Novak Conversions Jeep Wrangler TJ radiator

I tested out my front and rear Detroit Truetrac LSDs

And they work, or I should say "it" worked, as I was in 2wd the whole time. Not last Saturday, but the one before, I did a trail called Montana Mountain. It has steep loose climbs, and the rear Truetrac made a huge difference.

I did this trail about 10 years ago, and it was noticably easier then, and I needed 4wd to climb some spots with a Traclok that was probably worn, and a front open diff. With the Truetracs, I purposely left it in 2wd, and climbed it with relative ease.

Ok, they aren't for the hardcore rock crawler, but they are light years ahead of open diffs for those that aren't typically lifting tires off of the ground, and the Jeep drives like it has open diffs on the street.
I have one ina back,works great
 
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I don't think they are worthless at all, sometimes people give advice based on how they wheel and forget it might not suit everyone. I think most people are pretty good about saying things like, "if you lift a wheel" and that helps.
You know th ol adage about tappin th brakes to trick th rear end so,why not a two rear Parkin brake Set up?wonder if anyone has done that
 
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eI like the way you think - a Detroit Tru-Trac limited slip in the rear and a locker in the front. That sounds like a smart build for someone with a stock Dana 35 in the back and a Dana 30 in the front.

Why don't more people do this? I mean, the Dana 35 can handle the limited slip, and isn't the Dana 30 strong enough to handle a locker up to at least 33" tires?
Looks like there is a whole page responses got to you before i did.
I had a bit of rum tonight, so here is my pirate story tale of 7 seas:

Why dont more people do this?
Good question! I did not grow up with Jeeps, so i am a dufus with high IQ in this field, i think about something and then i pull a trigger.
As far as cars go, i came from retarded obsession with E36 BMWs as a kid, then i trashed few on the track before swallowing my pride and upgrading to E46, blew two engines, swapped to Subaru STI, had a blast and traded it for 2006 Wrangler.
Bam! New toy, 0 to 60 aske me in few days, 14 miles per gallon, what the fuck.

Thought i lost you? Nope, another sip, lets continue...
People are smart, yet are really dumb creatures, you would be amazed how much of our decisions are driven by confirmation bias. WHY? Kinds this days can depress and dissocialize themselves all they want, yet we are culture and society driven creatures.
Jeeeep commutiny says this - we go with this. Dumb, stupid, dont matter, english is myt third language anyway, thumbs up means thumbs up.
If anything, id say firearms is my thing and specialty. You would be amazed how much people dump $$$ on stupid shit, guns related, just to get community/forum approval... and then get their asses kicked by a kid with his Romanian AK47 at shooting range.

@Jerry Bransford - highly respected authority.
If only people knew how many times he edits this responses before i get to read them at 3 o'clock at night, red flag would be raised. Maybe he likes his rum late at night as well, guilty myself of re-editing my posts 10 times in the row, cant blame him.
Jerry says TT no bueno - average Jeepers says "coppy that top, TT no bueno!", even though Bueno is a really good candy bar, shame it took you Americans only 7 years to finally import and sell it in your gas stations.

Here is the thing about truetrac, as far as my experience goes - you could not pay me + parts + labor to switch to anything else, as far as what goes into my rear axle. If you really want it, send me another axle, i will drive it, and then bolt in back to my TT axle.
i am really happy and satisfied with my TT in the back! Does "!" means the same as it does in my native?

In 2014 i was teaching close protection courses outside of LA, Fuck Cali by the way.
Former student recently reached out to me recently, had a good success in the field, decided to make me a present as a gratitude.
Asked me for anything i wanted, i told him to get me anything TJ related. in August i get email notification that order for Dana 489 is placed, WITH A TRUE-TRAC in it, just as i specified.
Why? Cause i like my damn TT in the back!

I modify based on my needs. Started with stock 2006 Sport, and it went from there.
If i need it - i need it, If i don't, well mrblaine is around the corner ready to drop a set of rotors on my head, and call me a dumb fuck.
To put TT in the front -it is simply stupid. When i dont try, one of the front wheels is in the air, whether i try or not.
Rear? my rear stay put where i go. Key word - WHERE I GO!
If i screw up, well , i have Elocker in front for a reason.

