Using front locker without the rear?

[jjvw]

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My original point at the beginning of the thread was that the OP would not likely notice the difference between having the lockers independently wired versus the way ARB recommends since mild wheeling often does not need a tight turning radius with lockers engaged. As I said, "Either way will work fine for your uses".

...

I'll disagree. The options are always good to have.

Last Sunday it was raining off and on during a trail run. On a dry day there would be no challenge where we were. We were climbing up a long steep dirt section that had turned very greasy and slippery. We were both sliding sideways off the road. I figured out that a locked front and open rear was the best approach and I was able to climb right up the hill, steering with a locked front while the open rear added lateral stability on the side hill. The other Jeep had a much harder time driving straight limited to rear only or both ends.

 

[JDS123]

I'll disagree. The options are always good to have.

Last Sunday it was raining off and on during a trail run. On a dry day there would be no challenge where we were. We were climbing up a long steep dirt section that had turned very greasy and slippery. We were both sliding sideways off the road. I figured out that a locked front and open rear was the best approach and I was able to climb right up the hill, steering with a longer front while the open rear added lateral stability on the side hill. The other Jeep had a much harder time driving straight limited to rear only or both ends.

This is something I’ll have to give a shot on my Jeep then. Maybe I haven’t found the need for it simply because I don’t have the option. I’ll rewire it and get out wheeling again to see how it does. The most recent real trail my Jeep has been on is Holy Cross.

 

[eastbloc]

At no point in time do you have 1 wheel drive with an open diff. That isn't how it works, at all. With an open diff, both sides receive exactly the same amount of torque. Since torque is a function of resistance, if a tire has very low traction and it takes a small amount of torque to make it spin, that exact amount is also delivered to the tire with very high traction and it won't spin because it has high traction. But, both are being driven, it just doesn't look like it.

That is what i have always thought after spending few days in the sand, it looks like both sides are working equally (to an eye) through the sand. However, very often i hear people stating that torque is biased towards one wheel.
But when i got stuck in the sand with open difs, only one side was digging its way in. Which begs to question how does one patch of sand in the middle of nowhere allows more traction than the other?
If it is due to the momentum of wheel spin on one side, then cutting off the torque and trying again should result in both sides working. Additionally, the deeper the wheel digs into the sand, the more pressure/resistance it should receive from the sand which should equate to more traction than the opposite wheel that is not as deep into the sand.

For the most part i only care what works and gets me through, but this is something that i thought of while reading your response..

 

[Jerry Bransford]

That is what i have always thought after spending few days in the sand, it looks like both sides are working equally (to an eye) through the sand. However, very often i hear people stating that torque is biased towards one wheel.
But when i got stuck in the sand with open difs, only one side was digging its way in. Which begs to question how does one patch of sand in the middle of nowhere allows more traction than the other?
If it is due to the momentum of wheel spin on one side, then cutting off the torque and trying again should result in both sides working. Additionally, the deeper the wheel digs into the sand, the more pressure/resistance it should receive from the sand which should equate to more traction than the opposite wheel that is not as deep into the sand.

For the most part i only care what works and gets me through, but this is something that i thought of while reading your response..

This goes into that subject a little deeper...
https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/how-is-torque-delivered-to-the-wheels-on-a-4x4.1738/

 

[btn]

Differentiation is one tire turning faster than the other or not in a straight line. Or, one tire with more load on it than the other. I or most anyone can hold your ARB locked with finger pulling on a tire lug and not very hard at that.

Simple test that everyone should do to educate themselves. Jack up one side, spin tire to show it unlocked, lock it, turn tire until you know it is locked. Put one finger on a lug, pull a bit and while holding that small bit of pressure, have someone unlock it with the switch. Your finger won't move. I have done that demonstration countless times back at camp after listening to folks "unlock" the front ARB to turn all day long on the trail. Ya'll ain't doing shit except wearing out the switch and the compressor because that bitch ain't unlocking with all that load on it.

Incidentally, the transfer case works the same way. If you shift from 4x4 to 2x4, the splines don’t disengage until there’s no torque differential between the front and rear axles. There’s a spring that pushes the splines back into 2x4 once the torque between the front and rear axles gets low enough from driving for a bit.

So it does one no good to shift out of 4x4 and expect it to be in 2x4 instantly in the same way unlocking the ARB at the switch won’t actually release the splines until both shafts even their torque difference from driving a bit.

