DD Locker Comparison

[gmanxj]

I am going to install a locker very soon. I think that I've narrowed it down between the lock-rite and no-slip. I DO know the major differences between the two. I am wondering what the reliability is between them. I have heard from many people, that a no-slip will have to be rebuilt every few years. Is that true with the lock-rite also?

I would like to hear how everyone likes either of them. Yes, this is a DD!

[Ramsey]

i ahve a no slip in the rear and a lock right up front. performance offroad there both great. the no slip in the rear is very liveable on road, not bad at all. just took a little while to learn not to give it much gas in turns. a buddy of mine HAD a lock right in his rear 44 and he hated it so much he took it out. dont know if it was just his personal preference or if it was really that bad. i have an 8.25 29spln so there wasnt much choice for me. the no slip is suppose to be better behaved, it is well behaved but i have nothing else to compare it to

edit: oh yeah mine is a dd too

[RichP]

I have the auburn pro in my 98's 8.25, excellent, quiet, have to watch gassing it in turns as mentioned or gassing it and THEN turning like at gravel and sandy intersections, it has a real strong tendency to go straight which can be hazardous for mailboxes :D. If it does go at some point in the future I may try a full out mechanical locker but for now the auburn is a nice mod. I'll be regearing in another couple of weeks so when it comes out we'll take a look at it to see if there is any wear on it. It probably has about 30-40K on it now, did it last april or so.

[johnnyc]

I have No-Slips front and rear on my DD with no problems. Minor idiosyncrasies, but well-worth it when you get off-road.

I bought several extra spring sets in case I need to rebuild them. Luckily, the D30 and 8.25 use the same spring kit.

[ShipleyCSA]

I got the Lockrite in the D30, love it! nothing noticable on-road(obviously bc its not in 4x4) and badass off road.
I want to get a limited slip, no-slip kind of rearend sometime soon.

[Ramsey]

I got the Lockrite in the D30, love it! nothing noticable on-road(obviously bc its not in 4x4) and badass off road.
I want to get a limited slip, no-slip kind of rearend sometime soon.
not sure waht you meant but the no slip is not a limited slip, its a locker

[gmanxj]

The No-slip is my first choice, but I keep getting opinions from 4x4 shops telling me to seriously consider a lock-rite over the no-slip bc of the rebuild situation. Have any of you with the no-slips had to replace the springs yet?

[BillR]

The No-slip is my first choice, but I keep getting opinions from 4x4 shops telling me to seriously consider a lock-rite over the no-slip bc of the rebuild situation. Have any of you with the no-slips had to replace the springs yet?
Ryan (rawbrown) says he's seen more than a few that need the springs replaced, and recommends doing it yearly. I have mine in the front axle w/manual hubs, so I doubt it'll need it for a few years anyway.

[RCP Phx]

Almost 5 years on my 8.25" w/ no problems!

[nhrocker]

RCP Phx- I'm assuming that you mean you're running the no-slip. Is that a 29 or 27 spline axel? And what size tires? THX!

[btraysxj]

From what I've heard the No-Slip behaves much better then the Lock Rite on the road. I have had a No-Slip in my 8.25 for over a year now and it has been great. I plan on putting one up front (I have Warn hubs). Never ran a Lock Rite so I don't have any first had experience between the two.

The rebuild for the No-Slip only involves replacing the springs which isn't hard and doesn't take very long. I wouldn't factor it into your equation on whether to run the locker or not. How it behaves in your DD is much more important then whether you spend a couple of hours once a year to replace the springs.

Just my .02 cents.

Brian T.

[Lucas]

I have a lockrite in the rear and and don't mind it at all, but I'm swithing to a no-slip in the new axle. After a few days of driving you'll figure out what not to do while driving with a locker and then it will become invisible (to an extent) to you. I don't drive around town thinking about how my rear axle is going to react, you just adjust your driving style and its no big deal.

[Amund2]

Go for a no-slip rear. I've run it for 1,5 years now, no problems, and I am never i mean NEVER going back to an open diff, l/s or whatever... not even an ARB or similar. (But know that if you have a manual transmission it will behave a lot worse I believe, I have automatic)

In the front however, I have an aussie locker. I say front locker is a no-go for a road driven rig unless you have a vacuum disconnect front axle or free wheel hubs. Because once you brake hard and lock one wheel (or at slippery roads) your locker goes BANG and you wonder if the front axle fell off... and you will lift the brake and get all confused in a panic situation, this is not safe... and I don't think this will be better w/ a no-slip, any autolocker has to lock up when stopping one wheel and your driveshaft wants to keep spinning.

[gmanxj]

OK....
next question is, where is the cheapest to get a no-slip? The cheapest that I've found is RRO and they sell it for $360.

[Ramsey]

OK....
next question is, where is the cheapest to get a no-slip? The cheapest that I've found is RRO and they sell it for $360.
when i was searching that was the cheapest i found out. check out the vendors section on here. i think i saw someone tha might have been cheaper

[XJ NORM]

i just stumbled across this site....this is great, xj experts!!! i'm also thinking of no-slip lockers, i have a 2001 sport, with a dana 35c rear. do they fit mine or do i need a 8.25??
thanks,

NORM

[XJ NORM]

never mine, i got part #s from powertrax, the "no-slip" sounds like the one
for me... really that easy to install ?

norm

[Ramsey]

really easy to install. i did it in about an hour and it just slid right in with ease too. just make sure you line it up right. helpful tip i wish i had known is to put it together on a bench then mark it with something. so when you put it in all you have to worry about lining up is the marks on hte outside

[XJ NORM]

thanks, great idea, i'll just use a grease pencil

norm

[Captain Ron]

...
I say front locker is a no-go for a road driven rig unless you have a vacuum disconnect front axle or free wheel hubs. Because once you brake hard and lock one wheel (or at slippery roads) your locker goes BANG and you wonder if the front axle fell off... and you will lift the brake and get all confused in a panic situation, this is not safe... and I don't think this will be better w/ a no-slip, any autolocker has to lock up when stopping one wheel and your driveshaft wants to keep spinning.

