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deciding between frnt/rear locker

M

Mitchen

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Gresham, OR
i have got an 88 5speed Cherokee 30/8.25 on 33's 3.55's right now planning on getting a HP30 with 4.10's tomorrow.

just looking for some opinions, if i am only going to be running one locker for now until i can afford a second would it be more beneficial to have one in the front our the rear. this question is strictly geared towards wheeling situations im not to worried about on road issues.

i plan on running a lockright up front and a detroit solid in the rear.

it seems to me that a front lockright would be more usefull than a rear detroit. just thinking a front locker would pull you up over things easier than a rear locker could push you everything i have found on other forums seems to just be peoples opinions based on what his friends friend has set up.

school me on lockers please.
 
There is no true answer to this. You are going to get mixed opinions and experience on where to put it. This thread will most likely end up like all the others that have asked this same answerless question.

But from personal experience I would do the front first.
 
94xjstud said:
There is no true answer to this. You are going to get mixed opinions and experience on where to put it. This thread will most likely end up like all the others that have asked this same answerless question.

But from personal experience I would do the front first.
Click to expand...

i figured as much but to know there is at least one other person thinking the same thing is me makes me more confident to put it in the front as that is what im leaning more towards, the lockright will also put less of a dent in my wallet.
 
X2 on front first.
 
My vote is for the rear locker first,one reason is because the front flexes better than the rear leaving tires in contact with the ground more often than not.
 
IMHO- If you are using an automatic locker with a Dana 30... do the rear. If you are using a selectable or adding locking hubs... do the front. The front has more advantages ultimately off road, but it can cause handling issues on road that you definitely have to compensate for (the rear does as well... not as severe). Either way adding a locker is a great decision!
 
REVROK said:
IMHO- If you are using an automatic locker with a Dana 30... do the rear. If you are using a selectable or adding locking hubs... do the front. The front has more advantages ultimately off road, but it can cause handling issues on road that you definitely have to compensate for (the rear does as well... not as severe). Either way adding a locker is a great decision!
Click to expand...

Not to mention steering a front axle that has an auto-locker can be next to impossible,save for a selectable for the front.Last weekend at AZRocks I had about 18" to make a 90* turn on a dry waterfall/rockledge(40*-up/30*-offcamber),I probably had to turn off my ARB about 4 times to complete that turn.
 
Last edited:
RCP Phx said:
Not to mention steering a front axle that has an auto-locker can be next to impossible,save for a selectable for the front.Last weekend at AZRocks I had about 18" to make a 90* turn on a dry waterfall/rockledge(40*-up/30*-offcamber),I probably had to turn off my ARB about 4 times to complete that turn.
Click to expand...

i could see where having a selectable locker would be usefull, i have always considered doing an ARB once i decided to get a locker. i think i am going to stick with a lockright for now if i dont like it i can sell it to someone and i can get use to using a locker while wheeling with it. i have driven a Cherokee with just a lockright up front on several long trips and as far as on road driveability i didnt really notice any difference but it wasn't my jeep and i didnt wheel it either.
 
I got through a ton of hard stuff with 32's and a rear locker. The bigger the tires, the better too. I was amazed at what I could go over with 35's and just a rear locker.

Just think of it this way. You are climbing a hill/rock/whatever. Where is all the weight? On the rear tires. That's where you want all the traction. Your front tires having only half the weight on them as usual will not pull you up and over a rock or something if your rear tires are providing little or no traction.
 
sunburned said:
Just think of it this way. You are climbing a hill/rock/whatever. Where is all the weight? On the rear tires. That's where you want all the traction.
Click to expand...

With the weight transferred to the rear, you have the traction. Locker up front will help pull you over. I have driven a friends rig that was selectable on both, and the rear was never needed. Just pop in the front and go. Without the front and only the rear, it was much less capable.

I have a Lock-right in front and Detroit in rear. Front is invisible on the street. It does make it hard to make tight turns on the trail sometimes, but that's not a big deal to me.

I might be concerned with locking up a stock D30 only though...
 
Go front first, that way you can get an 8.8 to swap in under your 33s & lock that. Hell you could get it with 4.10s from the junkyard. Lock the 8.8 once you've found / bought / built it and pat yourself on the back for saving a lot of time & money.
 
The 8.8 limited slip is suprisingly useful as well. Am running an d30/ aussie, 8.8 w/ ls, goes just about anywhere. A front selectable would be nice, but I think 2low would solve the same problem.
 
the 8.25 is fine through 35's. go 8.8 if youwant discs or plan on going bigger than 35's. otherwise leave the 8.25.
the 30 is plenty strong.
but if you are getting a 410 front, do you have a geared rear to go in too???

i have climbed a lot of stuff where my front tires have barely been touching the ground. so a front locker woulda done jackshit. the front locker does help you break over the crest more than the rear locker would, but without the rear most rigs couldnt get to the position to climb in the first place.

REAR locker FTW


oh and if you decide to lock the front and havent upgraded your steering yet, carry lots of spares :D
 
I run Detroit's front and rear. I now only need my front to crawl. Not with your case, i see your in mud so i would think for steering, i would go with the rear. Then i would go ARB in front, found these help in ice and mud when trying to turn corners.
 
I'd probably prefer a rear locker if it was an ARB.

However, I prefer a aussie/lockright in the front now.

I ran a rear aussie, but it pushes the front tires through the corners on tight roads.

A tight, twisty uphill road was always horrible, because the aussie liked to lock up, push the front tires and it was wearing all 4 tires weird.
 
I would vote for the front. We have gone out and I have the Aussie front locker and I could make it up places my buddy couldn't with no front locker and a welded rear. He has since done the front locker and can make it up the spot that had him stuck before and he opened up the rear because he drives it on the street and it was tearing up his tires. As far as on the road I can not tell the front has a locker at all.
 
I used to think rear, but was converted when wheeling with front-only guys. This is based mostly on higher traction wheeling, like rocks.

When climbing, there is a lot of weight on the rear, and that is kind of why the locker is less needed - they tend to keep pretty high traction even if only one of them is spinning. If you lift a front tire and are not locked up front, you are essentially in 2WD. In the kind of wheeling I usually do, it pays more to have both fronts turning than both rears. This was confirmed with experimentation on my part with front and rear ARBs.

But like the guy way up there said, there is no right answer. Different terrain renders different results, and you need to keep street driving and future upgrades in mind. You don't want to blow a bunch of coin on an ARB in an axle you are going to replace.
 
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