Looking for advice on lockers for my TJ

Jonathand16y8

Jonathand16y8

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Joined
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California
Hi Everyone,

I am Jonathan. I am a new member to the TJ forum and live in SoCal. I drive an 01 Jeep Wrangler (Anniversary Edition) , 4.0L with stock Dana 44 rear axles and Dana 30 front axles. I am including a list of mods as I’ve read many threads before and learned the more details you provide the better advise people give you. So here it goes:

1.) 4inch Currie Johnny Joint Lift Kit w/ Adjustable Arms.

2.) Rancho Shocks 9000XL w/ Adjustable Dampening

3.) Currie Heavy Duty Steering System

4.) Currie Anti-Rock Sway Bar

5.) Teraflex SYE Kit w/ Tom Woods Drive Shaft

6.) 35x12.5 r15 BFGoodrich Mud Terrain Km3

7.) Poison Spyder Stinger

8.) EAG fenders, rocker guards & rear fenders

9.) Rancho 700MT Steering Shock Absorber



With that said, I am looking into Lockers but don’t know which ones are the most cost effective, yet most capable off-road. I prefer to have a simple but very effective set up. I know there are so many options out there so hoping to get some advise. The reason I am looking into lockers is because I learned this weekend I cannot do tough trails without them lol

I included a picture where I got stuck this weekend (Cleghorn Trail In San Bernardino). No traction in the rear nor the front & my tire was jabbed inside the fender making it much more difficult to get out of it.

I am also hoping you can shed some light on what gear ratio I should eventually upgrade to. My Jeep is pretty sluggish as I have stock gears (don’t know the ratio).

I plan on buying a utility trailer (with roof top tent) in the near future to haul equipment, BBQ grill, food etc. Any recommendations with this set

Thanks in advance!
Jonathan

E59C7E18-07D6-43B7-ABB3-2B2B81377733.jpeg
 
If like you said you're looking for a simple but effective set up, I couldn't recommend Detroit lockers (auto lockeer) more as they're lacking all the wiring/air lines that you get with selectable lockers, and they're also a stronger diff than other autos like lunchbox lockers. I run them front and rear and I love them. As for the ratio, going off your profile which says 5 speed manual, I'd personally go for 4.88.
 
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Welcome!
Cleghorn is our "home" trail - we lead runs up there all the time in our other Jeep, "The NotARubicon" and as you've seen, there are many spots that are near impossible without a locker..
On The NotARubion we started by installing a e-locker in the rear and that served us well for about 3 years until we replaced the entire front Dana 30 with a Ultra44 that also has an electric locker.. But there are other options (lunchbox,Detroit, air, etc) depending on your budget - others know more than I do and will chime in..
For gears, it depends on if you are a manual or auto transmission and if you ever plan on going any bigger than 35s .. but off the top of my head, I would say 4:56 is probably good for an auto trans.. 4:88 for manual.. but see what the others say..
 
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Are you looking to drop all this money at once and get it over with or build it over time?
As far as lockers with 35 inch tires I would avoid a lunchbox especially because you have to regear anyway.
Detroit is on the cheap end
Eaton e locker is middle ground as far as money
Arb is the most expensive plus you need onboard air.
For 35s ur gonna want aftermarket axle shafts too. You may also want to add a 1 1/4 body lift to fit the 35’s and at that point if you do have fully adjustable arms you are not far away from having the parts needed for a tummy tuck. But with that much lift u are gonna need a super short sye and measure the drive shaft for length
 
Your front 30 would beneifit from a truss. If you plan on keeping the 30, you might want to consider a big brake kit from Black Magic.

Also the best axle shafts you can get for that front end is RCV’s. Peace of mind IMO.
 
Jonathand16y8 said:
Hi Everyone, I am Jonathan. I am a new member to the TJ forum and live in SoCal.
Click to expand...

welcome 🍻

Jonathand16y8 said:
I am also hoping you can shed some light on what gear ratio I should eventually upgrade to. My Jeep is pretty sluggish as I have stock gears (don’t know the ratio).
Click to expand...

