NOOB questions, 2.0

[penk]

Hope y'all won't get tired of my n00b questions but I want to learn and be able to make the right choices on my new toy.

We hauled my 00 4.0l manual TJ up on the lift and gave it the once over. My Jeep friend says this TJ "didn't have lockers" and in fact when i put it in 4wd a light on the dash says "part time". My wheeling experience has recently been driving a JK Sahara which locks axles in 4wd. How is my TJ going to handle things differently if the front axle didn't lock into posi style rigidity?

The only other major concern I have is the transmission is iffy. 2nd gear grinds easily on a downshift. We're going to do a full flush and refill with synchromesh and hopefully that'll smooth things out but I may be looking at a rebuilt NV3550 at some point. (These don't have AX15s right?).

Hope to see some folks at New England events soon. My yellow and black baby should be easy to spot

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[Jerry Bransford]

First, you need to understand 4x4 a little more and what lockers actually do. The article I wrote like ten years ago may be helpful:
What does a locker do? Do I need a locker?

Yes your TJ has a "part-time" 4x4 system which is a very aggressive form type of 4x4 system meant really only for offroad use. It locks the front and rear axles together so you have 4x4. As they are locked together, that means the front & rear axles must turn at the same RPMs which is not good for the street as the front tires must be allowed to turn faster than the rear tires through turns. That is why you get a herky-jerky during turns if you shift into 4x4 on pavement, the front tires are being prevented from turning faster through the turn as they're trying to do. Only "full-time" 4x4 or AWD (all-wheel drive) systems like are on Grand Cherokees, some cars, etc. are designed for 4x4 use on the street, they have a differential between the front & rear axles which allows the front tires to rotate faster through turns when on pavement.

Lockers have nothing to do with 4x4, all they do is lock the left & right tires together so one can't spin by itself & leave you stuck in low traction situations. The only Jeep model that comes with axle lockers is the Wrangler Rubicon. No other Wrangler comes with lockers from the factory, not even the Sahara. Understand that a "Posi" is not a locker, a Posi is a limited slip differential which is not a locker. Limited slip differentials are really more for street use, they can help during low traction situations like ice or snow-covered roads where lockers are too aggressive and known to cause slipping and sliding. That Sahara you mentioned may have had Tracloc which some mistake for a locker, it's not... Tracloc is strictly a limited slip differential which is not even close to being a locker. Again, the only Jeep that ever came with an actual locker is the Wrangler Rubicon which has a true locker in both the front and rear axle.

Here's another old article I wrote that kinda covers LSDs & other related subjects that may be helpful too: How is torque delivered to the wheels on a 4x4?

Sorry those two articles are so wordy but both subjects are a bit difficult to explain fully.

Yes your 2000 TJ has the NV3550 transmission. A very good lubricant for that particular transmission is Redline MTL like you can obtain from Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002INJ69I/?tag=wranglerorg-20. I always get nervous when someone mentions they're going to fill their transmission with "Synchromesh" since not all brands of Synchromesh are good choices. Redline MTL definitely is, though it's of course not the only good choice.

 

[TimB54]

First, you need to understand 4x4 a little more and what lockers actually do. The article I wrote like ten years ago may be helpful:
What does a locker do? Do I need a locker?

Yes your TJ has a "part-time" 4x4 system which is a very aggressive form type of 4x4 system meant really only for offroad use. It locks the front and rear axles together so you have 4x4. As they are locked together, that means the front & rear axles must turn at the same RPMs which is not good for the street as the front tires must be allowed to turn faster than the rear tires through turns. That is why you get a herky-jerky during turns if you shift into 4x4 on pavement, the front tires are being prevented from turning faster through the turn as they're trying to do. Only "full-time" 4x4 or AWD (all-wheel drive) systems like are on Grand Cherokees, some cars, etc. are designed for 4x4 use on the street, they have a differential between the front & rear axles which allows the front tires to rotate faster through turns when on pavement.

