Just another locker and gear thread

michi

New Member
Joined
Jan 12, 2022
Messages
9
Location
Germany
Hello fellow Jeepers,

a few month ago I fulfilled my dream and bought a Wrangler TJ.

It is a TJ Sahara 4.0 from 1998.

I use this car mostly for hunting. In our rainy and snowy area, I am often conquered with very muddy terrain.

At the moment my loved TJ has 285/65R17 tyres, which translates to estimated 31.6x8, and has a 3.07 ratio.

After some expierences in the woods and some fields, I noted the need for more agressive tyres, lockers and an other gear ratio.
Because of the lack of tyres in this dimension and the legal technical inspection (yes thats a thing in germany),
I will choose 285/70R17 tyres, aka 32.7x8.

Now I need your expirience to select the right locker, the gear ratio and the associated parts.

I thougt of a 4.11 ratio and a Powertrax Grip Pro locker.
Is that setup suitable for the Dana30/35 combo?
Do I need an upgrade to 30 spline axleshafts?
Which Brands/Manufacturer are recommended?

I will order all part in the US, because it is cheaper despite the Taxes.
Do you recommend a dealer?
Are any special tools needed? I watched some how-to videos about regearing and apart from the bend style torqwrench(I don´t know how this wrench is called) and a press,
should all tools be available.

I hope you guys can help me out.

Best regards and greetings from germany
Michi

PS: Please excuse my bad english.
 

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Hello fellow Jeepers,

a few month ago I fulfilled my dream and bought a Wrangler TJ.

It is a TJ Sahara 4.0 from 1998.

I use this car mostly for hunting. In our rainy and snowy area, I am often conquered with very muddy terrain.

At the moment my loved TJ has 285/65R17 tyres, which translates to estimated 31.6x8, and has a 3.07 ratio.

After some expierences in the woods and some fields, I noted the need for more agressive tyres, lockers and an other gear ratio.
Because of the lack of tyres in this dimension and the legal technical inspection (yes thats a thing in germany),
I will choose 285/70R17 tyres, aka 32.7x8.

Now I need your expirience to select the right locker, the gear ratio and the associated parts.

I thougt of a 4.11 ratio and a Powertrax Grip Pro locker.
Is that setup suitable for the Dana30/35 combo?
Do I need an upgrade to 30 spline axleshafts?
Which Brands/Manufacturer are recommended?

I will order all part in the US, because it is cheaper despite the Taxes.
Do you recommend a dealer?
Are any special tools needed? I watched some how-to videos about regearing and apart from the bend style torqwrench(I don´t know how this wrench is called) and a press,
should all tools be available.

I hope you guys can help me out.

Best regards and greetings from germany
Michi

PS: Please excuse my bad english.
Willkommen to the forum!
With your AX-15 transmission you'd probably be happier on 4.56 gears after you upgrade to the larger tires. If you're planning to add the locker then I'd recommend upgrading the rear shafts to 30 spline. The stock 27 spline front shafts will be fine. Revolution Gear makes great products, they'll be able to set you up with gears and shafts.

Setting up ring and pinion gears is not something you want to enter into without a good deal of thought. If you're asking what tools are required then you haven't done enough homework yet - so keep reading. The job definitely isn't for everyone, but it's incredibly rewarding work. Just do your homework first and take your time with the install. If you choose to teach yourself how to install gears, rest assured there are plenty folks here that will answer questions for you. In the end, you'll be glad you went the distance to learn the art.
 
I'm gonna throw this out there, Don't even think about doing your own regear, its a very complicated job, that is VERY easy to mess-up and is disastrous if you do
Sorry but this is bad advice. Yes, it's a complicated process. No, it's not for everyone. Doesn't mean someone who's never done it can't learn how to and be successful.
 