4.88 or 5.13 depending on your preference. Go to http://www.grimmjeeper.com/gears.html (use 34" as your tire diameter) to see where you want to be as far as rpm vs speed goes. I'm running a 6 speed/35s combo and need to regear as well. I'm leaning towards 5.13s which should put me at ~3200 rpm @ 75 mph. 4.88 would be ~3050 rpm @ 75 mph. I want the 5.13s for the increased weight/rolling resistance and climbing the grades.
 
4.88s or 5.13s to turn 35s. Ive been running ARBs for a few years now and I like how quick they are to engage and disengage. OBA is another cost ($140 on the low end for an ARB compressor). They're selectable, so you wont know they are there until you flip the switch.

As far as your tire stuffing into your fender--set you bumpstops correctly. Pull out your coils and cycle your suspension. At this point you know its your tire causing the hangup, so an inch of bumpstop or so would help
 
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tworley said:
4.88s or 5.13s to turn 35s. Ive been running ARBs for a few years now and I like how quick they are to engage and disengage. OBA is another cost ($140 on the low end for an ARB compressor). They're selectable, so you wont know they are there until you flip the switch.

As far as your tire stuffing into your fender--set you bumpstops correctly. Pull out your coils and cycle your suspension. At this point you know its your tire causing the hangup, so an inch of bumpstop or so would help
Click to expand...
I had OBA before I had ARB’s. OBA is good to have.
 
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You should try and do lockers and gears at the same time. They basically require all the same prep work before and reinstall work after the gears or lockers. Saves you from paying someone twice to do mostly the same work.
Get a body lift to take advantage of your flexy suspension and then set your bumpstops. You should never have a tire stuffed into any body parts.
Everything you do have already is all top shelf stuff so you are in great shape to continue your build.
You will definitely want to re-gear before you start pulling a trailer through the sand. Sand sucks up h.p. like crazy and with stock gears pulling a trailer loaded up for the weekend you are looking to do some damage somewhere along your drivetrain.
I like the electric lockers for the front. But living in snow country I prefer limited slip in the rear for bad weather driving. If you have no plans for bad weather conditions then an electric locker in the rear too.
Lots of folks have more knowledge about gearing for the sand. I would just say that the lower (numerically higher) you get the more torque you can get to the ground. So if you are thinking 4.10 or 4.88 go 4.88. Gearing for road use aim for your top gear (5th) to give you the rpms needed for good highway speed while keeping rpms in the 3,000 range. Maybe a little higher if you do less highway, a little lower (not much) if a lot of highway speeds.

Welcome to the forum!🍻 Lots of great folks with great info here. And always remember.... we love pics!😁
 
Hammer24 said:
If like you said you're looking for a simple but effective set up, I couldn't recommend Detroit lockers (auto lockeer) more as they're lacking all the wiring/air lines that you get with selectable lockers, and they're also a stronger diff than other autos like lunchbox lockers. I run them front and rear and I love them. As for the ratio, going off your profile which says 5 speed manual, I'd personally go for 4.88.
Click to expand...

thanks for the feedback! Looks like Detroit Lockers are the cheaper option. Not sure if it’s cheaper because the product itself is inferior to the others or it’s just genuinely more affordable for whatever reason. I guess I’ll need to do my homework and compare them all.
 
IsARubicon said:
Welcome!
Cleghorn is our "home" trail - we lead runs up there all the time in our other Jeep, "The NotARubicon" and as you've seen, there are many spots that are near impossible without a locker..
On The NotARubion we started by installing a e-locker in the rear and that served us well for about 3 years until we replaced the entire front Dana 30 with a Ultra44 that also has an electric locker.. But there are other options (lunchbox,Detroit, air, etc) depending on your budget - others know more than I do and will chime in..
For gears, it depends on if you are a manual or auto transmission and if you ever plan on going any bigger than 35s .. but off the top of my head, I would say 4:56 is probably good for an auto trans.. 4:88 for manual.. but see what the others say..
Click to expand...

