i have been considering a lock-right locker for the rear of my "89 kick. searching for info indicates some driving and noise changes, + possible greater wear on the drive train.
i drive this into the hills (and some minor around town stuff for the fun of it) and back, and my concerns are usually around breakdowns on the road rather than on the trail.
will i be adding  something that is ment for low speed operation that will cause higher speed damage?

At higher speeds you will rarely notice the locker is installed. When you notice it is when turning and slow movement. Once you learn how to drive with different feel of the locker installed, you can control the differences and it becomes second nature... actually, when I bought my X-90 and started driving something without a locker, it felt wierd to me after a few years daily driving my kick with a locker.

The locker wont cause you issues with highway driving (I had over 150,000 miles on my stock rear end, with a lockrite and 5.83's before I installed my ford 9", I sold it to a memeber here at Zukiworld and they are still using it..

Zig

Save your money and go ARB.

i understand the setup of an arb can be a little tricky, + from what i've seen much more $.
i've been pleased with where i can go in a basically stock configuration, but can see the value of locking the diff., which is why i've been thinking......
the cost thing is important, as it's just my fishing car.

perhaps i could rationalize it in the future.

I say Lock Right too. It's an affordable/dependable entre level upgrade. You should concider shopping for a stock/used "lower geared" diffs. & install the Lock Right then pop that combo into your rig. If you already have the lowest gearing option Suzuki makes then just pull your rear diff. out & do the eazy install. Low gearing & having a locker go hand & hand. If your allready happy with what you have now & want just a little more then this "low buck" combo will be a real eye opener to just how potent Suzuki' s can be off road. Get ready to be Very Happy! 

 I have a 93 tracker with lockrite. take the advice to do gears with the locker. I have had the locker in for a couple years and had no problems, if i had to do it again I would do gears too. I am actually in the process of installing gears now. The only thing I would have done differently is go with a spool instead. For only 100 bucks , half the cost of the lockrite , it gives you just as much bang for your buck. The trackkicks are so lite weight and short wheel based, I dont think you see the side effects with a lockrite or a spool you would see with a larger vehicle. The outside wheel doesnt seem to present much resistence in a turn with the lite weight it slides easily around corners. Its not like everytime you turn the tire howls. The clicking of the lockrite is most noticed in the summer when driving with the windows down. The axle lube is so thick in colder temps I think the lockrite acts more like a spool the biggest share of the year. Either way is reliable, one suggestion I would have would be to use a good synthetic lube with either.

The only problem with the spool is if you spend a lot of time on pavement you are putting a lot more strain on the axles.

The only problem with the spool is if you spend a lot of time on pavement you are putting a lot more strain on the axles.

Seach a bit on here, there is a good pic of the splins on Heather's axel's after running a spool on the street.  Not pretty at all.

Lockers and spools or mini spools are two different items, a spool is tough
on driveline on the street, a locker allows differential action once you learn
how to drive it on the street.

Wild

the cost thing is important,

So you're the average Zooker, eh?

yes, they do cost a lot more.  But set up is actually easier than most think.  With a lunchbox locker, you remove the carrier, pull off the ring gear, open the carrier, remove parts, flip sidegears (if they aren't too worn, and in most of the 20+ year old rigs, they are) or replace them, check play with feeler gauges (not all that easy) and set it back up.  Then hope the axle tube isn't tweaked in the least bit or the locker won't work properly.

For the ARB, you remove the carrier, peel off the ring gear, bolt the gear onto the new ARB carrier, drill and tap a hole for the air fitting in the diff housing, attach fittings, set it back up, then plump the air lines to the pump.  installing the pump and ait lines took me longer than setting up the ARB.  It's more tedious and time-consuming than anything.

The greatest advantage is the ARB is no compromise.  It's completely transparent when its off, which means it's invisible on the road (something no lunchbox can claim, regardless of how well it's set up), and it's full locked when you need it, all at the flip of a switch.  You'll be hard pressed to find many ARB users (or any selectable locker for that matter) that HATE their lockers.  Not the same for spools and lunchboxes.

But money is money, and for the fishing truck, spending near a grand to lock up the rear is way pricey.  So install a lunchbox, and if it does the trick, right on.  If you find it's not what you want (mainly on the road), you can always ditch it in favor of an LSD or an ARB.

Personally, I don't recommend automatic lockers to anyone anymore.  Just too many damn hassles and I don't like them on the road.

Save your money and go ARB.

The greatest advantage is the ARB is no compromise.  It's completely transparent when its off, which means it's invisible on the road (something no lunchbox can claim, regardless of how well it's set up), and it's full locked when you need it, all at the flip of a switch.  You'll be hard pressed to find many ARB users (or any selectable locker for that matter) that HATE their lockers.  Not the same for spools and lunchboxes.

I’m with Tim on this one.  I looked at the price of the ARB and said forget it and got a lockrite instead.  Looking back now, I don’t care how much the ARB would have been.

The lockrite has worked great for me and functions fine.  I just can’t stand the clicking noise when you turn, the loud bang when it locks back in and the torque steer when you shift.  Scares the crap outta the wife and she refuses to ride in the Sammy now.

Whenever I’m in a parking lot people look at me like my Samurai is going to fall apart and they jump when it pops back in place (its kind of funny when they get startled).

If I could do it all over again or when I do it all over again, Ill choose the ARB period.

kudos on the comments.
i suspected the streetability of a spool and was pretty sure i understood the difference w/a lock right locker.
i also appreciate the suggestions/info on arbs, but suzi's either gonna have to get a job or take what i can give her.
seriously, i like the arb idea and mabe in a couple of years will be looking at such an upgrade.
gearing suggestion is something i will look at- at least try to figure out what gearing is in this thing (all original "stock", i'm sure).
then i'll go fishing.

gearing suggestion is something i will look at- at least try to figure out what gearing is in this thing (all original "stock", i'm sure).
then i'll go fishing.

Did your 89 come with the 1.3L stock?  If so, then you possibly have the rare 5.62gears!!!

Quote from: rascott on January 25, 2008, 10:31:12 PM

gearing suggestion is something i will look at- at least try to figure out what gearing is in this thing (all original "stock", i'm sure).
then i'll go fishing.

Did your 89 come with the 1.3L stock?  If so, then you possibly have the rare 5.62gears!!!

yes- she's got the original drivetrain. are there any case stampings or data plates i should be looking for?

okay okay enough already A smart guy knows to admit when he is wrong. I guess that would be me. Spool would be a bad idea, I really enjoy my lockrite and I am wondering if youre not going to be in any hard wheeling or on the rocks for the couple hundred bucks it might be a feasible decision to go ahead and throw in a lockrite. The traction you gain is outstanding compared to stock. I find myself using four low with the lockouts out making a two low configuration(hence lower gearing) and going many places I couldnt in four without the lockrite. Besides its just plain fun.