Newbie Offroader needs help with Locking

[SVT]

Okay getting stuck sucks but it is also fun. Go figure ? Well anyway Im in the market for a locker or 2. I know I want to lock the front for sure but do I want to lock the rear too ? my 99xj is my daily comuter & I drive at least 60kms a day. I 'm in the market for spending about $750 cdn for a Locker(s). What should I be looking at , and how much is fuel milage going to drop with locking front & back ? Im getting about 18-19 mpg now. Any help would be greatly appreciated. :explosion

 

[bgcntry72]

I have a 99 with the same rear axle as you, I reckon, the 8.25.
I have a PowerTraxx NoSlip in the rear of mine and nothing in the front.
Living in Canada, and probably driving in snow from time to time, I would stay away from a front locker unless you shell out the ducats for an ARB or an Ox. Without a selectable locker in the front you will be all over the place in the snow and performing a lot of 'Austin Powers turns' on tight trails. Put a locker in the rear and run it for a bit, then save up and go with a selectable for the front. The rear NoSlip is invisible to me now, unless I am offroad.
:cheers:

 

[Scott Mac]

I have a 99 with the same rear axle as you, I reckon, the 8.25.
I have a PowerTraxx NoSlip in the rear of mine and nothing in the front.
Living in Canada, and probably driving in snow from time to time, I would stay away from a front locker unless you shell out the ducats for an ARB or an Ox. Without a selectable locker in the front you will be all over the place in the snow and performing a lot of 'Austin Powers turns' on tight trails. Put a locker in the rear and run it for a bit, then save up and go with a selectable for the front. The rear NoSlip is invisible to me now, unless I am offroad.
:cheers:

It's been my experience that unless you're in 4wd you will not even notice a front locker (I have a Lock-rite) and with a rear locker you will need 4wd even less often.

 

[bgcntry72]

It's been my experience that unless you're in 4wd you will not even notice a front locker (I have a Lock-rite) and with a rear locker you will need 4wd even less often.

You may be used to it.
If you are not used to it, a front locker in the snow in a non disconnect axle can be adventurous.
YMMV.

 

[Scott Mac]

You may be used to it.
If you are not used to it, a front locker in the snow in a non disconnect axle can be adventurous.
YMMV.

In 2wd, without power going through the front shaft the Lock-Rite opens up. It only locks up when there's power going through it.

 

[bgcntry72]

No kidding?
I was under a different assumption.
I was pondering adding a front locker before Winterfest, becasue expenses of late won't allow a gearing change, yet. Was worried about what I hear (spobi) about them in snow.
Thanks for the info.

 

[lesslimited]

I haven't experienced my front lock-right in snow yet, but it's been fine on rain-slick off-camber curves (as fine as MTs can be, anyway) in 2wd.

 

[Heep]

Spool the rear and put an ARB up front. Thats what I would do for a sweet setup.

 

[Rev Den]

Go ARB both ends...or go home.

Rev

 

[GI-John]

In 2wd, without power going through the front shaft the Lock-Rite opens up. It only locks up when there's power going through it.

More hearsay, but I "heard" that a front locker will grenade a 242 if used in 4wd

any truth?

 

[sintax]

Spool the rear and put an ARB up front. Thats what I would do for a sweet setup.

Spool in a DD?? I hope you have a good hookup on tires, or enjoy checking your tire pressure every morning to make sure they are dead on.

Ideally you'd run ARB's front and rear, but that is out of your budget.


You may want to look into something like an aussie or lockrite in the front, and some sort of LSD in the rear. Some love the gearless, some hate the clutch type. I would opt for the LSD in the rear for my DD build up. Actually my DD (99 XJ) does have factory LSD in the rear, I did not even notice it until I ran my build sheet.

-Scott

 

[Scott Mac]

More hearsay, but I "heard" that a front locker will grenade a 242 if used in 4wd

any truth?