I did not put slip eliminator out of restriction, for my needs, it is a necessity, i have 50% of US continent under my belt, and plan to offroad the fuck out of another half. I have a very simple view on where i go:
Can i get there in 2wd ?
-NO or YES
4wd?
- YES or NO
4wd + traction assistance?
-YES or NO

IF it happens to be NO for all of it, i have Elocker in the front.
If it happens that front Elocker is useless to me :
1. should have not went there
2. in this situation better set of tires would have gotten me out of this situation.
3. better driving skills and planning ahead would have gotten me out of this situation
4. where ever the fuck am i going has nothing to do with why i offroad to begin with, who the fuck talked me into this?!

@TJRick some of this was a response to you, some of it was me simply typing as i go.
 
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About 50/50
View attachment 280748

View attachment 280752

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I ran several seasons with a locked front and gear driven LSD rear. It worked well to a point. A locked front doesn't affect steering much. That being said, when it counts, more traction comes from the rear during a climb due to weight shift. A locked rear is going to get you further along and than just a locked front will. And the LSD is going to let tires spin eventually.
Dont get me wrong, you are not wrong and also you are not correct.
Offroading is very situational.
Eastcoast and Weastcoast offroadibg is two different things. I truly can not wait for the day on this forum for everyone to come ot this conclusion.
"worked well to a point" = is different for everyone.
"going further" - once again i dont discredit you, but in the same time - offroading maien.. tires, rout that you take and so on.... come on, lets be real here

How many time have you seen on here people claiming my "X" 31" tire got me through on open difs while Rubui on 35"s got his ass winched? - Why? Do i really have do dumb this down?
 
Eastcoast and Weastcoast
5ozwt4.jpg
 
Dont get me wrong, you are not wrong and also you are not correct.
Offroading is very situational.
Eastcoast and Weastcoast offroadibg is two different things. I truly can not wait for the day on this forum for everyone to come ot this conclusion.
"worked well to a point" = is different for everyone.
"going further" - once again i dont discredit you, but in the same time - offroading maien.. tires, rout that you take and so on.... come on, lets be real here

How many time have you seen on here people claiming my "X" 31" tire got me through on open difs while Rubui on 35"s got his ass winched? - Why? Do i really have do dumb this down?
There's always an exception. But I think I'm still far more right than wrong on this one, regardless of what side of the situation we are on.
 
Looks like there is a whole page responses got to you before i did.
I had a bit of rum tonight, so here is my pirate story tale of 7 seas:

Why dont more people do this?
Good question! I did not grow up with Jeeps, so i am a dufus with high IQ in this field, i think about something and then i pull a trigger.
As far as cars go, i came from retarded obsession with E36 BMWs as a kid, then i trashed few on the track before swallowing my pride and upgrading to E46, blew two engines, swapped to Subaru STI, had a blast and traded it for 2006 Wrangler.
Bam! New toy, 0 to 60 aske me in few days, 14 miles per gallon, what the fuck.

Thought i lost you? Nope, another sip, lets continue...
People are smart, yet are really dumb creatures, you would be amazed how much of our decisions are driven by confirmation bias. WHY? Kinds this days can depress and dissocialize themselves all they want, yet we are culture and society driven creatures.
Jeeeep commutiny says this - we go with this. Dumb, stupid, dont matter, english is myt third language anyway, thumbs up means thumbs up.
If anything, id say firearms is my thing and specialty. You would be amazed how much people dump $$$ on stupid shit, guns related, just to get community/forum approval... and then get their asses kicked by a kid with his Romanian AK47 at shooting range.

@Jerry Bransford - highly respected authority.
If only people knew how many times he edits this responses before i get to read them at 3 o'clock at night, red flag would be raised. Maybe he likes his rum late at night as well, guilty myself of re-editing my posts 10 times in the row, cant blame him.
Jerry says TT no bueno - average Jeepers says "coppy that top, TT no bueno!", even though Bueno is a really good candy bar, shame it took you Americans only 7 years to finally import and sell it in your gas stations.

