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Locked Front Consensus from Those Who Know

H

Harvo

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Chattanooga
Please only respond if you have a non-selectable locker in the front end of a non-diso D-30.

In searching, I have found people who say not to do this, but they haven't tried, people who say it's fine, and people who say they shouldn't have done it. I would like to know from people who have non-selectable lockers in non disco D-30's how they act on the road during daily road commutes. I have driven with lockers in the rear for years, and in the front on vehicles with lock-out hubs... so I know all the common noises, traits, and quirks of lockers in those situations.

Selectables are ideal, and some people will say "weld it up"... but I really only want to know how lockrights or track locks act on the road in the front.

Thanks
 
Mine is only a bit noisy when making sharp turns into a parking spot or something similar. Otherwise, invisible.
 
i agree, basically invisible. can get somewhat loud w/ bad alignment like mine. every once and a while i'll get a good pop. but the one thing that EVERYONE will agree on is the increase in traction. imagine being able to climb up a 2-3ft vertical ledge
 
I run a full detroit in the front of my non-disco D30....on the street in 2WD, i dont hear so much as a peep from it and notice no notable handling quirks.

In 4WD, it acts just like any other locker on any other axle.

Lock it and pay no attention to the nay-sayers.
 
Jeffro600 said:
I run a full detroit in the front of my non-disco D30....on the street in 2WD, i dont hear so much as a peep from it and notice no notable handling quirks.

In 4WD, it acts just like any other locker on any other axle.

Lock it and pay no attention to the nay-sayers.
Click to expand...

x2, but with a Lock Right. I'm ready to lock the rear now simply for the fact that I'm not driving it near as much as I did when I got the front locker.
 
I don't see my detroit up front unless I gotta make a sharper then 90 degree turn to fit into a tight spot in the parking lot and even then it's only slight chirp. Otherwise then that I don't even know it's there (until 4wd that is)
 
I had a lockright in mine and just as everyone else has said it is nearly undetectable in 2wd. You do have to be gentle offroad though or you will tear through stock ujoints both 260/297.
 
PAPXJ said:
I had a lockright in mine and just as everyone else has said it is nearly undetectable in 2wd. You do have to be gentle offroad though or you will tear through stock ujoints both 260/297.
Click to expand...


What?
 
PAPXJ said:
I had a lockright in mine and just as everyone else has said it is nearly undetectable in 2wd. You do have to be gentle offroad though or you will tear through stock ujoints both 260/297.
Click to expand...
260? Maybe... 297?? Not as much. Full circle clips or welded caps and you're in pretty good shape. I wheeled with my stock shafts and welded caps in the beginning and all was good: most failures that I"ve seen on the front axle shafts start with a cap walking out and then the ujoint busting one of the ears open.
 
Kejtar said:
most failures that I"ve seen on the front axle shafts start with a cap walking out and then the ujoint busting one of the ears open.
Click to expand...

This has been the cause of all my failures....started tack welding the caps in place and have yet to bust one with 33's, locked with a heavy foot.
 
Jeffro600 said:
This has been the cause of all my failures....started tack welding the caps in place and have yet to bust one with 33's, locked with a heavy foot.
Click to expand...
Well just to make sure that you know that you still might bust one but now it would be for other reasons.
 
Man you guys have better luck than I did. I've been welding the caps and still blown through a half dozen ujoints in the last month. I try not to be too hard on them, especially when in sharp turns. Maybe it was the brand of ujoint I was running.

Now I have a selectable and try to only lock it up when I really need it.
 
PAPXJ said:
Man you guys have better luck than I did. I've been welding the caps and still blown through a half dozen ujoints in the last month. I try not to be too hard on them, especially when in sharp turns. Maybe it was the brand of ujoint I was running.

Now I have a selectable and try to only lock it up when I really need it.
Click to expand...
I have been running stock shafts and u joints for two years with a locked front and 33" tires. I am not easy on it, but I don't thrash on it either. I have never broken a joint or a shaft.
 
PAPXJ said:
IYou do have to be gentle offroad though or you will tear through stock ujoints both 260/297.
Click to expand...
Maybe "gentle" has a different meaning up in Washington?

I've had a lockright in the non-disco 30 since 1994,running 33's with stock shafts & 297 joints until recently. I have not torn though ujoints.

Like others said, you will notice the pops and clicks on tight turns, like in parking lots or a u-turn. The most negative trait I can think of, is that in 4wd and off camber on something slippery like ice or mud, both wheels will spin and the front of the jeep will walk sideways down the slope. In the right situation, that can really suck.
 
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