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Full spool?, D44

Creeper2012

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Hanover, IN
Hey all! I've done some searching and have been unable to find any answers for a rig similar to mine, mostly folks talking about DD's that see occasional off-road use. My rig is trail only and only sees very small amounts of pavement (mostly dirt/gravel) when testing new parts or "getting the juices flowing" before a trip.

1990, 4.0 w/ RV cam and factory-flow 4-hole Ford injectors, AX15, NP231J w/SYE, 6" lift, 33" tires (boggers in rear and "southern cut" TSL's in front) D30 front w/ CAD delete (1-pc. axle conversion) and lockrite lunchbox, D44 rear w/ Detroit trutrac LSD and Superior shafts, 4.56's, HD bumpers, Ruff Stuff stiffeners, full-interior cage, and other weight-adding items, lol.

My question is about the LSD in the rear. Multiple people that I wheel with constantly point out how my "rear locker isn't working," which is understandable, because it's not a locker, but I'm really starting to want some reliability back there. Buddies just say Lincoln lock it, but I'd hate to see everything go bye-bye if it decides to break, so I'm leaning towards a full-spool. My only real concern is turning radius. Not so worried about tire wear because of the minimal road time it sees, but we do have a tendency to get wedged in some pretty tight spots occasionally. Will a full spool hurt me in this aspect? I'm leaning away from mini-spools because I don't have an open carrier to put one in and I've read about them shock-loading and grenading factory-style carriers (which I don't want). The turning radius is my big concern, other than that, any info on something I'm overlooking would be greatly appreciated as well. Thanks in advance!
 
I've run full spools in damn near every rig I've ever wheeled. I'm running one in my DD XJ now. The answer is yes, it will hurt your turning radius. Especially if you're locked up front and if you don't have a lot of weight on the front end. But it's not a big deal. The trails here are extremely tight. I get by without a problem. It's really no different then having an air locker or electric locker engaged.

Just do it and never worry about it again.
 
I have a full spool in my rig and I'd rather have it than any other type of locker. The turning radius doesn't bother me at all. I can even still do u turns on the street.
 
I'm looking at getting a spool in the rear as well. I know this may seem like a tool question to ask but how does it effect tire wear.

The same way a mechanical locker does. I've run them all over the street. If you do a lot of in town driving you'll see more wear than if you're driving on the highway a lot. I drive 90% of the time on two lane mountain highways. They are pretty curvy. I see about a 20% increase in tire wear. It's worth not having to deal with broken lockers. Or the constant lock/unlock pull that automatic lockers cause in turns. Or the cost saving and headache savings of Air/electric lockers.
 
All those things are what is drawing me towards a spool in the rear. This may be a bit off topic but how about spool for the front. This would only be with a twin sticked rig with locking hubs on the axle.
 
All those things are what is drawing me towards a spool in the rear. This may be a bit off topic but how about spool for the front. This would only be with a twin sticked rig with locking hubs on the axle.

As long as you have lock out's you'll never know on the street. And it's no different than a locked ARB on the trail. With twin sticks. You can always run 2Low if you really need the turning radius or front dig if it's super tight.
 
I run full spools front and rear on my XJ. Its primarily a trail rig, but is street legal, and I drive it on the street to and from the trial, and just around town for fun occasionally.

wouldn't trade the spools for anything. Cheap, works, and dont have to worry about them. Ive broken lunchbox lockers front and rear myself, and seen a few others break them. been running spools for years on the same set up and no issues. Turning radius gets annoying a little at times, but Its never really bothered me
 
I run welded front and rear, with lockouts on the 44 in the front. I've even driven it on the street in front wheel drive after a broken rear shaft. No problems on the street at all, and even with stock 4.0l power, I can drift the freeway on ramps if I feel like it. Off road, the welded front end is very hard on steering components. Plate the hell out of the unibody, brace the trackbar to the passenger side, and a sector shaft brace is what it took to stop the carnage on my xj.
 
Pretty much all of that has been done or will be done to the rig before I drop that setup in. But I will also be going hydro assist to help with the stress. Thanks for the heads up guys. Lots of no bullshit info and experience here.
 
Mine is spooled just cause that's the way it came and it's got a D50 gear set so locker choices are limited. It works fine, I drive it quite a bit when it's not in the garage. But given the choice I think I would rather have a detroit in the back. The little bit of slip from the detroits makes things a bit easier when it gets super tight and for snow. Hard to go wrong with a spool given the price point though.
 
Mine is spooled just cause that's the way it came and it's got a D50 gear set so locker choices are limited. It works fine, I drive it quite a bit when it's not in the garage. But given the choice I think I would rather have a detroit in the back. The little bit of slip from the detroits makes things a bit easier when it gets super tight and for snow. Hard to go wrong with a spool given the price point though.

After breaking a Detroit after only one shaft failure. I'd never run one in the rear with anything less than 35spl again. Haven't tried a grizzly yet. I've installed a few. But I'd go grizzly over Detroit, and spool over grizzly for a rear 44 application.
 
Good point, most of the guys I wheel with are running D60/Hi9 buggied stuff. Not many using the grizzly lockers but I know of one guy that has them in a TC buggy and has broke it.
 
I've found that everything is breakable. I have a moser full spool that I blew up the splines in and now it won't fit a bearing or a shaft properly. Shaft split inside it and basically swelled the end.
 
stke.jpg
 

Thanks for the link! About $50 cheaper than anything I've found so far. Pretty sure I'm locked in on a full spool since I've heard nothing but good things about them being used in D44's. Got a trip planned for this weekend so probably not gonna mess with it between now and then, but it's for sure gonna be on the list of things to have done before the next trip! Thanks to all for the input!
 
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