Lockers have nothing to do with 4x4, all they do is lock the left & right tires together so one can't spin by itself & leave you stuck in low traction situations. The only Jeep model that comes with axle lockers is the Wrangler Rubicon. No other Wrangler comes with lockers from the factory, not even the Sahara. Understand that a "Posi" is not a locker, a Posi is a limited slip differential which is not a locker. Limited slip differentials are really more for street use, they can help during low traction situations like ice or snow-covered roads where lockers are too aggressive and known to cause slipping and sliding. That Sahara you mentioned may have had Tracloc which some mistake for a locker, it's not... Tracloc is strictly a limited slip differential which is not even close to being a locker. Again, the only Jeep that ever came with an actual locker is the Wrangler Rubicon which has a true locker in both the front and rear axle.

Here's another old article I wrote that kinda covers LSDs & other related subjects that may be helpful too: How is torque delivered to the wheels on a 4x4?

Sorry those two articles are so wordy but both subjects are a bit difficult to explain fully.

Yes your 2000 TJ has the NV3550 transmission. A very good lubricant for that particular transmission is Redline MTL like you can obtain from Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002INJ69I/?tag=wranglerorg-20. I always get nervous when someone mentions they're going to fill their transmission with "Synchromesh" since not all brands of Synchromesh are good choices. Redline MTL definitely is, though it's of course not the only good choice.

Always appreciate your analysis.

 

[penk]

First, you need to understand 4x4 a little more and what lockers actually do. The article I wrote like ten years ago may be helpful:
What does a locker do? Do I need a locker?

Yes your TJ has a "part-time" 4x4 system which is a very aggressive form type of 4x4 system meant really only for offroad use. It locks the front and rear axles together so you have 4x4. As they are locked together, that means the front & rear axles must turn at the same RPMs which is not good for the street as the front tires must be allowed to turn faster than the rear tires through turns. That is why you get a herky-jerky during turns if you shift into 4x4 on pavement, the front tires are being prevented from turning faster through the turn as they're trying to do. Only "full-time" 4x4 or AWD (all-wheel drive) systems like are on Grand Cherokees, some cars, etc. are designed for 4x4 use on the street, they have a differential between the front & rear axles which allows the front tires to rotate faster through turns when on pavement.

Lockers have nothing to do with 4x4, all they do is lock the left & right tires together so one can't spin by itself & leave you stuck in low traction situations. The only Jeep model that comes with axle lockers is the Wrangler Rubicon. No other Wrangler comes with lockers from the factory, not even the Sahara. Understand that a "Posi" is not a locker, a Posi is a limited slip differential which is not a locker. Limited slip differentials are really more for street use, they can help during low traction situations like ice or snow-covered roads where lockers are too aggressive and known to cause slipping and sliding. That Sahara you mentioned may have had Tracloc which some mistake for a locker, it's not... Tracloc is strictly a limited slip differential which is not even close to being a locker. Again, the only Jeep that ever came with an actual locker is the Wrangler Rubicon which has a true locker in both the front and rear axle.

Here's another old article I wrote that kinda covers LSDs & other related subjects that may be helpful too: How is torque delivered to the wheels on a 4x4?

Sorry those two articles are so wordy but both subjects are a bit difficult to explain fully.

Yes your 2000 TJ has the NV3550 transmission. A very good lubricant for that particular transmission is Redline MTL like you can obtain from Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002INJ69I/?tag=wranglerorg-20. I always get nervous when someone mentions they're going to fill their transmission with "Synchromesh" since not all brands of Synchromesh are good choices. Redline MTL definitely is, though it's of course not the only good choice.

I have redline MT90 on order which seems to be in the right ballpark. Wonderful information thank you, I need to read lots more

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[Chris]

Read anything by Jerry or Blaine (@mrblaine). Between the two of them I think it's all the TJ knowledge anyone could ever need.