Wow, why did i wait so long?

ive been so used to driving big rubber on stock gears, i didnt know what to expect gearing axles, the only geared jeep i had was a manual, and that makes it an apples to oranges comparison.



i recently went up to get my gears installed by josh(stang5lgt), and now after some serious miles since the install, i couldnt be happier
first off, the price josh gave me was amazing, i dont think i could have done better if built the damn gears myself! lol
i also ordered my front spartan locker from him as well and we installed that the same day.

the day we went to install the gears, we discovered i didnt have everything i needed:doh:. instead of telling me "tough luck bud", josh was beyond helpful with finding me the parts and getting things knocked out. i saw the tolerances in which the gears were installed, and all i can say is WOW. there was essentially NO slack in the gears, at the very low end of tolerance numbers, and first friggen try (be careful, he will tell ya how good he is, LOL!)
the gears are dead silent, they feel absolutely great in the jeep, and the price and service from josh made the whole situation an absolute win. :thumbup:

the power i have now is great, i can actually merge on the freeway! woo hoo hahaha. and teh gas milage seems to have incresed a tiny bit. i dont think i can give a fair idea of the gain tho, as 95% of my driving is freeway, where the 3.55's let me get a bit better MPG than the 4.56's on the freeway, but off the line, holy sweetness! love it!

i need to check my allignment tho as my front locker is a bit noisier than i expected, but as long as she works who cares how noisy it is
Josh, you the man!!!! thanks again!! :king:

Nice!

Yeah, Josh did my D30 gears - pretty much on short notice for a very fair price right before our Moab trip in May. No issues and quiet operation. :thumbup:

Mike, does that Spartan locker clack around like the Detroit EZ's do? (like the rear locker that was in Heep II). I was thinking of snagging a Spartan for the front of the BOR rig...... but I'm still kind of a fan of the more expensive Powertrax No Slip. The reason I ask is the Detroit EZ that was in the front of Heep II was quiet as could be on the road in 2wd....... and I already have that Detroit EZ sitting on the shelf that I could install, but it's a bit used.....

well the spartan in MY jeep is clicking a bit, but it could be need of more diff fluid or my alignment being off. the one in josh's TJ is absolutely silent. so i dunno...
i dont think its near as bad as the EZ's.

and after assembling the spartan yesterday, as well as the no slip in the rear, id rather do 10 spartans to one no slip, there are so many damned springs!!! lol

I knew you were having your's done and was wondering how you liked them. He's doing mine next week. I couldn't find a No-Slip in stock so I'm just going to have him do the gears for now. I've been killing myself reading and trying to decide which locker/lsd to put in the rear. I think I'll just go ahead and order the No-Slip again (backordered until 11/30) and throw it in once it arrives.

What are you running for a locker in the rear?

powertrax no slip rear.
performance wise, i love it. silent, hooks great, never have to think about it..

BUT

if i ever have to pull a shaft on the trail, i might scream. in fact im thinkin about just getting spiders to put in for trail fix, cuz it is a royal PITA to put together, 8 springs on carrier and then 2-double springs on each side, grrrrrrr

if i had to buy a rear, id do another spartan or another aussie

Yeah, I like the much larger pins that the Spartan uses. Just wondered if it's as noisy.... but that's hard to tell in a front locker. Dunno that I'd wanna give up a Powertrax for the rear in favor of a Spartan since the rear clacking can get pretty annoying and people look at your rig like it's about to explode......... unless it's a Powertrax installed in an 8.25. For some reason, the Powertrax No Slip lockers don't do well in the 8.25's.......... I think Beezle can attest to that.......

its in the 8.25. its help up fine so far. let me take the hard lines on Spring creek with just the rear locked and these garbage BFG A/T's. and im not known for being nice to parts lol....
i miss being welded rear, was a no brainer that it worked. no fail. maybe time for a detroit?! lol

Glad they are working good for you. I did a JK Rubicon today. And had to pull the rear axle and use a 30 ton press to remove the old pinion. It was seized with rust to the pinion bearing. Talk about a nightmare. Guy was tickled pink that I went the extra mile to get it done. Buddy of mine called a friend and we went and used there shop press since mine wasn't beefy enough. The Kaboom from pinion breaking loose was amazing. The jack came loose from the press when the pinion broke free. LOL Never seen anything like it.

Well, there isn't a Spartan for the 8.25" and the Aussie is out of stock everywhere as well. WTF. At least I have all winter to look/decide if I want.

madmike283 said:

Well, there isn't a Spartan for the 8.25" and the Aussie is out of stock everywhere as well. WTF. At least I have all winter to look/decide if I want.

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ya good plan. just make sure what you get fits your driving style and needs ya know

Stang5lgt said:

Glad they are working good for you. I did a JK Rubicon today. And had to pull the rear axle and use a 30 ton press to remove the old pinion. It was seized with rust to the pinion bearing.

Click to expand...

forget that nonsense

Yeah, the dude at JTs recommended the Auburn LSD for the climate here if I couldn't spring for a selectable. I want the best of both worlds at a lunchbox price.... DUH! I want something safe for my wife to drive if needed, but at the same time this thing gets driven basically only on the weekends.

There seems to be plenty of guys around that drive on automatic lockers all the time. Do you have any problem/reservations driving up to the mountains on a powder day with a auto locker?

yes and no....
youll never catch me in snow/ice with dual lockers again......


they can be best friend or worst nightmare in the wet stuff. just depends...
just recently found out, someone in the group after us, rolled in the exact same spot, ended up on their lid

I won't run an auto in the front. If I ever do lock the front I'll go for a selectable. Do you think the front locker contributed mostly to the roll, or would it have been any different had it not been there?

to be honest any axle having a stable tire would have helped. i just slid sideways and into the ditch we went. was a very weird scenario. but having both axles locked was the culprit (i was 4 lo first gear with a 4:1 tcase and 4.56 gears, i was going SLOW)

i am usually not down for snow wheeling. snow bashing on flat stuff like rampart or whatnot, sure. but anything that doesnt leave me lotsa space and no edges, count me out. i like the super slow crawly stuff not the heavy throttle redneck stuff lol

I hear ya. I feel the same way.

I'll quite badgering you now. I suppose an auto in the rear with good tires and responsible driving will keep you pretty safe. For some reason I just fear the damned thing whipping around backwards out of nowhere going up or down a snowpacked I-70.

its not what you would think, with the RIGHT tires.

BFG A/T's are NOT the right tire.

im having more traction issues ON THE STREET, in the rain or slush than i did with my Kevlars.
i dont know if its the pressure (running 35psi now as compared to 27 in the kevlars for street use) or that these tires have maybe hardened up, but they suck. there is no ifs ands or buts. id rather run michelin highway tires than these tires again, they are a joke.

All the lockers I have are detroits. Dodge Ram Dana 80 rear, 88 XJ rear 9" and front dana 44 and the 99 rear 8.25. Never had a problem, never let me down. Never have to worry about it unlocking while under power with big tires. They are beefy and just work. It's funny cause the truck will pop every once and a while, sounds like the rearend exploded. The looks people give are classic. The truck also chirps quite often going around corners under mild throttle, even with 38" tires.

The truck with a lsd used to fishtail like crazy in two wheel drive on snowy roads. After the locker, it tracked staight as an arrow in the same conditions. Cornering is a totally different story. Spun it around a few times. However, in 4 wheel drive it's more stable and predictable.

air your bfg's down, Mike, you'll be much happier at 28psi -- I never was a fan of the BFG At though, a set of siped MT's is an all around better performer. congrats on the gears, as one of the guys who told you so your front lunchbox should be invisible in 2wd, if its not, something aint right.