Upgrading Rubicon axles: is this a crazy thought?

Not everyone wants two bright red switches in the dash switch pod.
I do. Obvious and obnoxious in case my feebleness makes me forget I'm locked. ;)
And what little I've used my lockers, I've found the dash lights aren't that easy to see without a tilt of the head or such.
 
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The factory setup, though complicated, is elegant.

Your setup will not light the gauge cluster locker indicator switches like the factory switch does. Not everyone wants two bright red switches in the dash switch pod.
Not many would agree the factory Rubicon locker switch design is elegant. Most believe it was designed by Jeep's legal department since few would always want the rear locker on too when the front locker needs to be engaged. There are a lot of situations where the rear locker needs to be unlocked but you want the front locker on. The Rubicon design prevents that ability.

Yes my dash locker lights illuminate when my lockers are on. You don't need to install orange safety switch covers as I did.
 
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The #1 cause of failure for the rear TJ Rubicon 44 is the gear driven limited slip breaks the little gears then those pieces circulate through the differential and ruin the actuator and anything else they get into. The only way to protect those is to not drive aggressively on the street around corners and lock it up any time you get in low traction off the pavement. Don't try to be a hero and show all your buddies that you can do stuff they need lockers for, lock it up and keep it there.
Is this true for the JKR Dana 44 also? Will pass along to my buddies to heed or ignore.
 
What I did, and what I have recommended many times, is to bypass the Rubicon's locker wiring and switch and install your own. If you can wire a light bulb so it turns on & off with an on-off switch, you can do the same with the Rubicon lockers that are no harder to control than a light bulb is.

All that is needed is wire, two simple on-off (SPST) switches, and a 5 amp fuse for each of the two locker compressors.

This is where I mounted my locker switches. I totally do NOT miss that effed-up factory locker switch and its engagement order.

View attachment 300159
Jerry, did you totally bypass the factory switch, or did you pull the power from that switch to your new ones? I don't see how the lights would illuminate in the dash if you are not tied into the factory switch somehow, as those are controlled by the PCM, if I understand the system correctly.
 
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Jerry, did you totally bypass the factory switch, or did you pull the power from that switch to your new ones? I don't see how the lights would illuminate in the dash if you are not tied into the factory switch somehow, as those are controlled by the PCM, if I understand the system correctly.

I am not sure Jerry's system can light up the GAUGE cluster lights (not the lights on the switches themselves, that is trivial). One can certainly argue that the gauge lights are not needed since the switches themselves are lit and there is no need for someone to have a gauge cluster light to tell them that they are locked/unlocked. But that goes against my wish of trying to keep it looking nearly like factory :)

edit: on 2nd thought - I see that Jerry has also retained his OEM locker switch. If that is still functional, then it is possible that the gague cluster lights still work as they did from the factory depending on how the new switches are wired. I am not sure I would want the factory switch AND the 2 separate switches unless you want redundancy.
 
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I am not sure Jerry's system can light up the GAUGE cluster lights (not the lights on the switches themselves, that is trivial). One can certainly argue that the gauge lights are not needed since the switches themselves are lit and there is no need for someone to have a gauge cluster light to tell them that they are locked/unlocked. But that goes against my wish of trying to keep it looking nearly like factory :)

edit: on 2nd thought - I see that Jerry has also retained his OEM locker switch. If that is still functional, then it is possible that the gague cluster lights still work as they did from the factory depending on how the new switches are wired. I am not sure I would want the factory switch AND the 2 separate switches unless you want redundancy.
That is one of my requirements. I'd like for the dash lights (in the instrument cluster) to work, have independent control, and to lose the unnecessary factory switch. I think that's how you have yours set up, no?

I should probably start a new thread....
 
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We'll see what I can do. I ordered two used rear defrost switches today cuz they are simple on off and factory. I'm going to look into relabeling...
This is the route I'd be most interested in taking. Very interested in seeing how this works out.
 
The #1 cause of failure for the rear TJ Rubicon 44 is the gear driven limited slip breaks the little gears then those pieces circulate through the differential and ruin the actuator and anything else they get into. The only way to protect those is to not drive aggressively on the street around corners and lock it up any time you get in low traction off the pavement. Don't try to be a hero and show all your buddies that you can do stuff they need lockers for, lock it up and keep it there.
So I have a question regarding this since I know nothing about the rubicon lockers. Could you disassemble the locker to remove the LSD assembly/gears so it doesn’t destroy the rest of the locker? If you could would it even worth the effort? I’ll heed your advice regardless as I’ve never thought to use the locker just cruising down a dirt road.
 
So I have a question regarding this since I know nothing about the rubicon lockers. Could you disassemble the locker to remove the LSD assembly/gears so it doesn’t destroy the rest of the locker? If you could would it even worth the effort? I’ll heed your advice regardless as I’ve never thought to use the locker just cruising down a dirt road.
No idea.
 
That is one of my requirements. I'd like for the dash lights (in the instrument cluster) to work, have independent control, and to lose the unnecessary factory switch. I think that's how you have yours set up, no?

I should probably start a new thread....
There is a good thread about getting the dash lights to work correctly, it is pretty easy. The only trick is you need to send a signal to both the enable and locked pin on the cluster for it to work without freaking out. If you ground one wire the thing will flash, if you ground the other it'll send a code, if you do both the light just goes on and everybody is happy. Four pins to rule them all.
 
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I like my override switches out of the way. With no safeguards, I don't want them accidentally turned on while driving. Especially if you have other drivers in your vehicle.
My dash lights work using the bypass, and my factory switch still works.

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There is a good thread about getting the dash lights to work correctly, it is pretty easy. The only trick is you need to send a signal to both the enable and locked pin on the cluster for it to work without freaking out. If you ground one wire the thing will flash, if you ground the other it'll send a code, if you do both the light just goes on and everybody is happy. Four pins to rule them all.

That's exactly what I did with my circuit.
 
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The #1 cause of failure for the rear TJ Rubicon 44 is the gear driven limited slip breaks the little gears then those pieces circulate through the differential and ruin the actuator and anything else they get into. The only way to protect those is to not drive aggressively on the street around corners and lock it up any time you get in low traction off the pavement. Don't try to be a hero and show all your buddies that you can do stuff they need lockers for, lock it up and keep it there.
Is it also recommended to lock the front while in low traction terrain/off road?