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Winter driving differential / transfer case

F

fizassist

NAXJA Member #1052
Location
Los Alamos, NM
Hi folks,
Today was my first experience on icy roads with my XJ, and I have decided that it needs some work. :D 2WD sucked, and the part-time 4WD still had me sliding around a lot. (I had a couple big RWD cars when I lived in NE Ohio, so I'm not unfamiliar with "death sleds" in the winter.) Is it worth it to switch to a 242 transfer case? I've heard it's weaker than the 231, but I'm on-road much more than off. Is a 242 better for a daily driver?

I'm also thinking about front+rear LSDs, or maybe an automatic locker in the back. What would be best for winter street driving?

Thanks!
fiz
 
unpredictable lockers are not a good thing on icy roads
 
small pederson said:
unpredictable lockers are not a good thing on icy roads
Click to expand...

So a real locker or an LSD would be better?
 
i have the 242 t-case and it is fantastic on the snowy streets(or it used to be. i since put lockers front and rear and now i can't use the full time mode anymore. as long as it's slick on the streets the 231 should be fine(can't run on dry etc. like the 242) i have run mine in 4 hi a lot on snowy roads, worked fine(before front locker). if your rig is mostly a daily driver then go with selectable lockers or two limited slips, or a combo of select locker rear and L.S.,front. two full time lockers will be tough to handle full time on the road. as far as changin t-cases, heck i would spend the money somewhere else if it was me. unless money is no problem. good luck, Scott........
 
On slippery, icy roads there will be no significant difference between a 242 and a 231. In fact, a 231 may (but probably won't) give slightly better traction.

If you had it in 4WD and the tires were still spinning then you need to ease up on the gas, or get better tires for those conditions.

I've told this story before, but it bears telling again...

Last year on one of those snowy/icy days I was driving to work in my front-wheel drive Toyota. I came up to a stop light and stopped next to a guy in a Grand Cherokee. The light turned green. I went very easy on the gas and the clutch and pulled away from the intersection. The guy in the Grand stomped on the gas and sat there with all 4 wheels spinning, but going nowhere. I was half way down the block before he even began moving. Two blocks further on was another light. This time there were already cars stopped, waiting. I eased off the gas and gently braked to a stop. The guy in the Grand came zooming up, slammed on the brakes, and slid right into the guy in front of him, in the lane next to me.

4WD is no magic talisman. On icy roads you still have to take it slow and easy.
 
I have the 231 with a 5 speed with a powertrax no slip auto locker in the rear and factory open in the front. Last Wednesday was the first time I drove it in the snow/slush and I wouldn't be without the rear locker for anything. It does drive differently but once you get used to the way it handles the added traction of both rear wheels driving is very nice. BTW there is no substitution for good tires, and as stated already, taking it easy. Here in Michigan I see a lot of people who think.. I drive a 4x4 so I can go fast on bad roads.. end up in the ditch.
 
dmillion said:
On slippery, icy roads there will be no significant difference between a 242 and a 231. In fact, a 231 may (but probably won't) give slightly better traction.

If you had it in 4WD and the tires were still spinning then you need to ease up on the gas, or get better tires for those conditions.

I've told this story before, but it bears telling again...

Last year on one of those snowy/icy days I was driving to work in my front-wheel drive Toyota. I came up to a stop light and stopped next to a guy in a Grand Cherokee. The light turned green. I went very easy on the gas and the clutch and pulled away from the intersection. The guy in the Grand stomped on the gas and sat there with all 4 wheels spinning, but going nowhere. I was half way down the block before he even began moving. Two blocks further on was another light. This time there were already cars stopped, waiting. I eased off the gas and gently braked to a stop. The guy in the Grand came zooming up, slammed on the brakes, and slid right into the guy in front of him, in the lane next to me.

4WD is no magic talisman. On icy roads you still have to take it slow and easy.
Click to expand...


Yup ers, nothing like watching the NY tourists who flock to this area as soon as the snow flys in their explorers, H2's and MB's, I see them all over the place and I mean ALL OVER THE PLACE, usally with their noses or asses in drainage ditches, in someones front yard, in the woods alongside the road, high centered on steel guard rails, even a few 'how the heck did they back there' places. Yup, regular cottage industry up here. Now that the kids have tow points, straps and shackles on their TJ's they will be out cruising the roads... $50 a pull.....cash...

The funniest one was an explorer buried up to it's rear doors in a 12 ft tall pile of manure and straw that the farmer had just cleaned out of his dairy barn with the front end loader on his john deer, nasty... but funny....

"If it's tourist season how come I can't shoot any"
 
Out of curiosity, what tires are you running? The right tires make a huge difference in the snow. The reason I ask is that a friend of mine had BFG muds on a newer (smaller) Blazer. It did horrible in the snow until he had the inner lugs siped - that made a huge difference on snow and ice.
 
Last edited:
i just back from turkey day on the farm in OR and it iced up in the morning. like many have said slow and easy is the way to go.
good tires help (bf goodrich A/T) is what i have and i think they help...
of course my tires are 235 instead of 225's and they do rub, but i like the all around performance on and off road. to my mind they seem to have excellent traction in the ice and snow short of chains or studs. of course my experience with them is in iced over mud down by the pond...and yes i did get stuck chasing the wild turkeys (what fun!) but i digress...
i suggest saving the t/c money and buying snow specific tires if your in it enough.
 
