Spartan Lockers

[JFro]

Ok, so I've spent the last hour reading thru threads about lockers.
My initial thought was to put the spartan lockers in the front and a limited slip in the rear since I'm about 80% off-road & 20% on-road.
So here are my questions:
- if I did spartan lockers in the front and rear and will this be horrible to drive on asphalt?
- who makes a limited slip for the rear?
- does anybody have 1st hand knowledge + feedback of the Spartan in the front and rear, when driving on asphalt? Is it solid (full posi-trac off road)?
- does anybody have feed back on a limited slip for the rear?

 

[lcp]

Ok, so I've spent the last hour reading thru threads about lockers.
My initial thought was to put the spartan lockers in the front and a limited slip in the rear since I'm about 80% off-road & 20% on-road.
So here are my questions:
- if I did spartan lockers in the front and rear and will this be horrible to drive on asphalt?
- who makes a limited slip for the rear?
- does anybody have 1st hand knowledge + feedback of the Spartan in the front and rear, when driving on asphalt? Is it solid (full posi-trac off road)?
- does anybody have feed back on a limited slip for the rear?

I would think you'd be better off, with regards to drivability and turning radius, to install the locker in the rear and the limited slip in the front. I'm not sure if they make them for this application, but I once had an '85 4Runner with a Detroit Trutrac, a gear driven limited slip, in the front. It gave me excellent traction while not affecting road manners. I had a Detroit locker in the rear that worked well too, but affected my turning radius to a certain extent. I'm afraid a full locker in the front would make tight trails difficult in 4wd, whereas a limited slip would improve traction without fighting you in tight turns.

 

[gasser]

We installed Spartans front and rear. Awesome traction. With lockout hubs pavement driving is just fine

 

[JFro]

I would think you'd be better off, with regards to drivability and turning radius, to install the locker in the rear and the limited slip in the front. I'm not sure if they make them for this application, but I once had an '85 4Runner with a Detroit Trutrac, a gear driven limited slip, in the front. It gave me excellent traction while not affecting road manners. I had a Detroit locker in the rear that worked well too, but affected my turning radius to a certain extent.

Yeah, I’d love to get the Detroit lockers installed, but I don’t think they make them for this set up.
Thank you for the input.

 

[JFro]

We installed Spartans front and rear. Awesome traction. With lockout hubs pavement driving is just fine

Great to hear. I’ve gotten feedback that when the spartan lockers are in the rear and you accelerate with somewhat of a turn, the Roxor will want to pull one way or the other.
I’ll still look for a limited slip in the rear, if I can find it, if not, I’ll go with Spartan in the front & rear.

Questions: when in mud, all 4 wheels will 100% turn, correct? At no point, will I have less than 4 wheels pulling with the same torque, correct?

 

[gasser]

I’ve gotten feedback that when the spartan lockers are in the rear and you accelerate with somewhat of a turn, the Roxor will want to pull one way or the other

I personally haven't felt that. You do hear them clicking as they ratchet but that's normal noise for how they work.

when in mud, all 4 wheels will 100% turn, correct? At no point, will I have less than 4 wheels pulling with the same torque, correct?

That is correct yes.

One thing I will mention about the Roxor differential specifically, is that the ring gear bolts are left hand thread and have quite a bit of locktite on them. Don't be like me and not pay attention to the markings on the bolt head and hammer it with the 1/2" impact and snap one... Turns out Metric left hand thread bolts are hard to come by

 

[JFro]

Great feedback and thanks for the heads up on the ring gear bolts.

 

[WhistlePig]

I have the spartan lockers front and rear. I installed the mm hubs at the same time so on road drivability is only impacted by the rear, and is very minimal. The rear is a bit noisy, and will cause a bit of lurching at low, constant speed cornering. I've gotten to where I anticipate it most of the time and can avoid it by pressing the clutch and coasting through the curve, or mildly accelerating. Bang for your buck they serve the purpose extremely well, and I couldn't justify the extra price for a bit smoother experience from a high end locker. I cover a lot of uneven mountain trails and never feel the need for 4wd. In sand and snow the 4wd is amazing with them. I've put about 7k miles on them so far, and have nothing but good to say about them.

 

[WhistlePig]

Oh yeah, I too had difficulty with the ring gear bolts. I owe Mike at big sky harley a big shout out for helping me get a replacement in a timely manner! Those bolts were even making the guys at fastenal scratch their heads. Don't quote me on the details, but if my memory serves, they were a standard diameter with a left hand metric thread pitch. Some goofy combo like that anyway

 

[JFro]

Oh yeah, I too had difficulty with the ring gear bolts. I owe Mike at big sky harley a big shout out for helping me get a replacement in a timely manner! Those bolts were even making the guys at fastenal scratch their heads. Don't quote me on the details, but if my memory serves, they were a standard diameter with a left hand metric thread pitch. Some goofy combo like that anyway

Great Feedback!!
Spartan Lockers are on order for front and rear.
I'll post a video when I get them installed!!

