Who is going to install the gears and lockers? If you are having a shop do the work (most likely), you may be better served to pay them for parts and install. If nothing else, it may help eliminate the possibility of getting stuck in the middle of a pissing match between installer and manufacturer if there are any problems. YMMV.
Looking for advice on lockers for my TJ
- Thread starter Jonathand16y8
- Start date
One more thing ... if funds are tight you can reuse the stock shafts and easily swap in the upgraded units in the future without any significant increase in overall cost. Your chances of blowing out a stock axle shaft on Cleghorn are likely pretty slim so long as you are easy on the throttle, especially when the wheel is turned. Good luck.
Just a note, the bearing set says 33-spline? But the shafts you have marked are 27.
That still isn't a disadvantage. Just personal preference, odd, but personal preference nonetheless that has nothing to do with the auto up front being any sort of an issue. Be aware that you are risking taking out the factory limited slip if you still have it in there.
I've heard this and finally saw it myself last summer. We had one of the guys in our group that only ran lockers offroad occasionally. This caught up with him when his Rubicon factory limited slip grenaded. It wasn't a pretty site and left him stuck. Moral of the story, at a minimum, run the rear stock locker all the time offroad. I did it before, but now do it without hesitation.
I haven't ever understood it but I've seen many posts over the years about how they want the challenge of seeing if they can make it up something without lockers. Yeah, whatever. Why do you have them then?
I guess that can work in places. It doesn't work in JV at all. I need you on the line. If you spin your tires, you aren't going to stay on the line and then we get to start over and after several hours of that, it gets old with a quickness.
The guy on here said he wants control. Really? Because if you did you’d have your lockers on.
As long as you have a surface where there is slippage you’re lockers should be on.
I’ve seen people pull the 2wd + gobs of accelerator stunt and it did not turn out well
Playing devil’s advocate; The only scenario I can think of would be to gain the unlocked turning radius that you lose when the front has a Detroit and the transfer case is in 4wd. Even then, its not that big of a difference.
In my experience having the front engaged and the rear disengaged is common place. But thats with a different transfercase.
I’m as confused as you two are but in my case as to why it’s such a mystery? I have to believe that you both know that not everyone goes off road where lockers are necessary all day long, or even a significant portion of the day for that matter, but yet some choose to have them (me included) because invariably obstacles or trails that do require them will be mixed into the day in varying numbers by choice & voila, there they are ready to do what they were designed to do. On any given day I can roll along for a couple hours without incident then encounter an issue, reach out & hit the button, then 30 seconds later reach out & hit that button a second time having cleared the area & be on my way. That sequence may happen 2 or 12 times during the course of a full day in the mountains, it’s hard to say, but what’s not hard to say is that the selectable lockers are worth their weight in gold to me for this on/off ability. If they weren’t meant to be shut off at-will for any reason they’d all be automatics.
It’s really that simple.
Different solutions for different preferences/terrain/driving styles/wants/desires.
What do you think happens when you have an auto locker up front on those long stretches because something tells me you haven't run like that.
Finally, been waiting for someone to post that. The problem there is the increased radius comes from the rear being locked, not the front. The rear pushes the rig straight or tries to when it is locked which is why we put a selectable in the rear, not the front.
Exactly, for those who haven’t seen the rear push the front, watch the John Currie video demonstration and why he recommends an automatic locker up front and a selectable in the rear.
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LONGJP2
TJ Expert
The trails in my area have lots of trees, tight trails with steep creek ravines. I often run without the front locker on to help with steering. Including when I had a front only locker on my long wheelbase scrambler. Two tires trying to go the same speed around a turn does have consequences. No, I've never had auto lockers so I cant comment on the how they handle diffently.
Is it possible that it could engage at an inopportune time and cause body/top damage?
Is it possible that it could engage at an inopportune time and cause body/top damage?
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you're right I haven't, I've never had an auto locker in front and I don't have the ability to turn only my front on because of the way the ARB lockers come out of the box (& I haven't done the re-wiring yet to be able to turn it on independent of the rear...).
But to answer your question, I think what would happen is that some of the instances where I get stuck while completely open would never happen, I'd roll right over without thinking about it, while other times I'd get stuck anyway. It would be difficult to quantify how often either of those two things would happen, given the varying trails I do, but I think I understand why you asked the question.
I had the opportunity to add lockers to my stock X in any configuration I wanted & chose the route I did. The great majority of the trails I enjoy are extremely tight, curvy, lopsided trails that most often benefit from the need to be able to turn as easily as possible (whether that means easier turning the steering wheel itself as it is when not locked up front) or a tighter turning radius that results in being open in the rear, or both. If I were to pop my lockers on going into many of those situations they would actually be a hindrance to fluid motion rather than any kind of benefit.
But even on those trails I'll invariably hit a mogul patch which gets one wheel per axle off the ground then all bets are off, the button gets pushed & the X lurches onward and upward.
Its often a big point of misconception for folks looking to dabble with adding lockers.
LONGJP2
TJ Expert