No. The Rubicon front locker is still an undersized locker that is ill suited for the greater demands of the rear axle.
2005 Rubicon Lockers
- Thread starter BG’s Rubihara
- Start date
No. The Rubicon front locker is still an undersized locker that is ill suited for the greater demands of the rear axle.
This is only half true. Yes the geared LSD can be problematic...However the front locker is only a two spider set-up and its quite a bit less tough than the rear. This is another internet myth that has been living along and repeated when it should have died a long time ago.
I’m another voice for replacing the OEM lockers with ARB or Eaton.
What happens to the new gears when the LSD goes out?
What happens to the new gears when the LSD goes out?
I kept an eye out and eventually found 30/44 elockers that were new only installed or sitting in box for $7-800 each. I do not regret it.
I run the rubicon lockers still, but I know I am on borrowed time doing so.
In my Rubicon that I recently sold, I ran it for 10+ years with factory lockers on 35s on some of the toughest trails on the west coast. Including most of the popular "Jeep rated" trails at Johnson valley. Not once did I have a hiccup with them. I always made it a point to lock the rear on any rough terrain to avoid the LSD engaging.
If you have expendable income and want to bulletproof as much as possible replacing them is a good idea. Personally I'm not afraid to continue to use the Rubicon lockers as long as they are in good functioning condition.
If you have expendable income and want to bulletproof as much as possible replacing them is a good idea. Personally I'm not afraid to continue to use the Rubicon lockers as long as they are in good functioning condition.
I'll add that in the snow, I really like the function of the torsen rear LSD. The jeep isn't very stable on snow compared to most AWD/4WD alternatives, so I'll take the help.
Counter side of that is without ABS, you gotta be on your a game for braking in these.
Counter side of that is without ABS, you gotta be on your a game for braking in these.
My original Rubicon rear stripped the locker. The replacment factory rear stripped the LSD. The replacement for that was an ARB. A few years later, I replaced the factory front with an ARB because I never liked how noisy it was for the entire 120k miles I had it.
I still daily drove mine for several winters after the rear ARB went in. I rarely noticed that the LSD was gone in the snow while driving around town.
Looking at the OP's request, here are two important points:
1. "I’m having it regeared"
2. "She is going to live in somewhat of a remote area of Colorado and trying to make her as bulletproof as possible"
Since #1 is happening, the best way to ensure #2, is to replace the stock rear locker and LSD, which don't have parts available to fix. With these in mind, and a 20+ year old vehicle, it doesn't make sense to not replace at least the rear locker.
1. "I’m having it regeared"
2. "She is going to live in somewhat of a remote area of Colorado and trying to make her as bulletproof as possible"
Since #1 is happening, the best way to ensure #2, is to replace the stock rear locker and LSD, which don't have parts available to fix. With these in mind, and a 20+ year old vehicle, it doesn't make sense to not replace at least the rear locker.
ahem ... a lot of us here grew up driving vehicles without ABS. I actually prefer no ABS.
Good on ya.
I prefer driving manuals, but I also acknowledge a dual clutch transmission allows equivalent gear selection and shifts faster than humanly possible. Technology can and does produce superior results to human performance. Dual clutch and ABS both go back more than 50 years. F1 banned ABS decades ago because it could outperform the human drivers whose skill is on display.
I don't really think it matters that much in TJ. The braking system performance is pretty poor.
As the OP is coming from TX to the mountains of Colorado where we often see significant snow and steep grades, they might not be accustomed to braking in those conditions. I can't tell you the number of times I've seen a news reporter interview someone who crashed going downhill in a snowstorm here where the subject said; "I don't know what happened. I was in 4WD."
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