It's been a long time since I've been inside a 242 but I'm itchin' to call SPOBI on that one. If I'm not mistakin' I believe the 242 has a geared center differential that works like a open diff when in full time 4wd. I'm sure someone else can confirm or correct me.

 

[SVT]

As a good guess what would it cost to set up ARB's in the front & back doing your own labour ? :dunno:

 

[Heep]

around $1400 or so

 

[WipesOutStains]

Yes, the 242 has a center open differential. I cannot comment on how a locker would work. I didn't think you could put lockers up front in daily drivers.
I wish I could get the straight answer on this, I wouldn't mind locking my front too.

 

[Lee 94XJ]

You should also ask yourself whether or not you ever plan to replace your current axles. If so, you may not want to spend the money on selectable lockers now. That's the reason I put Lockrites in my D30 and 8.25, because I eventually plan to have D60s or the equivalent. Mines a DD and I only occasionally notice the rear locker on the street. Like was said before, the front locker will not engage in 2wd.

 

[sidriptide]

ok ... here's my "hear-say" on the matter... i have a spool and a lock-right i'm putting in my trail rig next month.. i have the 242 t/case.... my understanding is that i should not use the full-time setting once i install the lockright in the front.. hadnt given it much thought since its a trail rig and will never use full-time anyways... i am sure i had some literature from richmond gear about this specific application but i cant find it now... my understanding was that because the lock-right is not locked until it is given a load it would cause problems when the center diff transfered torque forward since with the lock-right in there 1 wheel will always spin the front d/shaft.. never gave it much thought since it made sense to me and like i said its a 90% trail rig.... i think this has long been a debate and it would be nice to get to the bottom of it.. maybe i'll call the manufacturer tommorow to see what they say....
mike

 

[KY Chris]

I've had a Locrite in my non disco Dana 30/231/AX15 for 2.5 years. I have never ever ever ever felt it in 2wd. It's great offroad. I love it. It's very predictable in the snow in 4wd, as well. Tricky, but predictable.

Do it BG. You won't regret it. If you do hate it, big F'n deal, takes 30 minutes to pull it out. Trust me. I'll bet you a drink at Robies you'll love it.

 

[red87cherokee]

Since I have the front axle disconnect, I'm not sure my experience in 2WD will be that useful. Obviously, with the front axle disconnected in 2HI I don't notice any problem with steering.

I've got a Detroit locker in the rear and a Lockright in the front. The rear is only noticeable if I accelerate while turning - otherwise it is invisible on the street (even in the snow/ice). Accelerating in the snow/ice/wet roads will cause a slight shift of the rear end to one direction as the locker locks - noticeable, but no problem.

For the last week I have been running in 4Hi on the city streets due to ice/snow (two feet fell in the last few days PLUS about 1/4 to 1/2 inch of freezing rain). I had absolutely no problems with either the front or rear, as long as I remembered to only coast or gently accelerate around corners - but the difference on acceleration on the straights or up hills was wonderful.

In the mud (on a trail) I have noticed that being locked in 4HI or 4LO can cause wide turns on sharp corners - in several places I have had to back up and turn again to make it around an obstacle. That shouldn't be a problem after I install manual controls for the vacuum disconnect so I can disconnect the right front axle while in 4WD.

 

[mattb]

All right, I need to ask a question here also (maybe a stupid one.) I posted about a week ago that I was going to put a Limited Slip in my rear, I was going that route over the locker mainly because of the snow issue, which I'm hearing may not be a problem after all. My question is, when you say it pulls the rear in one direction when it locks, is this just when it locks or will always tend to pull while its locked up?

Our snow out here is very slick and icy, because of the huge day/night temp differences. I want to know: when I'm going up a narrow snow covered trail is the locker going to try and pull the rear off the road?

I spend a couple hours this weekend trying to get a guy back on the trail after his (open) rear end had walked off the trail and he slid down an embankment (luckily a tree caught him before he went too far.)

thanks,

Matt