I ran Detroit True Track in the front of my xj with a trac lock in the rear through the Rubicon and had no issues. I recently swaped in a n 8.8 and plan installing a Detroit Locker. If you drive a lot in the snow and plan on having your wife drive in the snow and need your wife to have a vehicle that she can put the petal to the mettal in the snow to get out of a bad sittuation with good handling and relialbility then you should put in Detroit True Track front and rear.
Is the True Track basically LSD? I watched a couple of Eaton's videos about it and it seems like a combination of LSD and Auto locker (although you never get 100% of torque to both wheels). It seems to "determine" the torque needed per wheel and adjust for that. What about when one wheel is off the ground? Does the one on the ground stop spinning?
I don't know what your re-gear experience was, but with anything other than drop in lunch box lockers your going to have to re-set your gears for the full cases that come with them (whether it be a True-Trac limited slip, detroit, arb, eaton e-locker...) which in my OPINION would be the same as a re-gear. So you really are answering your own question. You want drop in lunch box lockers. Do you want one in the front, sounds like it. Seems like the better question is, will i hate the way my XJ drives with a lunchbox locker in the rear. Read up on that question still many opinions on it-but that really sounds like where your heading.
Yes, this is something that I am aware of. Lunchbox lockers are by far the easiest for me to install. I have read about the autos in the rear and it seems (like all locker debates) that its 50/50 on how they drive on the road.
What scares you about air hoses with ARBs?
If you are looking for a discount, call Robert at rwkhaus supply and ask him about zip lockers (yukon's version of the arb).
I've read many stories on various forums about hoses leaking, getting pinched, etc. I just dont want to deal with chasing lines because a hose busted a leak. While some places throw in a compressor (from time to time), others don't and thats an extra cost just to use an already $1,000 locker. No thanks.
I did think about a zip locker, but if I was going to go through the hassle of air lines, etc., I'd just get an ARB. They arent much difference in price and I watched the video from ARB where the Zip Locker failed unbelievably. They even say that it failed quicker and with more damage than the cheap Chinese knockoffs. Yikes.
I'll probably get some flak but honestly if you are staying with this, the factory lsd will work for you. heck there is even a mod to the lsd that should tighten it up also if ya want. I have a 97 with a 8.25 rear with the factory lsd and I've had plenty traction and grip off road. people will complain that the factory lsd sucks and cant do it but I bet most have never used it, I already plan to do the mod of the lsd when I rebuild mine, just food for thought.
My only concern with LSD is that when I was running my 8.8 (which had LSD), I didn't experience it being any different than when I had my open diff (dana 35).
So the story on my regearing experience and why I am not wanting to consider that again (plus it adds to my hesitation of anything but lunchbox):
I had a YJ with the dana 35, 3.07 (puke) gears. The PO had put a body lift (again, puke) and 31 ATs. I would always seem to have difficulty keeping up with other rigs while on the trail, so naturally, I decided I wanted to change my axle (8.8), install a locker, and regear. So I raked, scraped, and saved every penny I could until I had enough money to get all that done. I got the 8.8 from the JY and had matched the numbers to know that it was LSD (which I wanted since I wasn't putting a locker in the rear). My plan was to run it with LSD and then make the determination I wanted a rear locker or not.
So, after gathering the money up for this project for over a year, I finally had enough. I had the axle, all new parts for it (brakes, calipers, etc), brand new Yukon 4.56s (with master install kits for the 8.8 and D30), Ruff Stuff 8.8 kit, shock relocation brackets (in case I needed them), and my Spartan locker. During my saving period, I had been asking around about who I needed to see to have this all installed...after all, I know zilch about R&P work and don't own the equipment (press) to get it done. After several high recommendations, I chose the guy and the price was good. He had his own shop, was recommended, and seemed knowledgeable. So, once I had everything I needed, off to the shop she went for her transformation. I told him if, once he broke the case on my 8.8, if the clutches needed to be fixed to let me know so we could address that.
During the swap, I got a call from him. My rear leaf spring was broken and holding on by a thread. I asked him how the LSD looked and he said it was fine. Having saved a few hundred extra for this, I decided at that time to order BDS' lift so I could get rid of that dreaded body lift. That was installed and the rest was done. She looked great. Going to 4.56's, I never used 1st gear to take off...but thats when everything went wrong.
According to my GPS, my top speed was 55MPH (on a good day with no wind). I had had some other issues with the mechanic that done the swap (he gave the jeep back to me with no brakes, then when he "fixed" it, he had adjusted it to tight and caught a rotor on fire, so I had to fix all that too)...so once I realized that something "wasn't right", I took it to a mechanic I had used (and trusted) in the past. Why I didnt choose him for the entire swap in the first place was easy: he was backlogged on vehicles and it was going to take "quite awhile" for him to get to it because of all the welding, etc. that had to be done with the swap. I was impatient and it cost me.
Anyway, I took the jeep to him to look over it. Turns out, basically everything was installed $hitty and
everything had to be redone. I mean everything. My gears were toast, so I had to buy gears and install kits for the second time. This was because Yukon refused to warranty them because it was "mechanic error" as they determined. I also had to have the LSD rebuilt because the packs were shot...another great thing. The story doesnt end there, Im just tired of writing. Even after it was worked on by my trusted mechanic, the YJ was never quite the same. To boot, the swap ended up costing me almost double what I had budgeted. A little over a year's worth of saving and it was for naught. I know some of it was mechanic error and some of it was just age of the vehicle...but that doesnt make it any easier of a pill to swallow. So...now you know the basic story of why I do not ever want to regear. It's an experience I
never want to have again.