I don't follow you.

No-Slips and the like rely on input torque. Maybe the scenario you describe can happen, but it doesn't sound likely.

I've run a No-Slip/Powertrax combo for months with zero problems, or bad manners on a DD. Also noteworthy is the lack of noise, they have been very quiet.

Just converted to a Detriot in front, no problems there either.

--ron

PS: True, the rear is a great home/minimum skill project.

[XJ_ranger]

OK....
next question is, where is the cheapest to get a no-slip? The cheapest that I've found is RRO and they sell it for $360.

just a little warning about RRO based on my ACTUAL expierence - slow shipping and lower than average customer service. I called 3 times in 2 weeks only to find that my order was being "processed" as in - in a pile of orders to be filled that was too tall to get to me - the service rep moved me to the top - item arived in 3 days.

so ask them to move your invoice / packing list to the top if you want your part anytime soon...

[wescam]

I know what Amund2 is talking about -- the thing some people call "unloading" (I think).

Anyways, in the Dodge Ram 1500 2WD I had, sometimes the rear, under certain unique breaking conditions (only time I noticed it) it would feel like the rear axle was trying to jump through the front bumper. Scary the first time, like the truck dind't belong to me for a spilt second. But never caused a panic.

I figured it was a quirk and it was so rare, I never asked about it.

It came up in conversation when the mechanic I may pay to re-gear my XJ was using newbie terms to describe different locker choices and how they behave. And a light bulb (like the cartoons) went off above my head about what the Ram used to do.

[Ramsey]

just a little warning about RRO based on my ACTUAL expierence - slow shipping and lower than average customer service. I called 3 times in 2 weeks only to find that my order was being "processed" as in - in a pile of orders to be filled that was too tall to get to me - the service rep moved me to the top - item arived in 3 days.

so ask them to move your invoice / packing list to the top if you want your part anytime soon...
strange, i ordered mine from them and had it in about 5 days. aside from a defect in their shackles i got once i have had get experience. guess that just shows ymmv

[BillR]

just a little warning about RRO based on my ACTUAL expierence - slow shipping and lower than average customer service. I called 3 times in 2 weeks only to find that my order was being "processed" as in - in a pile of orders to be filled that was too tall to get to me - the service rep moved me to the top - item arived in 3 days.

so ask them to move your invoice / packing list to the top if you want your part anytime soon...
I've also had bad experiences with RRO. Their customer service SUCKS, IMHO. :mad:
I'd steer clear of them if at all possible.

[rangerjoe2001]

i think im buying a no-slip

[XJ NORM]

i also had sssllow service from RRO , but i tried to order my "no-slip"
from them yesterday... funny they had a differant part # than powertrax
for my jeep.....i called Quadratec.. they had right #, i'll have it in 2 days

[IH8RDS]

I ordered my no-slip from Bob Supplee (405-799-8977) out of Oklahoma. I would have liked to get a Lock Rite for the price, but they dont make them for 8.25 \29 spline. I bought it for $385.00 shipped. It took 2 days to get to Virginia. I higly recomend Bob.

[Rough 01]

I've had my no-slip in my rear axle for almost 1 year now and love it. I have a 8.25/29 spline rear. It used to be my DD until Jan and it was never a problem. I put it in myself and it made a night and day difference on the trail. If you bought a no-slip you will be happy. I also used RRO and paid $384 shipped to my door and had no problems with them.

I'm now seriously thinking about putting one in the rear of my 2004 RAM 1500 as well. I just like what it does for traction without sacrificing much in the way of drivability.

Later,
Rough

[rangerjoe2001]

those no slips are sounding better and better.. in between the no slip and the eaton e-locker...

not much feedback on the e-locker though... not to mention the cost

[XJ NORM]

help, i just finished putting in a no-slip, from powertrax. everything went smooth..untill.. last step says, " turn drivers side forward and hold, i should be able to spin passenger side wheel freely in opposite direction!!" IT DOSE NOT!! they are locked together....nobody at powertrax till monday 9am...
my jeeps tore apart at the warehouse where i work!!...ANY HELP!!???

[johnnyc]

Try turning the driver side tire in the other direction and hold and see if the passenger side tire breaks loose. Then turn and hold the passenger side tire and see if the driver side tire breaks loose. Then turn the passenger side tire in the opposite direction and hold and see if the driver side tire breaks loose.

When I did my front No-Slip, I could only get the tire to break loose in 3 of the 4 situations. I called Powertrax and they said they it sounded okay to them. It's not necessary for it to work in all 4 situations.

And they were right. It's been working great. Just make sure that the go/no-go check works.

-edit- Just re-read your last post. When you turn and hold one tire, the opposite side will not just spin freely. It'll take a little oomph to break it loose. They will both seem locked up at first.

[XJ NORM]

Thank You Very Much!! Now To Hike Back To The Jeep!!!

[theksmith]

There were a couple mentions of eaton e-lockers in this thread... where are you seeing a jeep application available for those? I though they where only for ford, and gm axles so far?

[theksmith]

nevermind, I see those guys must be runin 8.8's in the back