Lockers - because i trust you guys

o.k. guys (and gals) i am in the market for lockers front and rear. I have read just about every thread i can find, but i can't bring myself to fork out a butt load of cash on the premium stuff....so i want your advise on the next best thing.

hear is my situation: i plan on keeping the 30 n 35 front n rear, running 33"s. i think i want a selectable up front? currently have LS rear. lookin to spend approx 1000.00 total when its all said and done. this may or may not include the install. (i have connections there if need be). so lay it on me...what would you do?

A little off topic. Are you regeared?

XJourney said:

A little off topic. Are you regeared?

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no, i seem to have had no issues what so ever where i felt i needed any extra torq. i had thought about it, but.....talk me into it....

If you don't daily drive you will be fine without regearing. But that being said I love that I regeared, one of the best things I have done for my jeep.

I run a Detroit Trutrac in my d30 and a Powertrax No-slip. I really like this set-up so far. I would have loved selectables, but not in these axles. I have $600 into my locker and LSD. Both brand new

The reason for LSD for the front was not enough coin for a selectable, but still wanted to be able to use my fulltime 4 wheeldrive for crossing the passes when they are icy.

hope that helps

XJourney said:

If you don't daily drive you will be fine without regearing. But that being said I love that I regeared, one of the best things I have done for my jeep.

I run a Detroit Trutrac in my d30 and a Powertrax No-slip. I really like this set-up so far. I would have loved selectables, but not in these axles. I have $600 into my locker and LSD. Both brand new

The reason for LSD for the front was not enough coin for a selectable, but still wanted to be able to use my fulltime 4 wheeldrive for crossing the passes when they are icy.

hope that helps

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thats a start. Thanks, and FYI i don't use it for a daily driver. Also just to add to what i was thinking. i was/am considering an aussie front and a detroit rear?

12gauge talked me into getting an Aussie for the front of mine when I regear. You may have seen this already but I'll put it up for you anyways

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=99710

They also have a no questions asked warranty, so you can run what ever size tires, and if it breaks, they replace it for free.

Although since I have no experience with these it’s just hearsay.

ARB or OX, do it right the first time, if you cant afford both, do one then the other when you have the money.

Aussie is very easy to install.

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=99710

Pics compaired to the lock rite, the Aussie parts are beefier, and they have a no questions asked warranty, which sold me. I believe that the Lock Rite warranty stops at 32" tires. So who has more confidence in thier product?

They do make an Aussie for the rear too, for the D35.

My front was $250 and change shipped to my door. Can't beat the price IMO.


Damn, I type too slow.

bass2323 said:

ARB or OX, do it right the first time, if you cant afford both, do one then the other when you have the money.

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You get yours on the trail yet?

i put the aussie in before the FF. i was struggling with 32 and open/open. down in Moab, the only time i got stuck was when i diffplanted. i love the aussie. for what it cost me and the short time it took to install, i am more than pleased. it is a little noisy at times but you quickly get used to it.

hth
stewie

90 XJ? Disconnect front end? If so...run a std locker.

OR


Go ARB when you can.

HTH

Rev

If you want to keep the price down go Aussie front and rear, there cheap, effective, and you can install them yourself.

For a little more you can do what I did and just go Detroit front and rear. Stronger then an Aussie, but more pricey and require you to completely redo the diff. Neither of these are that big a deal though if you regear at the same time.

Finally if I was going to do it again, for a none-daily driver like mine I would just spool the rear and put an OX locker in the front. spools are cheap and effective and having a selectable would be nice in the front every know and then. I would go OX over ARB because the OX includes a nice Diff cover and are, in my opinion, more reliable then the ARB.

Honestly?

Weld the D35 because it's gonna blow up anyway. I've got 5 Carriers you can have with all the spiders. FREE. It isn't worth throwing any money at.

Selectable up front is real nice. I'm not a big fan of ARB's myself. Rarely ever have I been wheeling with ARB people and they not have issues. ARB stands for All Ready Broken. I like the Eaton E locker. Auburn Ected is nice, plus if the auburn unit fails, it is still a limited slip.

If you don't have the money, a lock right is just fine, you can do it yourself, and it is very forgiving to axle shaft failure. Detroits are very strong units, but when you break axles 50% of the time, you break your Detroit too.

So, doing it my way, selectable will cost you 700. If you do it lockright in the front, 400. If you throw money at the D35, you are wasting your time. Please, learn from what others have already learned.

Friends don't let friends waste money on Dana 35 axles.

KarlVP said:

Honestly?

Weld the D35 because it's gonna blow up anyway. I've got 5 Carriers you can have with all the spiders. FREE. It isn't worth throwing any money at.

Selectable up front is real nice. I'm not a big fan of ARB's myself. Rarely ever have I been wheeling with ARB people and they not have issues. ARB stands for All Ready Broken. I like the Eaton E locker. Auburn Ected is nice, plus if the auburn unit fails, it is still a limited slip.

If you don't have the money, a lock right is just fine, you can do it yourself, and it is very forgiving to axle shaft failure. Detroits are very strong units, but when you break axles 50% of the time, you break your Detroit too.

So, doing it my way, selectable will cost you 700. If you do it lockright in the front, 400. If you throw money at the D35, you are wasting your time. Please, learn from what others have already learned.

Friends don't let friends waste money on Dana 35 axles.

