Dana 30 Auto Locker Questions

Camodude622

Camodude622

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Ohio
Hello everyone, I've searched through the threads here and decided I want to do an automatic locker in my front dana 30. I'm on 2.5 inches of lift, 33x10.5s, a dana 35 in the rear, and stock 3.07 gears. ( Yes, I know a gear change would be optimal, but I have driven the jeep like this for a few months now and didn't notice much, if any change, from when I was on 31s. I still might upgrade to 4.10s, but this thread is not about gears.)

So, with that out of the way, what locker should I go with? I don't have the money or the gears for a selectable locker so they are out. I live in Ohio so not much rock crawling, more mud, dirt, and light trails. Yesterday I found an obstacle the Jeep could not conquer as is, my hopes are that once the locker is installed I can go try it again. I understand I'll have to stay in 2wd on the road after it snows, which isn't a problem. The jeep is a daily, but I don't think I'd mind the clicking of an aussie locker. Does everyone recommend aussie, powertrax, or trutrax? Drop some other brands I can check out as well! Thanks!

(Picture attached is of the obstacle, much more dramatic in person. Slabs of rock under both tires. I made it just to the left but didn’t have the rocks in my way. Only made a couple of tries, so I might’ve made it if I pushed the jeep harder. However I want to easily climb it.)

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Very nice looking Jeep! I like the color scheme you have.

First off, I have no experience with a front auto locker, everything I hear says they don't work well in snow and have seen a few forum members replace theirs with selectables because of it. Being in OH I'd say that'd be a concern.
I have Truetracs front and rear and they do very well in the mud and sand. Might want to take a look at that option or wait to save up for a selectable.

Do you have anything in the rear diff?

I'm curious, what was the reason your Jeep couldn't make it up the obstacle? Lack of traction? Tire off the ground? Some other problem?

Lastly, I'd recommend installing a 1.25" BL to give yourself some more room for up travel with those 33's. I used to have a 3" lift with 33's and had to limit my up travel but once I added the BL I was able to gain back some up travel.
 
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Lock Right by Power Trax is very popular. I had an Aussie locker for 5 years and it was very good. The clicking was a total non-issue for me.
I drove in the snow frequently, but not as a daily driver. It can be done, just keep it slow with no sharp inputs to the gas or brake.
 
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I'll start with what I have which is a torq locker. It's only 4 pieces and 2 springs, super easy to install and removes some of the weak spots of other lockers. Powertrax no-slip will get rid of the ratcheting supposedly.

This isn't my daily driver but I've driven it in the snow around town carefully.

I would think the recommendation would be to install a locker in the rear axle first. This might require the super dana 35 upgrade and a selectable if you drive in the snow.
 
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I would caution you against installing an auto locker even if you drive on snow in 2wd- they do NOT disappear just by switching out of 4wd. I installed a torq-locker (made by Aussie) in my front 30, and I found it miserable to drive in the snow even in 2wd. Sometimes, when you brake on snow and ice when in 2wd, the front two wheels slow at different rates, if one has much more traction than the other. When you brake in 2wd with an auto locker installed, I found that the auto locker would lock, especially going around corners, resulting in a lot of understeer. I almost slid off several intersections, even at low speeds. I'm now installing ARBs front and rear, but I understand that not everyone wants to drop that kind of coin.

Since it sounds like you mostly wheel on mud and sand, a good LSD like a Trutrac should do just fine for you. However, they are more expensive than auto lockers, and you will need to do a gear setup as it replaces the stock carrier.

You also could install a rear auto locker- it would do much better in the snow and stay cheap. I've had a rear Aussie auto locker in my XJ for 50,000 miles, and I DD it in Alaska. I've driven it all over the western US, and back and forth from AK a few times as well- no problems and I'm very very happy with it.

Depending on what rear axle you have (Dana 35 or Dana 44), locking the rear might not be a great idea. Without a Super-35 kit ($$$), the Dana 35 will be a ticking time bomb, even on the light 33x10.5s you have. If you have a Dana 44 in the rear, I would just get a auto locker for it.

If you do end up putting an auto locker in the front, I would recommend the Aussie Torq-Locker. Aussie has been in the business forever, and they seem to have the best long-term reliability.
 