I agree with most of the folks above. Get good tires and learn to drive gently on the slippery stuff. I actually prefer a part time 4WD and open differentials for highway driving on very slippery snow and ice, because the open diffs usually allow only one wheel at each end to spin, leaving the other two to track, and the plain transfer case tends to equalize braking.

Remember that the XJ is both light and short, and it may react more quickly and dramatically to input than those big old rear-drive tanks. It's great on snow in 4WD once you get used to it, but make sure you get real snow tires. "M&S" on the sidewall does not make a real snow tire. Cooper Discoverers work well in snow. BFG A/T's are at least fair. For my Jeep I have a second set of wheels with Hakkapelittaas (I'm not even going to bother to check the spelling, it's close enough!) that come off in summer.
 
It's all about the tires.

I have four studded coopers 225/75/15. I drove to hunting camp thanksgiving morning in several inches of snow and never slipped, even slightly, not once.
 
My oppinion 242 and open. This is good to let the vehicle transfer power around as needed to help keep you from sliding too much. With 231 they say driving on slippery roads is fine, but from my exprience I go from black ice to grippy cement far too often. It might give a 231 quite a punishment when you hit the grippy stuff.

If you want a locker for ice. It can help alot, especially when you have to tow someone back onto a road, right on a nice patch of ice. but get SELECTABLE. you don't want the unpredictable behaviour of an automatic one.

Beached Bones
Winterpeg
 
I can't remember which one it is but one of the selectable lockers out there (Auburn possibly?) is an electric locker that is shift on the fly that while unlocked is a limited slip but can be fully locked. That may be an option. From what I've read you want to avoid having a locked rear in the slippery stuff cuz with a locker you spin both tires if they're in ice. At least open only one would spin most of the time.
 
I second/ third/ whatever what's already been said - take it easy. Winter tyres do help, indeed, when I lived in Norway they were a legal requirement, but even then you can end up crashing out at ridiculously low speeds, as I found out. Practice driving smoothly and anticipating as much as you can - it's a lot cheaper than a locker and improving your driving skills is never a waste of time. Save your money for the summer.
 
As most have said learn to drive in it, make sure you have good tires. I just got to play with a locked XJ and I would prefer that or a good LSD. To those who say one spinning is better than two...remember, when it spins the other tire on that axle gets no power. Translation, you sit and spin. I say this from experience as I drive a 2wd open diff XJ. It only takes a little bit of snow/ice to screw ya if you don't plan and drive carefully. Granted throw a 4wd in and as long as one tire somewhere (front or back) still has some traction, your ok.

Sarge
 
Thanks for all the insight, guys. As was mentioned a couple times, the short wheelbase RWD is something I'm not used to. The same feature that lets you do a U-turn in 2.5 lanes can put you in a ditch fast. :) My tires aren't great; they're temporary until I get a lift. At some point, I'll get a selectable locker in the back and an LSD up front (which I wanted anyway), still debating about the 231.
 
Sarge said:
As most have said learn to drive in it, make sure you have good tires. I just got to play with a locked XJ and I would prefer that or a good LSD. To those who say one spinning is better than two...remember, when it spins the other tire on that axle gets no power. Translation, you sit and spin. I say this from experience as I drive a 2wd open diff XJ. It only takes a little bit of snow/ice to screw ya if you don't plan and drive carefully. Granted throw a 4wd in and as long as one tire somewhere (front or back) still has some traction, your ok.

Sarge
Click to expand...

If you're driving 2WD, no doubt a limited slip is almost mandatory. And of course, if you're wheeling, snowplowing, or driving through the absolute worst stuff, the more wheels that get power the better. My observation on wheel spin is in regard to staying on the road while you're moving. In this case, it's rare to need more than two wheels powered anyway, and the other two, while they don't contribute to forward motion, do contribute to tracking. Long ago, when I switched from an open-diff Jeep Gladiator to a Scout with "pow'r Lok" ( a very positive, even abrupt, LSD) it took some time to get used to on icy roads, because a little extra throttle would kick the rear end right out. For snowplowing and yanking at stuff, though, it was unbeatable.
 
fizassist said:
Thanks for all the insight, guys. As was mentioned a couple times, the short wheelbase RWD is something I'm not used to. The same feature that lets you do a U-turn in 2.5 lanes can put you in a ditch fast. :) My tires aren't great; they're temporary until I get a lift. At some point, I'll get a selectable locker in the back and an LSD up front (which I wanted anyway), still debating about the 231.
Click to expand...
If you're thinking LSD in front, the ONLY choice is a TrueTrac. First, they don't make a Trac-Lok for the Dana 30 axle, but if they did you wouldn't want it because a Trac-Lok defaults to locked until differential traction overcomes the clutches. In slippery stuff, the tires can't generate enough traction to unlock the clutches, so the front end will want to "push" (serious understeer) in corners.

After 245,000 miles in an '88 XJ with Trac-Lok rear, open front, and 231 transfer case I think it's a fine combination. I would prefer the 242 but not for traction -- only so in patchy conditions I wouldn't have to shift into and out of 4WD as much.
 
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