Here is the thing about truetrac, as far as my experience goes - you could not pay me + parts + labor to switch to anything else, as far as what goes into my rear axle. If you really want it, send me another axle, i will drive it, and then bolt in back to my TT axle.
i am really happy and satisfied with my TT in the back! Does "!" means the same as it does in my native?

In 2014 i was teaching close protection courses outside of LA, Fuck Cali by the way.
Former student recently reached out to me recently, had a good success in the field, decided to make me a present as a gratitude.
Asked me for anything i wanted, i told him to get me anything TJ related. in August i get email notification that order for Dana 489 is placed, WITH A TRUE-TRAC in it, just as i specified.
Why? Cause i like my damn TT in the back!

I modify based on my needs. Started with stock 2006 Sport, and it went from there.
If i need it - i need it, If i don't, well mrblaine is around the corner ready to drop a set of rotors on my head, and call me a dumb fuck.
To put TT in the front -it is simply stupid. When i dont try, one of the front wheels is in the air, whether i try or not.
Rear? my rear stay put where i go. Key word - WHERE I GO!
If i screw up, well , i have Elocker in front for a reason.

I did not put slip eliminator out of restriction, for my needs, it is a necessity, i have 50% of US continent under my belt, and plan to offroad the fuck out of another half. I have a very simple view on where i go:
Can i get there in 2wd ?
-NO or YES
4wd?
- YES or NO
4wd + traction assistance?
-YES or NO

IF it happens to be NO for all of it, i have Elocker in the front.
If it happens that front Elocker is useless to me :
1. should have not went there
2. in this situation better set of tires would have gotten me out of this situation.
3. better driving skills and planning ahead would have gotten me out of this situation
4. where ever the fuck am i going has nothing to do with why i offroad to begin with, who the fuck talked me into this?!

@TJRick some of this was a response to you, some of it was me simply typing as i go.
I find it surprising that you spent as much time as you did in LA and didn't hit any of the semi-local trails. You wouldn't be nearly as enamored with that piece of shit TT if you had.
 
Y

You know th ol adage about tappin th brakes to trick th rear end so,why not a two rear Parkin brake Set up?wonder if anyone has done that
The info is out there. We've made the point many times that the best wheeling performance can be achieved with a selectable rear locker left open and rear individually controlled brakes that are capable of locking a tire solid. You can run most of the trails out there with high difficulty without ever locking the rear. Just stop the spinning tire and let the other side work. The added benefit is you greatly reduce the understeer caused by the rear being locked both generally and situationally.

(fyi- I competed as a spotter in ARCA in 01 for a TJ that had dual parking brake handles going to the rear drum brakes)
 
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Just keep in mind people that Truetracs are not lockers. Understand what you need before you decide on lockers or limited slip differentials. They are VASTLY different and rarely will one work well when the other would have been the best choice.
Lockers have been the most eye opening experience for me- I call it 4WD on steroids. I am a fan. Not knocking the other, no experience with them. I’m sure a small light in a dark room beats no light at all.
 
Lockers have been the most eye opening experience for me- I call it 4WD on steroids. I am a fan. Not knocking the other, no experience with them. I’m sure a small light in a dark room beats no light at all.
Lots of folks tend to focus on individual aspects of what they perceive to be beneficial like articulation. Likely the single most chased and least beneficial mod focused on to the disregard of things with actual benefit. Lock up both axles and articulation takes a back seat with a surprising quickness.
 
Lots of folks tend to focus on individual aspects of what they perceive to be beneficial like articulation. Likely the single most chased and least beneficial mod focused on to the disregard of things with actual benefit. Lock up both axles and articulation takes a back seat with a surprising quickness.
Beautifully said oh great one- traction solves a lot of challenges. We have an open diff Sahara about to attempt a climb that required lockers.

May be some good video shortly.
 
