Factory 44 posi's

If any, what traction devices where offered from the factory in XJ D44's?

--Matt

Trac-Lok

How useful/durable of a unit is it?

--Matt

again, it's a DEPENDS situation. how miles on the axle?? does it still work?? what kind of wheel'in do you do?? the trac-lok is better than nothing...but is still not as good as a full-time locker. that's where the DEPENDS comes in.

The Trac-Lok is a clutch-type limited slip differential. While some people say it is not very aggressive, it is far better than an open diff, and it can be shimmed to make it more aggressive.

The original Trac-Lok in my '88 Dana 35 lasted a bit over 100,000 miles. A friend re-shimmed it and I got another 30k or 40k out of it. Probably would have lasted longer, but a Jeep dealer (with whom I no longer do business) gave me some "Brand X" aftermarket juice instead of the factory additive, and I believe that was the beginning of the end.

The Trac-Lok is also rebuildable. The kit for the Dana 35 was around $65 the last I checked -- I imagine a kit for a Dana 44 wouldn't cost a whole lot more.

Here's what happened. I got the 44 from a boneyard, it was under an 88 XJ with 147K miles on it. I cleaned it up, put new brakes and new outer bearings on it, and decided to put it in and see how good or bad the other bearings were. They weren't in the best of shape so I decided to have new bearings and new spider gears put in (they had some not so perfect teeth). The distributer sent me spider gears for and open carrier and said my carrier was an old style, so I plunked down for a new carrier, which is installed now. I had described how the spider gears were held in place and was told that was the 44 setup from the 50's.

My Trac-lok never showed any signs of being a posi, so the clutches are good and worn, it spun like an open. Is it worth it to rebuild it and reinstall it? How effective is a Trac-lok with 31s?

--Matt