I'd rank them as follows
1) No-Slip Lunchbox Locker from Powertrax
-No clicking/ratcheting sounds while making slow 2wd turns like in a parking lot. All other lunchbox lockers click/ratchet while making turns when in 2wd.
2) Aussie Locker
-A great locker, it just makes the clicking/ratcheting sounds.

As above, I would avoid an automatic locker if you have to drive on slick icy or snow-covered roads there in Ohio. Either could cause turning issues up to and including unexpectedly sliding.
 
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freedom_in_4low said:
yes in the front.

I don't hear ratcheting. I've read others can. What I do get is an occasional pop as I'm going around a tight corner on pavement, like pulling into a parking space.
Click to expand...
I think torq and aussie are made or at least sold by the same company. I have an aussie in the front and like it but hear ratcheting while turning.

I think the torque is an updated design without the dowel pins like the aussir uses.

https://www.torqmasters.com/
 
Longwhitejeep said:
I think torq and aussie are made or at least sold by the same company. I have an aussie in the front and like it but hear ratcheting while turning.

I think the torque is an updated design without the dowel pins like the aussir uses.

https://www.torqmasters.com/
Click to expand...

correct. They are both sold by Torq Masters, and the Torq is a newer design.

To be more detailed from my last post, I hear ratcheting if I get the front axle off the ground and do the spin test. I don't hear it from inside the rig.
 
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I have a Torq Locker also. I do hear clicking on slow tight turns in 2WD if I have the windows down. Being in central SC we don’t have snow very often. This past January we did have some very light snow and ice. I went out one night to play around in it and I didn’t notice anything negative when driving it. The amount of snow we had is no comparison to other parts of the country though. I’ve not had the chance to get out to the trails and give it a real good workout due to my work schedule, which is killing me. I have played around in some small areas locally and it’s worked great there.
 
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imahnu said:
Very nice looking Jeep! I like the color scheme you have.

First off, I have no experience with a front auto locker, everything I hear says they don't work well in snow and have seen a few forum members replace theirs with selectables because of it. Being in OH I'd say that'd be a concern.
I have Truetracs front and rear and they do very well in the mud and sand. Might want to take a look at that option or wait to save up for a selectable.

Do you have anything in the rear diff?

I'm curious, what was the reason your Jeep couldn't make it up the obstacle? Lack of traction? Tire off the ground? Some other problem?

Lastly, I'd recommend installing a 1.25" BL to give yourself some more room for up travel with those 33's. I used to have a 3" lift with 33's and had to limit my up travel but once I added the BL I was able to gain back some up travel.
Click to expand...
I took a video so I could watch it later, in all of my tries it looks like the front loses traction. The front tires would come off the rock and just spin. I’m sure airing down would have helped but that’s not the point. In some of the tries one wheel is getting all the power and spinning faster than the other.
 
rhanna said:
I'll start with what I have which is a torq locker. It's only 4 pieces and 2 springs, super easy to install and removes some of the weak spots of other lockers. Powertrax no-slip will get rid of the ratcheting supposedly.

This isn't my daily driver but I've driven it in the snow around town carefully.

I would think the recommendation would be to install a locker in the rear axle first. This might require the super dana 35 upgrade and a selectable if you drive in the snow.
Click to expand...
Sadly I have a 35 in the rear, if i had the money I would swap it to a 44 and run selectables.
 
Camodude622 said:
Sadly I have a 35 in the rear, if i had the money I would swap it to a 44 and run selectables.
Click to expand...
You could upgrade that 35 with a Super 35 kit which would give it 30 spline 1541H axle shafts that are slightly stronger than the OE carbon steel axle shafts in a Dana 44. Super 35 kits come with a choice of a couple lockers which includes the ARB Air Locker and Eaton E-Locker selectables.
 
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That obstacle you mentioned looks steep and fairly smooth. You'd benefit more from added traction in the rear end. Is there a reason you're focusing on the front axle?
 
Front Aussie on a Dana 30, open Dana 35 rear. I hear the clicking when I'm turning slow (with doors off, not so slow), but it doesn't bother me as much as it does the folks watching me in the drive-thru (people will stop and look).

We get a little snow here most winters and I haven't had a problem in 4wd. Driving in the snow anytime you do something fast, bad things happen. Coast thru corners, easy on the stops and starts, keep speed down, etc.

Makes a huge difference on what I was able to do on our trails.

One day I'll have that Super 35 and a real 4 wheel drive vehicle.
 
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