Selectable for D30? Wasteful?

Hey ,
I've got a 4" lifted XJ running a np242 tcase
I am only on 31's right now, I am in the process of buying gears for my truck, going balls deep and jumping up to 4.56's

I am pretty sure I'm going to end up running an 8.8 in the rear so my concern is only with the front at this point and time...

The Canuck dollar sucks my ass right now but I think I will still purchase all of my products out of the states since the pricing is so much better. I would like to have some sort of traction aid in the front end... I plan on keeping the np242 so I want to be able to continue use of full time 4x4 when the situation is necessary (like this past weekend)

Either way I have priced it out both ways... I thought about a trutrac or an Ox. The thing is, I don't want to see this as a wasteful investment into the D30 if it's just going to explode... A full case replacement either way is going to subject the R&P to be the weak point and a broken shaft has the potential to take the R&P (and locker) with it if I understand correctly. I have not heard too much about front trutrac failures - any insight?

In terms of a D44 (LP in most cases which in my understanding is just as strong as a HP30) swap, I personally do not see much point for the bigger ring gear when everything else is the same size, and with my goal of 33" tires for an "all around rig" I think the D30 will be able to hold up to my little demands (as it is my DD I don't plan to run it into the ground)

By the time I purchase a trutrac and a ruffstuff diff cover for the D30, I'll only be about $300USD short of buying an OX, which is my biggest dilemma right now... Most of you guys running selectables, are you running a stock axle up front? ARB or OX? I don't want to be unsatisfied with subpar performance of a trutrac, but if an OX isn't worth it, I'll put the $300 I'll save into an aussie for the 8.8

Either go Aussie, ARB or Ected.

Throw a good stiff diff cover on it and don't worry about your ring gear, you need to be getting really stupid for that to become a problem.

cal said:

Either go Aussie, ARB or Ected.

Throw a good stiff diff cover on it and don't worry about your ring gear, you need to be getting really stupid for that to become a problem.

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I was hoping you'd post up Cal since you have the titanium/gold/bullet proof paint indestructible D30. I would run an Aussie if I wanted to remove the point of the np242 completely

An ARB would be nice, but I know they are a hell of a lot more $$$, plus I have to factor in the cost of a compressor... On board air wouldn't be a bad thing though either...

I have been searching a couple days prior to posting up... I have seen a few posts on the ected but nothing that really has me sold on it...
The simple function of the Ox is what has my attention. Doesn't an Ected "wear out" over time as well?

I have an ARB in my d30 (no air line at the moment) and the biggest I plan on going are 33's. I have no experience with the OX so I can't speak for it. Alot of people run an automatic like a lockright in the front with no problems. If you are unsure, the automatic would definitely save you money. But from what it sounds like the 30 should be plenty strong.

I just prefer being able to turn it off.

It's a long term goal, but I want the ARB with 30 spline and rolled axles. $1600. And an ARB for the c8.25. I'd be locked up tight! I need to do SYE, replace leaf springs, blah blah blah before I seriously consider the lockers.

J-Roc said:

I was hoping you'd post up Cal since you have the titanium/gold/bullet proof paint indestructible D30. I would run an Aussie if I wanted to remove the point of the np242 completely

An ARB would be nice, but I know they are a hell of a lot more $$$, plus I have to factor in the cost of a compressor... On board air wouldn't be a bad thing though either...

I have been searching a couple days prior to posting up... I have seen a few posts on the ected but nothing that really has me sold on it...
The simple function of the Ox is what has my attention. Doesn't an Ected "wear out" over time as well?

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Since you are up north I would avoid a friction pad LSD in the front such as the ECTED, since it is still a Limited slip even when disengaged. And yes those pads will eventually wear out. I have an ARB front and my wife has a lunchbox, but she has the NP242. As you know the lunchbox makes full time unusable.

I have run a truetrac in the front of my heep for quite a while. I have to say that in moderate traction situations that thing is great, it doesn't push like a locker either. The only bad thing was that if one wheel lost all traction it was just like an open diff. I could force a lock with my brakes, but the stress applied to the d-30 of holding the brakes and gas helped destroy at least 1 shaft and 2 R&Ps of mine. If you never lift a tire offroading and want to keep the usefulness of the 242 the Truetrac is awesome. If it were my money on the line again I would go selectable, and not ECTED. Each selectable has its problems, but a proper install mitigates most of those problems.

J-Roc said:

I was hoping you'd post up Cal since you have the titanium/gold/bullet proof paint indestructible D30. I would run an Aussie if I wanted to remove the point of the np242 completely

An ARB would be nice, but I know they are a hell of a lot more $$$, plus I have to factor in the cost of a compressor... On board air wouldn't be a bad thing though either...

I have been searching a couple days prior to posting up... I have seen a few posts on the ected but nothing that really has me sold on it...
The simple function of the Ox is what has my attention. Doesn't an Ected "wear out" over time as well?

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I have limited time to post, I'm sitting in an airport and don't have a charger for my laptop.

In short, I had an ected purchased for the 'big' 30, before I went 30 spline and 'had' to buy an ARB.

