Does anyone know who made the 03-06 Rubicon lockers?

Modoc Guy

Modoc Guy

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Does anyone know who made the locking carrier in the Rubicon differentials? I thought I wanted to swap to those diff's, but I heard they no longer made repair parts for them. So, in my opinion, that definitely leaves them out.

I'm trying to decide on my diff locker upgrade, and since those units seemed to have a good record for longevity, I wanted to find out who made them. That might help me make up my mind.

There's just so many choices. Air and electric lockers, and LSD's and truetrac's and ahhhh! I can't decide!
 
It's some Japanese company if I recall, but the name eludes me.

@mrblaine will know for sure.

They don't make replacement parts, so you have to find someone with some spare lockers. However, if they need to be replaced, I'd replace them with something better.
 
Modoc Guy said:
A Japanese company? Well color me surprised!
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When you consider most of the parts come from other places, I don't think it's as surprising as you'd initially think.

I know Dave has a stockpile of factory TJ Rubicon lockers.
 
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Tochigi Fuji Sangyo made the TJ Rubicon lockers. They were acquired by GKN Driveline in about 2007. Years ago I tried contacting GKN about our lockers and the few people I was able to communicate with had no knowledge of the TJ Rubicon or any locker.

I do believe there are other vehicles on the international market that use our lockers, but we would need a manufacturer's part number to find it. All we have are Mopar part numbers.

The bottom line is don't bother with them. I've broken two rears and don't trust my noisy front.
 
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jjvw said:
Tochigi Fuji Sangyo made to TJ Rubicon lockers. They were acquired by GKN Driveline in about 2007. Years ago I tried contacting GKN about our lockers and the free people I was able to communicate with had no knowledge of the TJ Rubicon.

I do believe there are other vehicles on the international market that use our lockers, but we would need a manufacturer's part number to find it. All we have are Mopar part numbers.

The bottom line is don't bother with them. I've broken two rears and don't trust my noisy front.
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That's why I crossed the Rubi swap thing off my list.
 
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Breaking the Rubicon locker just means you don't have a locker. Stripping the LSD makes driving awful, but it doesn't leave you stranded.
 
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Lou said:
What upkeep do they have?
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Internal actuator issues, ie: seals on air units or electric actuators not working. then you gotta go back inside to do repairs. Or like I saw someone had an airline come loose, easy fix, but ya still had to open 'er up.

And I don't have any experience with these units, I've just been reading reviews. Which all reviews seem to only highlight the negative because guys without issues with their gear don't bitch.
 
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Lou said:
I like my Eaton E Lockers but i haven't been wheeling as long as others.
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Modoc Guy said:
I've been looking at those. I'm concerned about their upkeep and longevity.
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Eaton e-lockers for the Dana 44 have been on the market since at least 2010, earlier as an OEM option for some Dana 44 variant axles. It is a proven design. I have an e-locker as factory equipment in one of my vehicles. It has never given me any trouble and requires no maintenance.

Stories of Eaton e-lockers being slow to engage are overblown and frequently repeated by some who don't own one and have never used one, not unusual for the Interweb.

An Eaton e-locker will be at the top of my list should I ever blow destroy one of my Rubicon factory lockers.
 
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Mr. Bills said:
Eaton e-lockers for the Dana 44 have been on the market since at least 2010, earlier as an OEM option for some Dana 44 variant axles. It is a proven design. I have an e-locker as factory equipment in one of my vehicles. It has never given me any trouble and requires no maintenance.

Stories of Eaton e-lockers being slow to engage are overblown and frequently repeated by some who don't own one and have never used one, not unusual for the Interweb.

An Eaton e-locker will be at the top of my list should I ever blow one of my Rubicon factory lockers.
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I was looking at those, and I like the fact I wouldn't need to air them up. That is a plus for me.

I know the ARB has good rep. But I kinda wanted to lean toward the Eaton. I just wanted more info than the company website's glowing description. I want real world info, not unicorns and rainbows.

Your experience is the type I'm looking for, and what I'll need more of before I go drop the kind of cash I'll have to for a locker front and rear.

Thanks!
 
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