Thanks for the warm welcome. We should meet up sometime and do some wheeling. I am going there almost every week. Looks like everyone is agreeing with you in terms of gear selection, so thanks for the input.
 
one thing i didnt see mentioned as far as the dana 30 goes it may be worth your while to source an XJ HP30 to build for the bit of extra strength over the LP30. The prior mentioned upgrades of a truss, gerars, lockers and RCV's will make it basically the most stout 30 possible. plus you could build the whole axle out of the jeep and just bolt it in.
 
ErikOffroad said:
Are you looking to drop all this money at once and get it over with or build it over time?
As far as lockers with 35 inch tires I would avoid a lunchbox especially because you have to regear anyway.
Detroit is on the cheap end
Eaton e locker is middle ground as far as money
Arb is the most expensive plus you need onboard air.
For 35s ur gonna want aftermarket axle shafts too. You may also want to add a 1 1/4 body lift to fit the 35’s and at that point if you do have fully adjustable arms you are not far away from having the parts needed for a tummy tuck. But with that much lift u are gonna need a super short sye and measure the drive shaft for length
Click to expand...

Hi Erik,

It sounds like it makes more sense to upgrade front axle, re-gear & put lockers at the same time. So I may just save up and buy the parts little by little until I am ready to take to a shop to install. Yes, I’ve decided to do a body lift. Looking into a 1 inch body lift. As for the SYE, I installed a 231 Terraflex Extreme short shaft kit ( I included a pic). The drive shaft is from Tom woods. You think I should be okay here?

703BAC24-641F-4CF9-8A79-DAFD9F832311.jpeg


5A68FC71-7031-4619-8ED3-3A80BD5F8C0A.jpeg
 
Last edited:
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L J said:
welcome 🍻



4.88 or 5.13 depending on your preference. Go to http://www.grimmjeeper.com/gears.html (use 34" as your tire diameter) to see where you want to be as far as rpm vs speed goes. I'm running a 6 speed/35s combo and need to regear as well. I'm leaning towards 5.13s which should put me at ~3200 rpm @ 75 mph. 4.88 would be ~3050 rpm @ 75 mph. I want the 5.13s for the increased weight/rolling resistance and climbing the grades.
Click to expand...

This is great! Thanks for sharing.
 
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Jonathand16y8 said:
Hi Erik,

It sounds like it makes more sense to upgrade front axle, re-gear & put lockers at the same time. So I may just save up and buy the parts little by little until I am ready to take to a shop to install. Yes, I’ve decided to do a body lift. Looking into a 1 inch body lift. As for the SYE, I installed a 231 Terraflex Extreme short shaft kit ( I included a pic). The drive shaft is from Tom woods. You think I should be okay here?

View attachment 135907

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Click to expand...
Thats a lot of photos you posted there.
 
Goatman said:
You should try and do lockers and gears at the same time. They basically require all the same prep work before and reinstall work after the gears or lockers. Saves you from paying someone twice to do mostly the same work.
Get a body lift to take advantage of your flexy suspension and then set your bumpstops. You should never have a tire stuffed into any body parts.
Everything you do have already is all top shelf stuff so you are in great shape to continue your build.
You will definitely want to re-gear before you start pulling a trailer through the sand. Sand sucks up h.p. like crazy and with stock gears pulling a trailer loaded up for the weekend you are looking to do some damage somewhere along your drivetrain.
I like the electric lockers for the front. But living in snow country I prefer limited slip in the rear for bad weather driving. If you have no plans for bad weather conditions then an electric locker in the rear too.
Lots of folks have more knowledge about gearing for the sand. I would just say that the lower (numerically higher) you get the more torque you can get to the ground. So if you are thinking 4.10 or 4.88 go 4.88. Gearing for road use aim for your top gear (5th) to give you the rpms needed for good highway speed while keeping rpms in the 3,000 range. Maybe a little higher if you do less highway, a little lower (not much) if a lot of highway speeds.

Welcome to the forum!🍻 Lots of great folks with great info here. And always remember.... we love pics!😁
Click to expand...

Thank you for the feedback!
 
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