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are you refering to a full detroit locker or just an ez locker. i just got the ez locker and it makes a lot of noise. and your not supposed to run over 32"s on them. i wish now i would have gotten an ausie just b/c of the no questions asked warrenty. should have done a little more research but i wanted to get it locked before a big trip. turns out i messed up the install and had to wait on new pins and didnt get to go wheelin ne ways. o well. hindsight is 20/20. live and learn.

My experience has been that if you are going to a full case locker that you'll kick yourself if you don't re-gear. If all of that stuff needs to be torn apart, why not change the gearing at the same time?

That being said, I would go with lunchbox lockers if you aren't going to re-gear. They're easy to install, fairly forgiving and easy to sell when you upgrade. A comment was made earlier that the Aussie locker is beefier than the Lock-Right, EZ Locker or others...I'm not sure how that could be since they need to be a specific size to fit into the carrier. I've run both the EZLocker and the Lock-Right and have not had a problem with either. Regardless, that fits your budget well and allows you some options that I offer below.

My flame suit is on and here's my theory on the D35. If they're are bolt in shafts and NOT c-clip, you're fine with 33's. I've run all kinds of terrain and trails and never (knock on a Wagoneer panel) broken a shaft. I believe the weak spot in the D35 is the c-clip end of the shaft and that's where all the broken ones I've seen have gone bad. YMMV. Most of my experience was with a Lock-Right out back. Never had a problem.

I'm presently running an ARB AirLocker in the D35 as a test for ARB USA and the nice thing is that I leave it in the open position most of the time. Since it's not a differentiating locker, but instead a full spool when engaged, it's smarter to leave it open until you need it. Again, this is recognizing the limitations of a D35....same reason that people with any brains don't Lincoln Lock a D35, they're going to break under the stress.

Finally, if you don't go with a selectable up front, think seriously about a Tera Mfg. Tera-Low 2Low kit for your t-case. If you run the NP231 it's a simple install to give you 2 Low which is a great way to disengage the front end when off-road. In places like Moab when you're out on the slickrock it makes turning so much easier. You know you want low range but you can feel the front end binding in 4 Low. This solves the problem for about the 1/5 the cost of a selectable locker. With this I end up with 4 Low locked front, open rear; 4 Low locked front, spool rear; 2 Low open rear; 2 Low spool rear; 4 High locked front, open rear; 4 High locked front, spool rear; 2 High open rear; 2 High spool rear.

I run a LokRite in my D 30 It has survived alot running 33`s .
I ran with a LS in my 35 ,running 33`s I broke 2- 35`s then changed to a D 44
I changed from 3:55 to 4:10 gears thats fine for 31 or 32 tires.I should have run 4:56 for my 33 `s
That`s it .

I upgraded to 30 spline shafts in my d35,(and soon will truss it) but I regeared to 4.56 and put a detroit back there, absolutely love it. Very reliable and suprisingly quite on the road. Haven't done a d30 locker yet, but have heard lots of good things about the aussie lunch box. I'm personally looking to do the Ected selectable, cuz I want to make my d30 housing last as long as possible,(I've read that a detroit puts lots of strain on the d30) and don't need an ARB compressor, and don't want to pay for the cable kit for the OX. Anyway, there's my 2 cents.

Plan ahead, dump the money for a selectable up front and go cheap on the rear. Odds are good if you do this for an time you will probably replace the rear diff anyways.

The other option John mentioned go lunch box lockers and use the extra cash for a 2 low kit. I'm pretty easy on the pedal but with 35's and beadlocks (extra weight) I've never broken a shaft, I've had the caps on the u-joint break but held in b/c they were welded. I believe having the 2 low and selectable front (OX) are the main reason as the joints only get abused for short periods of time.

You may also want to keep your eyes peeled for people upgrading axles, you can typically grab d30's and their parts re-geared pretty cheap. I snatched up a 29spline 8.25 with 4.56 for $85

Shortly after lifting my '94 XJ, I put Lock-rites in both my D30 and 8.25. After lots and lots of hard wheeling, they never gave me one ounce of trouble. I wouldn't hesitate doing it again if I wanted a cheap way to have four tire fire.

I've never run a D35, but it seems that spending a bunch of money on it is like putting lipstick on a pig. Save the money for a 44 (or 8.8) and never worry again.

John90XJ said:

Finally, if you don't go with a selectable up front, think seriously about a Tera Mfg. Tera-Low 2Low kit for your t-case. If you run the NP231 it's a simple install to give you 2 Low which is a great way to disengage the front end when off-road. In places like Moab when you're out on the slickrock it makes turning so much easier. You know you want low range but you can feel the front end binding in 4 Low. This solves the problem for about the 1/5 the cost of a selectable locker. With this I end up with 4 Low locked front, open rear; 4 Low locked front, spool rear; 2 Low open rear; 2 Low spool rear; 4 High locked front, open rear; 4 High locked front, spool rear; 2 High open rear; 2 High spool rear.

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Very good point that is often over looked. I have one sitting in a box I'm hoping to have installed by Evans this weekend.

Good luck with your decision!

-----Matt-----

IXNAYXJ said:

Shortly after lifting my '94 XJ, I put Lock-rites in both my D30 and 8.25. After lots and lots of hard wheeling, they never gave me one ounce of trouble.

-----Matt-----

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Locker worked awsome, U-joint just couldn't keep up huh?