project Farm level, but here's the comparison video I made for this in case you'd rather watch than read:

great success!

 

[freedom_in_4low]

great success!

hey, you either watched the whole thing or skipped to the end but either way thanks for watching! haha

 

[PRNDL]

You've made the YT watch list, my dude. I've watched at least the last 18. Jealous of the new land, that's going to be sick. I'm just a few hours south of you in north Texas. Hopefully we'll meet on a Jeep trip next year. Crossbar is on my list.