 

[Mr. Bills]

I don't have a 231 so haven't looked into these, but what's the verdict on 2Low? https://teraflex.com/shop_items/tj-231-2low-2wd-low-range-shift-sector-kit

One guy I've wheeled with a few times has a dual stick TC and puts it in FWD low somewhat regularly - but I think that's a D300 feature (and others, just not the 231) to get the dual sticks.

My verdict on having 2low capability is that I use mine all the time (42RLE with Rubicrawler, 241OR T/C).

I have heard little good about the linked Teraflex kit, but have no personal knowledge.

Two of of the things I liked best about the clocked Dana 300 transfer case with twin sticks in my CJ-7 were 2low and front wheel drive capability.

 

[Zorba]

My TJ will probably end up with 2 low capability at some point - its lack seems a deficiency to me, and I could certainly use it just to get in and out of my driveway if nothing else.

 

[Jerry Bransford]

My TJ will probably end up with 2 low capability at some point - its lack seems a deficiency to me, and I could certainly use it just to get in and out of my driveway if nothing else.

You have trouble getting in/out of your driveway in Florida? What, are alligators or pythons blocking it?

 

[Thunderhead]

Incidentally, the transfer case works the same way. If you shift from 4x4 to 2x4, the splines don’t disengage until there’s no torque differential between the front and rear axles. There’s a spring that pushes the splines back into 2x4 once the torque between the front and rear axles gets low enough from driving for a bit.

So it does one no good to shift out of 4x4 and expect it to be in 2x4 instantly in the same way unlocking the ARB at the switch won’t actually release the splines until both shafts even their torque difference from driving a bit.

I’ll try to be open minded but when I shift into or out of 4x4 it’s on the fly but I let off the gas and put it in N.
Is that cause I have both Dana 44 F/R. I’ve shifted out of 4H at 60 mph.
The front locker vs rear I’m still learning.

 

[Jerry Bransford]

No need to shift the transmission to Neutral to help speed the shift back from 4Hi to 2Hi, just keep the throttle neutral as in no accelerating or decelerating. That keeps the pressure off the tcase internals to help it return to 2Hi more easily.

 

[John Wolf]

Never found lockers any use in the sand. Personally I think there aren't required, just low pressure on the tires. To me this isn't a difficult decision, if you are having trouble turning on trails locked then consider the mod. If you never run into the situation then forget about it. It just makes things easier, it's not going to prevent you from getting home that one time you would like it. You just might look like Austin Powers in a golf cart for a few minutes.

I can tell you that lockers, particularly front lockers, are a game changer in the deep sand of the outer banks, NC. You don't really need rears but front lockers absolutely help!! Especially on the on/off ramps.

 

[Zorba]

You have trouble getting in/out of your driveway in Florida? What, are alligators or pythons blocking it?

Snort! Ya never know. I shouldn't say "trouble", just "too darn fast". I park the Jeep on the side of the house in a fairly narrow spot and would like to approach it slower than I can in 4-hi. Plus we have what I call "soft curbs" where driveways aren't cut down to street level - you just drive over a rounded curb. Well, in this neighborhood, the "soft" curbs are pretty "hard" and I'd like to go slower there too. I generally approach at an oblique angle (in everything) so my ass doesn't get bounced off the seat.

If the the above makes any sense whatsoever...

 

[btn]

I’ll try to be open minded but when I shift into or out of 4x4 it’s on the fly but I let off the gas and put it in N.
Is that cause I have both Dana 44 F/R. I’ve shifted out of 4H at 60 mph.
The front locker vs rear I’m still learning.

You can shift out of it on the fly, it just doesn’t necessarily actually disengage the splines until the torque between the front and rear axles happens to equalize while driving. It relies on a spring to push the splines apart. Same with the ARB: it needs a chance for the torque difference between the shafts to naturally decrease while driving for the splines to release.

 

[Tim Redman]

You have trouble getting in/out of your driveway in Florida? What, are alligators or pythons blocking it?

As a Floridian, that would be a lot funnier if it weren't so true.

 

[jjvw]

Florida man can't get into his driveway

 

[LONGJP2]

Jeepngypsy likes to turn them off and on.

If you click them off with any differentiation whatsoever, they are not unlocking.

Somebody should tell Jeepngypsy.

 

[mrblaine]

Jeepngypsy likes to turn them off and on.


Somebody should tell Jeepngypsy.

Like pouring water on a duck.

 

[Jerry Bransford]

Like pouring water on a duck.

It never quite soaks in.