1 of 7
Bryan Irons photos
2 of 7
Bryan Irons photos
The piston to the OX shifter mechanism is machined directly into the thick, ductile iron housing protecting it from any possible trail damage.
3 of 7
Bryan Irons photos
Common quarter-inch airline and metal cased one-touch fittings are included. The only part you will need is a fitting to tap into an air source.
4 of 7
Bryan Irons photos
Permatex’s “The Right Stuff” isn’t cheap, but we have yet to regret spending the coin on it. It’s a machined rear axle housing mating to a machined cover; only a small bead of sealant is required.
5 of 7
Bryan Irons photos
Ensure the shift fork slips into the collar of the locker and use the supplied bolts to tighten it down. Plumbing can begin and steer clear of any excessive heat sources. A 90 degree fitting out of the cover will help keep the airline from getting snagged.
6 of 7
Bryan Irons photos
Mount the air switch in an easy to reach location by simply drilling a hole.
7 of 7
Bryan Irons photos
We like keeping our locker switches hidden but still easy to reach, so inside the centre console worked great.
Story and photos by Bryan Irons
Does not follow directions – Guilty
Requires constant supervision – Guilty
Unable to perform simple tasks – Guilty
Believe it or not, this isn’t our third grade report card; it’s where we went wrong installing an OX locker cable a number of years ago. OX-USA has been building some of the toughest, most reliable aftermarket axle lockers on the face of the Earth. In the early days of OX, they were cable actuated with a small shifter that was installed in the cab that ran to the axle. Providing you don’t do as we did, they can last a lifetime. Our failure was in following the directions to route the cable away from sources of heat… like say, an exhaust pipe. Yup, we feel dumb about this one.
After six years of trail abuse and constant neglect without a single issue, the cable finally had enough with the uncalled for abuse and seized up. Our fault, and after seeing the carnage, we were truly shocked it lasted this long. After doing a quick search online to get a replacement cable it was discovered OX now had a few options for shifting the locker; first in the form of an electric actuator, and the second being an air operated option. An on board air system was already installed in our trail rig, so a tiny air switch seemed like a better option for accessibility then the shifter currently strapped to the floor.
The air system is available as a mechanical air switch or a 12-volt air solenoid. We opted for the mechanical switch just for simplicity sake, but if switch-mounting solutions are tight, the electrics might be your bag. Choices for the location of the actuating piston are also available. You can opt to get it as part of the beefy rear cover, or as a small piston that mounts to your current OX locker cover. The built in piston, although a little more money, was the right choice for us. Our cover was still in good shape still so we’ll gut it and move it to the front axle.
Swapping the system over from cable actuated to air was simple… like Forrest Gump simple. The one included page of directions was almost too much, and it was 50% pictures.
- Step 1 – Yard the old system out.
- Step 2 – Put some sealant on the new cover, install it and fill with oil
- Step 3 – Plumb the system from your on board air source to the switch, and then to the axle cover with the provided fittings and hose.
- Step 4 – Make sure you didn’t route the line anywhere it will get cut, squished or burnt.
- Step 5 – Go wheelin’!
The old cable system required adjustment any time the diff cover was taken off. Not any more. No setup, no tinkering, no fine-tuning. Feed the OX 80-110 PSI and get out there with the added bonus of having the massively strong cover protecting the goods inside.
OX Off-Road Lockers - www.OX-USA.com
Permatex - www.Permatex.com