Lockers?

Otherwise....................IMHO - If you install "selectable" lockers (ARB, E-Lockers, etc) & you don't lock them while on pavement - there should not be any problems (loud noises while turning, handling, etc). I can only speak from experience of reading & listening.

Lockers fall into a couple of very different catagories: Clutch, Gear, and Selectable. Clutch lockers have a tendacy to slip a little bit when in hard-core offroad use, but are a little more forgiving on the pavement than Gear lockers. They also suffer from wear under even minimum useage. Gear lockers are the ones that your cow-orker is likely referring to. They tend to lock up around corners on pavement as do clutch lockers, however they offer no chance of slipping while locked, which sometimes results in a hopping of the back end of the vehicle. Chirping tires and vibration is about the extent of this on dry pavement, on icy pavement, look out! Gear lockers are a stronger, longer lasting part than clutch lockers. The third kind of locker, the selectable, offer the best of both worlds, if you don't mind taking out a second morgage to purchase them. With a selectable, you can turn the locker on or off with a switch. Detroit and Eaton make an electronic selectable, ARB Air Lockers use an air compressor to lock, and I think OxTrax is still making their cable selectable OXLocker.

As with Bill Hughes's posting, any of these types of lockers are fine to use on pavement, if you don't mind relearning how your vehicle handles on the road. There are axle upgrade kits that you can buy for almost any axle to counter act the extra wear and tear that a locker would have on your axles. Superior Axle and Gear has some well-respected upgrade axles for a Dana 35c. For a review, see <

> The wear on your tires is not avoidable, and the handling difference is going to take some getting used to. But it can be done. As for driving on pavement with a locker, my friend has driven with locked rear diffs since he was a little kid, and he would not think twice about driving a locked rig on any pavement. I have very limited experience driving with locked rear diffs, and I'm not as comfortable. If I'm on icy pavement, I'd choose not to have a locked diff. I bought the ARB air lockers for the front and rear of my 48 Willys. I plan on being off road a lot more often than on pavement, and I don't do any hiway driving on a daily basis, but in the winter months, I'd have to drive on the icy hiway once or twice minimum, so I needed to be able to 'turn off' the lockers. It cost me a lot more, but in the end, I'm not turning my jeep into a tow-only rig for three months out of the year, and I can still drive in the harshest offroad conditions. (Well, if I had any driving skills I could. My jeep won't leave me stranded anyway...) ( Sorry if I went off on a rant here, but I spent the last six months, driving different types of lockers and spools, and reading to great lengths about this stuff.)

I drive mine on the highway, and have several friends that are locked front and rear as I am (including TJ's, YJ's, and CJ's). I (and them) don't have any problem with it. Anyone saying that it is a bad idea is NOT speaking from experience. And furthermore, the rear is much more forgiving than the front (when in 4X4). There are several folks that will lock the rear, and use limited slip in the front.

All that said, lock it up only if you intend to off-road.

-- JimG

80' CJ-7 258 CID 35" BFG MT on 15x10 Centerlines D44 Rear, Dana 30 Front. SOA 4.56 Gears, LockRight F&R Dana 300 w/4:1 & Currie twin sticks Warn X8000i w/ dual batteries

I have a locker in the rear axle of my CJ, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I have several friends with TJ that all have lockers, and they wouldn't have it any other way either.

There are things to consider relative to lockers, but the axle isn't any of them. If you live in a climate where there is snow and ice, then yo umay want to think about a manual locker that you can switch on and off wneh needed, or not needed. I have the automatic locker that do not have to switch off an on as my needs change, but I do have to deal with the occasional unloading of my locker that makes the people in the convertable in the next lane duck for cover, and kids on the side walk jump out of the way. For all of this, I have the climbing ability of a mountain goat, so it is more than worth it to me.

Jeff's post is long, but well said. If you "think" you need lockers get them! They make a huge difference off road. Obstacles that I struggled on before and had to overcome by "bumping" the jeep over I now can nearly idle over. I find that not only can I climb more things, but I can do it more controlled and without hammering on my jeep. If you can afford a selectable locker go for it. The only disadvantage is the cost.

Hi CRWLR,

What kind of locker do you have? My lock-right never un-loads all at once, it ratchets nicely around turns. It does get some attention though - "click - click - click - click - click".

JimG

My new 04 Sahara came with a rear locker from the factory.

You have a "limited slip" differential.

To me, the term "locker" is reserved for no-slip, locked differentials.

-- JimG

80' CJ-7 258 CID 35" BFG MT on 15x10 Centerlines D44 Rear, Dana 30 Front. SOA 4.56 Gears, LockRight F&R Dana 300 w/4:1 & Currie twin sticks Warn X8000i w/ dual batteries

I differ with your response:

I don't consider the clutch device as a "locker" - they are "limited slip". As you say "Clutch lockers have a tendency to slip a little bit".

-- JimG

80' CJ-7 258 CID 35" BFG MT on 15x10 Centerlines D44 Rear, Dana 30 Front. SOA 4.56 Gears, LockRight F&R Dana 300 w/4:1 & Currie tw> > Hi Robert,

I stand corrected

I stand corrected

I have the Full Detroit in the rear, and it unloads all at once and is very unpredictable. I take it in stride though. I have a LockRight in the front, and it clicks all of the time if my hubs are locked.