Just out of curiosity why aren't more jeeps set up with twin rear parking brake levers?? Ford is doing it electronically in the Bronco to significantly shorten turn radius. They were standard equipment on Baja Bugs though mostly as a way to limit wheel spin on open differentials. Hardware to set up the system wouldn't be all that expensive though a pain to build on an individual basis. Could bring back images of the one armed wall paper hanger in actual use though.
 
Just out of curiosity why aren't more jeeps set up with twin rear parking brake levers?? Ford is doing it electronically in the Bronco to significantly shorten turn radius. They were standard equipment on Baja Bugs though mostly as a way to limit wheel spin on open differentials. Hardware to set up the system wouldn't be all that expensive though a pain to build on an individual basis. Could bring back images of the one armed wall paper hanger in actual use though.
Unnecessary complexity, one in 100,000 Jeep owners would know what they're for or how to use them, and easy to operate lockers and some LSD differentials eliminate the benefit tp them.
 
Just out of curiosity why aren't more jeeps set up with twin rear parking brake levers?? Ford is doing it electronically in the Bronco to significantly shorten turn radius. They were standard equipment on Baja Bugs though mostly as a way to limit wheel spin on open differentials. Hardware to set up the system wouldn't be all that expensive though a pain to build on an individual basis. Could bring back images of the one armed wall paper hanger in actual use though.
Done properly, the system is too complex and getting enough brake back there to make it fully worthwhile instead of little more than a gimmick means they have to be larger than is prudent for safe street driving without some way to prevent rear lock up.

Given free rein to build my own, I would do a completely separate system with another caliper on each rear rotor.
 
yea i dont picture it as some computer-centric electrical device,just two stock levers each leading to its own wheel by a cable,full manual...oh,and youd have to make it such that you didnt need to push th button to unlock,conversely,youd have to push a button to get th brakes to set in e-park mode yk?like a drift brake.plus: you get'more levers'which is always cool!'pull that lever' 'this one?' 'yea,that one" Pshhht!!it sprays mustard on their shirt...
 
yea i dont picture it as some computer-centric electrical device,just two stock levers each leading to its own wheel by a cable,full manual...oh,and youd have to make it such that you didnt need to push th button to unlock,conversely,youd have to push a button to get th brakes to set in e-park mode yk?like a drift brake.plus: you get'more levers'which is always cool!'pull that lever' 'this one?' 'yea,that one" Pshhht!!it sprays mustard on their shirt...
Install a butt-simple locker and you can forget about all that.
 
Install a butt-simple locker and you can forget about all that.
true that,im all for that! i put th trutrac in mine for the streetability of additional traction over a total open diff.even offroad it works pretty darn fine.sure,when you want it,a nice lockin diff is th ticket but my jeep is daily driven and a locker unlocked is an open diff but its all about th main purpose anyway.one is better at one thing than the other but you cant have everything iguess...unless its a torsen-with-locker-capability and th extra levers are for mustard and ketchup.i do like how torsen/trutrac style diffs use gear shape as opposed to clutches and sprags etc
 
true that,im all for that! i put th trutrac in mine for the streetability of additional traction over a total open diff.even offroad it works pretty darn fine.sure,when you want it,a nice lockin diff is th ticket but my jeep is daily driven and a locker unlocked is an open diff but its all about th main purpose anyway.one is better at one thing than the other but you cant have everything iguess...unless its a torsen-with-locker-capability and th extra levers are for mustard and ketchup.i do like how torsen/trutrac style diffs use gear shape as opposed to clutches and sprags etc
My previous Wrangler was a daily driver, put no less than 75-125 miles a day on it, and it had front and rear automatic lockers. A Detroit Locker in the rear, a No-Slip lunchbox locker in the front axle. It was entirely streetable.
 
My previous Wrangler was a daily driver, put no less than 75-125 miles a day on it, and it had front and rear automatic lockers. A Detroit Locker in the rear, a No-Slip lunchbox locker in the front axle. It was entirely streetable.
hmm...how was it on snowy highway drivin?im all for atheletic drivin sir
 
Novak Conversions Jeep Wrangler TJ radiator