 

[Daddyflea]

I strongly urge you to make double sure whoever puts those Spartans in know for sure how to do it. I had mine put in by a reputable 4 wheel drive shop and my wheel bearings were knocked out three times. They made their work good but it was a big problem. Having Spartans in the Front and Back myself, I would never recommend a Spartan in the back. I would go with Spartan in front and Manual OX Locker in back.

 

[vx5490]

I strongly urge you to make double sure whoever puts those Spartans in know for sure how to do it. I had mine put in by a reputable 4 wheel drive shop and my wheel bearings were knocked out three times. They made their work good but it was a big problem. Having Spartans in the Front and Back myself, I would never recommend a Spartan in the back. I would go with Spartan in front and Manual OX Locker in back.

Can you elaborate why no Spartan locker in the rear? Bad experience? My Spartan locker just arrived and was seriously thinking of putting it in the rear.

 

[Daddyflea]

Can you elaborate why no Spartan locker in the rear? Bad experience? My Spartan locker just arrived and was seriously thinking of putting it in the rear.

If you just put in one Locker put it in the Front. In the Rear your Roxor will buck going around corners on Pavement and is just generally irritating. The Front is made different than the back and it must be installed just right other wise the rear wheel bearings go out fast. By fast I mean in less than 100 miles. All your power is in the Front wheels where the weight of the Engine is. If you want a Locker Front and rear go with the Spartan in Front and a Manual Ox Locker in the rear. Regardless if you have a Locker in front or not, you need the Hub locks to let your front axle freewheel when on pavement or hard ground. I know this from experience, I have a Spartan in Front and Back. By the way check all your Fluid levels. My Roxor was delivered with no grease in the Transfer Case or Transmission. Also my Front Wheel Bearings were completely dry.

 

[lcp]

If you just put in one Locker put it in the Front. In the Rear your Roxor will buck going around corners on Pavement and is just generally irritating. The Front is made different than the back and it must be installed just right other wise the rear wheel bearings go out fast. By fast I mean in less than 100 miles. All your power is in the Front wheels where the weight of the Engine is. If you want a Locker Front and rear go with the Spartan in Front and a Manual Ox Locker in the rear. Regardless if you have a Locker in front or not, you need the Hub locks to let your front axle freewheel when on pavement or hard ground. I know this from experience, I have a Spartan in Front and Back. By the way check all your Fluid levels. My Roxor was delivered with no grease in the Transfer Case or Transmission. Also my Front Wheel Bearings were completely dry.

Did you notice any effect on turning radius with the front locker?

 

[Daddyflea]

Front locker does not affect Turning unless it is in 4 wheel drive.

 

[lcp]

Front locker does not affect Turning unless it is in 4 wheel drive.

That's what I'm asking. Did you notice much effect in 4wd?

 

[Daddyflea]

Depends on how hard the ground is. On hard ground you should not be running in 4WD. On hard ground you have a hard time turning.

 

[JFro]

I strongly urge you to make double sure whoever puts those Spartans in know for sure how to do it. I had mine put in by a reputable 4 wheel drive shop and my wheel bearings were knocked out three times. They made their work good but it was a big problem. Having Spartans in the Front and Back myself, I would never recommend a Spartan in the back. I would go with Spartan in front and Manual OX Locker in back.

Great feedback. I'll be putting Spartans in the front and rear to see how they handle.
Cost & time wise, i figured it'd be worth a shot.
May go to the OX in the rear next year, depending on how the buggy reacts to the Spartans.

 

[lcp]

With all the complaints about the turning radius being huge with open diffs, I think I'd focus more on suspension articulation than a locker in the front. If you're planning to do extreme trails and have to have increased traction, I'd go with a limited slip or selectable locker in the front. Unless you're running extreme trails (where you'll probably need stronger axles anyway), one locker and sensible line selection will usually get you thru. I was into rock crawling for 25 years and developed my preferences thru experience with traction aids in several different vehicles.

 

[WhistlePig]

I strongly urge you to make double sure whoever puts those Spartans in know for sure how to do it. I had mine put in by a reputable 4 wheel drive shop and my wheel bearings were knocked out three times. They made their work good but it was a big problem. Having Spartans in the Front and Back myself, I would never recommend a Spartan in the back. I would go with Spartan in front and Manual OX Locker in back.

I installed mine on the floor of my tiny garage following the sl08 Rev 1 instructions from mahindra. I don't remember anything too complicated about it. As far as wheel bearings go, I don't see how installing a locker would change the life expectancy, unless they were not packed when reinstalled. I don't think a reputable 4x4 shop would install wheel bearings dry, but I have no other theory for how they could fail.