I looked at several rigs with OX's and dismissed it as an option, I've seen too many cable failures in person to accept it.


How often do you 242 guys actually use all wheel drive? Maybe something to think about.

-C

Winter, any day it has more than 2" of snow on the ground otherwise I'm sliding and spinning useless until my tires chew down to pavement in 2wd

I love full time, obviously it doesn't have much use out in the desert/cali which is why I don't want to put a lunch box locker in the front. The rear I plan to, since I don't have rear wheel steer

Wishing the dollar wasn't so crappy right now...
if the ARB all said an done is $1400usd I'm looking at $1700 CAD plus shipping/taxes

That is another reason the Ox and trutrac are more appealing to me at the moment

Shop around, you're spending too much.

I just bought (and re-sold) a dana 44 33 spline arb+CrMo shafts for $800.

There are good prices out there, you won't find them posted on a web page.

i have the 27 spline ARB, and after using it on the trail, i have to say it is worth every single penny i spent on it. you appreciate the selectables more, because you know when you need them, vs them just working all the time.
according to ARB techs, the only difference between the 27 and 30 spline ARBs is the 2 side gears, which are available to purchase seperately at a later date. i plan to upgrade to those when i get the coin together for some 30 spline alloys. the Dana 30 is pelenty strong, i know people that run 36's on them with the ARB (and 30 splines, low pinion YJ) and have no problems with them.

if you want onboard air, don't go for the "compact" arb compressor, get the bigger model, better performance, and you can actually air up tires with it, or go with another manufacturer's OBA

you could run an ECTED if you dont plan on running over 33s... then you get an LSD and a "locker" (read, "locker")

I love my ARB in my 30 and with 33" tires have yet to have a problem and having OBA is awsome! (that's with the upgraded compressor). $1700, is that including installation! because that is very expensive. I bought my ARB for the dana 30 just last year (before the dollar went up) for $1100 and the upgraded compressor for $250 and that was from National in Burlington.

mucovich said:

I love my ARB in my 30 and with 33" tires have yet to have a problem and having OBA is awsome! (that's with the upgraded compressor). $1700, is that including installation! because that is very expensive. I bought my ARB for the dana 30 just last year (before the dollar went up) for $1100 and the upgraded compressor for $250 and that was from National in Burlington.

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I have only priced the ARB locker, and axle kit from Quadratek(sp?). It $1600+ but less than $1700

It DOES NOT include the $200+ compressor. :confused1

Search Craigslist, You can find some great deals sometimes. I got my current axles with shipping included ready to bolt in for way less than just the cost of the lockers would have been new.

cal said:

I looked at several rigs with OX's and dismissed it as an option, I've seen too many cable failures in person to accept it.

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Thats funny, because I've seen too many ARB airline failures, which made me dismiss it as an option. I therefore went OX instead.

cal said:

How often do you 242 guys actually use all wheel drive? Maybe something to think about.

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I'll admit, when I first started offroading, (I was 16, and it was my first car), I didn't know the difference between full time and part time hi. I therefore just used full time when ever I went wheeling. I know now the difference. But 4 full time is nice in the winter running around town, especially when some of the roads go back and forth between pavement and a layer of snow.



As for the OX, I have them front and rear, but I've only made one run with them so far. I had no problems with the front (I had a tiny problem with the rear which was 100% my fault, as I didn't have two bolts in the shifter). It does take a little to get a feel for locking it up, but by the end of the day it was pretty easy to engage them.

Plus, they already come with a heavy duty diff cover, which I know from both my diffs, that they can take a beating.


As for the cable problem, you can always carry around a bolt, and should the cable fail, you can thread the bolt into the cover, and keep the fork pushed over to keep the locker locked. You can't do that with the ARB.
Also, OX now offers an air actuated option.

Got my ARB from another member on the board, total including new gears and ViAIR 450 constant duty kit was around $900 USD

I run a 242. Yes, the ARB is worth it. The only people that will say different have never ran them!

emr1101 said:

you could run an ECTED if you dont plan on running over 33s... then you get an LSD and a "locker" (read, "locker")

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Not advisable on snowy and icy roads as a clutch type Limited slip could cause the front end to push.

A selectable is worth it in a D30, unless you plan on going with tires bigger than 35"s and/or running a lot of big rocks. You will tax the 30 pretty hard in those circumstances. I went OX front and rear, and other than having to fiddle with the cable a bit to get proper engagement, it's been good. The covers are stupid thick, you don't need a compressor, and the cost is comparable to an ARB. I do like the ARBs as well, I've got one in my other Jeep, been trouble-free for almost ten years now.

First,make up your mind on what you want AND need!

A LSD is just that and could be an issue under some situations.
An Automatic(lunchbox) could also be a problem under some situations.
A Selectable is just that and will minmize steering issues under most situations.

Price wise:I just checked the web(US)......
OX locker,cover and cable about $900US-(but no air compressor)
ARB ocker and compressor about $1000US-(but no cover)

I just checked todays rates-$1000US = $1286CAN