expected traction w/ lock right rear, open front, chains

im planning some winter wheeling up the mountains here in snowy and icey dirt roads.

i admit i did not plan my upgrades correctly. but it is what it is, and id like to know if anyone else has tried this specific combinatioin:

lock right in rear
stock open in front
snow chains (not cables) on all 4
and the surface is snowy and icey dirt/mud/slush (no pavement)

what should I expect?

granted, the locker in the rear probably made things WORSE for icey situations, but does combining it with snow chains make up for it and then some, i.e., make it superior to fonrt and rear opens on ice?

Lockers NEVER decrease traction on any surface.

asp said:

Lockers NEVER decrease traction on any surface.

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right but they tend to cause fishtailing on icy roads, especially uphill, versus opens. last winter i went with the local jeep club and all the jeeps with lockers were sliding all over the place, and i just walked up with a stock jeep

Lockers can also cause crabbing/walking.My first dent in my XJ was on a icy trail,it only moved about a foot forward but walked about 2ft to the side(never did it when it was open-diff on the same trail).

I drove two winters with an open diff in the rear. Then close to the end of the second winter, swapped in my lock right locked rear axle. It made a world of difference. Would never drive around without a locked rear again. Especially not in the winter.

If you were walking up last year, then you shouldn't have any problem with it locked this year. You'll be more sure footed, because you wont slide back down when you are trying to go up and one tire hits an icy spot. It's when you get hard on the gas that you'll start to fishtail.

-edit- Interesting situation, RCP. I guess I can kind of see what you are talking about. Because if you lose traction with one rear tire with an open diff, you still have the other one holding you still from side to side. Yet when it's locked, it will cause the other tire to slip and in some situations, slide to the side. I haven't run into this situation yet, but I probably haven't wheeled nearly as much in snow/ice as others have.

My 92 XJ that I had a few years back was open front and powertrax in the rear and I loved it!!!! Ton's of traction even in 2WD.

Off camber ice covered trail an auto locker can be a real handful and get you in trouble. It will kick in and break the rear end loose sending it to the down hill side quickly. Before I had the auto locker in the in the rear I ran a mini spool and it was great on icy roads. The rig crabbed but it was super stable. I have done several icy trail rides and the selectable locker or spooled rigs always seem to do better. Auto lockers (like what I now have) can be driven on ice and they do perform better than open-open but you have to be REAL careful. A little parking brake seems to help a lot to keep the locker engaged all the time. I have always had a front auto locker. My front locker is annoying on ice but it was never as violent or caused nearly as much problem as the rear, probably because you keep the front pointed where you want to go as opposed to the rear that instantly seeks the low side of trail, where you dont want to go.

While I have never run chains, I want to get a set for this winters rides. I assume the traction improvement is huge and they will prevent slippage which will minimize the bad behavior of an autolocker front or rear.

John

It will do well but like the previous poster said, it may be a bit of a handful in the off-camber stuff. Especially if you're the one breaking the trail.