Sorry but this is bad advice. Yes, it's a complicated process. No, it's not for everyone. Doesn't mean someone who's never done it can't learn how to and be successful.
Ok, so the only thing I said wrong was don't even think about trying, maybe he can, he just has to do lots of research and ask lots of questions... plus buy some expensive tools
 
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Ok, so the only thing I said wrong was don't even think about trying, maybe he can, he just has to do lots of research and ask lots of questions
Correct. Unfortunately there's a lot of fear of the unknown dying art of ring/ pinion setup. I was there once, completely convinced I had no business digging into that kind of job. Me and a couple buddies eventually rolled up our sleeves and figured it out. Since that point it's been the metering stick for every difficult project. "I mean, we figured out how to set up ring gears... it can't be that hard. Right?" :)
 
I'm gonna throw this out there, Don't even think about doing your own regear, its a very complicated job, that is VERY easy to mess-up and is disastrous if you do

here's a VERY helpful thread on the subject what-gear-ratio-should-i-install-in-my-jeep-wrangler-tj-lj-and-other-re-gearing-faqs.17063
Thank you very much for this Link!

A good friend of me, who works in an agricultural machinery shop, will help me out.
I´m a mechanical engineer and worked on some other cars, but the "Jeep expierience" is new to me.

Willkommen to the forum!
With your AX-15 transmission you'd probably be happier on 4.56 gears after you upgrade to the larger tires. If you're planning to add the locker then I'd recommend upgrading the rear shafts to 30 spline. The stock 27 spline front shafts will be fine. Revolution Gear makes great products, they'll be able to set you up with gears and shafts.
After the Informations from the Link, I think the 4.56 ratio will be better.
The Locker is a LSD Type. Are the 30 spline shafts still necessary?
 
Looks like the Powertrax Grip Pro locker is a torsen diff, which is limited-slip and not a locker. They are the best limited-slip you can chose, but not as good as a locker.

If it's in the budget (and I suspect it is) selectable lockers are the way to go.
 
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The Locker is a LSD Type. Are the 30 spline shafts still necessary?

No. For muddy fields and woods you'll be OK with stock shafts. If you think you might want bigger tires and rock crawling at some point it'd be good to upgrade while you're putting in the locker and gears.
 
Looks like the Powertrax Grip Pro locker is a torsen diff, which is limited-slip and not a locker. They are the best limited-slip you can chose, but not as good as a locker.

If it's in the budget (and I suspect it is) selectable lockers are the way to go.
I know that a selectable locker is way better, but I´m afraid that the axleshaft will break. A benefit is, that I don´t have to think about when to use the locker.

No. For muddy fields and woods you'll be OK with stock shafts. If you think you might want bigger tires and rock crawling at some point it'd be good to upgrade while you're putting in the locker and gears.
Bigger tyres and rock crawling are not considered. Mostly I drive over a muddy field to load a hog or a deer in the trunk. For this I built a winch in the trunk.
 
I found the Rev-TJ-Dana 35-456 from Revolition Gear & Axle. These Parts shoult be suitable.
Unfortunatley summitracing and Rockauto doesn´t have these Revolution Gear parts.
Now I have to look for an other dealer, that ships to germany.
 
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Welcome and good luck !

BTW, you spelled tyres correctly.
I found the Rev-TJ-Dana 35-456 from Revolition Gear & Axle. These Parts shoult be suitable.
Unfortunatley summitracing and Rockauto doesn´t have these Revolution Gear parts.
Now I have to look for an other dealer, that ships to germany.
 
I found the Rev-TJ-Dana 35-456 from Revolition Gear & Axle. These Parts shoult be suitable.
Unfortunatley summitracing and Rockauto doesn´t have these Revolution Gear parts.
Now I have to look for an other dealer, that ships to germany.
Is there a reputable shop that does gear work in your area? You might ask them what brand gears they recommend.
 
@michi

Give this a look over.
It is a list of items that was part of an Sye, regear from 3.07 to 4.88, new control arms, new beefier axles, new seals, and a rear electric locker.

I already had an aussie locker in the front.

Don't forget to replace the speedogear.

Screenshot_20220112-201308_Adobe Acrobat.jpg
 
I suggest 4.88 gears and an Eaton E-locker.

Also suggest having a professional install both. I've seen too many horror stories of people trying to do their own gear work.
 
He's a German Engineer. I think he can handle it.
Maybe he can, but he’s getting gears shipped in from overseas… if it doesn’t get setup right it’s not really a quick turn around(or cost effective) to order another set. It would be worth the money and hassle(or lack of hassle) to let someone who does it for a living tackle the job than try to learn a new skill he’s likely not going to use very often.