Aussie locker front drive shaft question

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J_mooniz

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I picked up an old mail 03 RHD TJ last year and little by little I’ve been fixing it up. A few months ago I had an Aussie locker installed on the front Dana 30. From the multiple threads I’ve read, I’m well aware that they are noisy and can expect clicking while turning. My TJ has that clicking noise but on top of that it jerks and clanks really loud as well. I jacked it up and moved the tires by hand. I noticed the noise and jerking movement is actually coming from the front drive shaft when the wheels are turning. Is this normal Aussie locker function? I attached a video detailing my findings. Thanks for the read.

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It sounds like it's trying to engage when it's not supposed to. The only time an Aussie locker should lock on a front axle is when torque is applied while in 4WD (High or Low, it doesn't matter).

You may want to pull the diff cover and poke around.
 
Obi-Wan said:
It sounds like it's trying to engage when it's not supposed to. The only time an Ausie locker should lock is when torque is applied while in 4WD (High or Low, it doesn't matter).

You may want to pull the diff cover and poke around.
Click to expand...

I’ll do that this Friday when I’m off. I should have clarified. Both front wheels were on the air and I had it on 2WD. I figured something might be off. Thanks man
 
J_mooniz said:
I’ll do that this Friday when I’m off. I should have clarified. Both front wheels were on the air and I had it on 2WD. I figured something might be off. Thanks man
Click to expand...
A lunchbox's normal position is locked even if you're in 2wd. But in 2wd they unlock so easily that you can turn corners without those front tires chirping and crow-hopping so they don't feel locked. But if the front-end is jacked up off the ground it's going to feel like it's locked up pretty hard when turning the front tires by hand... it's not a problem when on the road in 2wd because it unlocks more easily due to the tires being turned by the road surface.

But when it's really loud clicking and banging when driving in 2wd while turning you might have bad axle shaft u-joints or there's a problem inside the locker itself.
 
Look for the instructions for the locker. There should be instructions on how to do a test on it while on jackstands. A fairly simple test you can do by just turning the wheels by hand.
 
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If the clearances are a bit tight, then it may not unlock as easily as it should. Mine used to every now and then pop on tight turns, but since I don't do a lot of tight turns I didn't worry about it.
 
I bought my TJ in may and have a similar issue but have not been able to get rid of it. Any solution to your issue?
 
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