umm..so lockers are amazing

I have a rear locker now and love it but what are the street driving mannerisms of having a front locker. Also When running 35"s what upgrades if any should you do to the D30 b/c wouldnt the axle get taxed more by having a front locker?
 
A front locker puts a lot more stress on an axle. I run a HP30 up front with 297x joints and wheel it on 33's with a Detroit in there. I had the ears on one of the outers deform once enough to allow the u-joint cap to walk out, which ruined the outer stub shaft. I now run a new set of the same axle shafts with 297x joints, but I welded the caps in and haven't had a problem. If you're doing 35's locked, it's time to weld u-joint caps on and/or get alloys and/or super 30 with 30-spline shafts and/or upgrade axles............or just be very easy on the throttle, especially with the wheels turned when on the throttle.

I don't notice the front locker at all when in 2wd. Can't even tell it's there. In 4wd it makes it a little harder to steer on tight turns and makes it handle funny when doing high speeds in 4wd.
 
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wishihad1 said:
well ive done a couple lockers, and done both. for mine i just pulled the whole carrier out. either way you do it the axle shafts have to come out of the carrier, and for some its easy, for for most, its a PITA because the old hubs are going to be rusted etc

after getting the axle shafts pulled out a couple inches from there, you can leave the carrier in and do it. or remove the carrier bearing caps and pull the carrier out. very easy, each bearing cap has 2 bolts, and the cap comes off. after the caps come off you can just pull the whole carrier out.

i did it carrier out, so i could put it in a vice, and have a lot more room to work. i have pretty big hands/fingers, so doing it inside of the axle is possible because ive done it before. but id recommend spending another 10-15 mins, and pulling the carrier, and doing it on a work bench
Click to expand...

ok thanks. I read a writeup someware on the net and it showed that they had to pull the carrier on the d30 because the pin hit the ring gear. They did not state if they where stock gears or not so i guess they where non-stock if yours didnt hit.

-chris
 
I had to grind my carrier to get my lockright to fit.
 
Without a doubt....the locker is the single best mod next to gears....the Heep went from "pretty good" to AMAZING with lockers...no locker...get stuck, impersonate a nesting sea turtle....lockers...much harder to get stuck and you have 4 wheel ROOST!!!!
 
locker up front is invisible on road. rear lunchboxes are usually quite a bit louder (lunchboxes which is all i can afforad) but ill probably go with a lock-rite when i lock my rear

as for beefing up the d30. i have a bone stock d30, apart from the aussie, running 35s, and havn't been easy on it at all and havn't broken a thing....i do have a complete d30 sitting in my garage through as a parts axle..lol
 
lockers suck, spend that $250 on a couple more inches of lift.

or get a big shiny chrome tube bumper

both will get you much further in the trail
 
rears definately seem to do better on hills, as i had a little competition with a guy with 31 inch ATs the other day. hes got a locked rear, and i have 35s locked front but open rear. we both stayed in 2wd to see who could make it farther....needless to say i was pretty embarrassed, but shell be fully locked out soon enough
 
wishihad1 said:
locker up front is invisible on road. rear lunchboxes are usually quite a bit louder (lunchboxes which is all i can afforad) but ill probably go with a lock-rite when i lock my rear

as for beefing up the d30. i have a bone stock d30, apart from the aussie, running 35s, and havn't been easy on it at all and havn't broken a thing....i do have a complete d30 sitting in my garage through as a parts axle..lol
Click to expand...

A word of warning.

The locker up front should only be used in 2wd on the road. If your XJ has a NP242 case adding a locker up front will make it so you can't use your full time 4wd. If you do you will most likely snap an axle or u-joint.
 
wishihad1 said:
rears definately seem to do better on hills, as i had a little competition with a guy with 31 inch ATs the other day. hes got a locked rear, and i have 35s locked front but open rear. we both stayed in 2wd to see who could make it farther....needless to say i was pretty embarrassed, but shell be fully locked out soon enough
Click to expand...

Well duh, if you're in 2wd rear, the front locker ain't helping any.
 
Yes lockers are amazing but locking the rear is far better. once you lock the rear you will be even more amazed. Hell you can go most places. IMO front lockers are pointless if you dont already have a rear cause with just a rear locker cause most places that need a locker which is usually uphill and when you go uphill all the weight transfers to the rear axle... least IMO
 
wishihad1 said:
and for TNT i have the 231, and ive used it on the street plenty of times in the snow with no problems...thank you very much
Click to expand...


I just brought it up in case someone with a NP242 case reads this thread and thinks they can run a front locker on dry pavement. As for running it in the snow a front locker isn't too bad, but can cause unexpected understeer at times.
 
aussie front

what is that???

is it a full time lock in the front? they told me you cant drive in 2wd if you have the front lock all the time...is this true??
 
Fast95Neon said:
http://www.offroadlockers.com/home.php/TM8a493f/7ea2/0/.html

read the faqs it had good info but some stuff still is not clear....says its not good to drive on icy roads with the front locker...
but you cant buy locking hubs for a dana 30?

i dunno im all sorts of confused on this lol
Click to expand...

This statement doesnt make sense to me either.
"We "Do Not" recommend the installation of a locker in the front of a vehicle that will be driven on icy highways in 4WD without manual hubs".
What difference does it make if you have lockout hubs or not. Are they suggesting that you only lock one hub?

The reason its not good to drive on icy roads with a front locker is because if you lose traction, you dont want to lose it in both front tires or you have no more directional control (cant turn). We all know what happens when you stomp the brakes in a turn and the frontend locks up and loses traction, you go straight. The same thing happens if you have a locker and lose traction on both tires by giving it gas, you go straight. Without a locker, you have one tire that will not lose traction and will keep you going around the turn.
FYI: There are actually locking hub kits for the D30.
 
I believe the lunchbox type lockers stay locked normally and only unlock in turns without power being applied. On snow or ice there isn't enough traction to allow the diff to unlock.
 
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