I am not in the position to lock either one of my axles but want to eventually. So my question is "What is the benefit of locking the front over the rear first or vice-versa?"
Some lock the front first and others lock the rear first, what are the benefits of doing it one way or the other?
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'99 XJ, 5.5" lift, 33" MT's '11 Dodge Charger
I miss the days that they made toys that could kill a kid.
Some people would argue that if you are going to use only one locker you should put it up front. That way you won’t have to deal with the adverse on-road driving characteristics because you can unlock your hubs. We say that’s wrong. First of all, many Jeeps
don’t have hubs to unlock up front. Secondly, if you are driving up a steep hill all of the vehicle’s weight is on the rear tires, while the fronts may be just scratching the surface instead of digging and pulling. A locker in the rear will dig and fight until you go up, tip over, and get stuck.
However most of the time you have no issue getting traction in the rear and you need it more in the front. A locker will only help with the added traction in the front. Having the ability to pull yourself up and over an obstical is a great asset to have.
What it comes down to is the type of wheeling you do. What works best for me may not work best for you...
I still have the dana 35 in the rear so I didn't want to drop to much cash into it, but I bought an aussie locker for around $250 and installed it myself. It is a pretty straight forward install. The carrier stays in the axle if you have enough room with your ring gear. The locker goes in place of your spider gears, and works great. I had to clearance the carrier slightly for smooth operation, but everything went it and was within the spec tolerances. This locker will most likely outlive the dana 35, so when it blows up the locker will go in one of the milder XJs. When/if I find a dana 44 I am going to regear and put aussies in the front and rear.
i wheeled with wade (who was 89eliminator on here) he has a locked rear, and i have a locked front --aussie. we both had issues making it up some of the same obstacles. we both have long arms, both mud terrains (mine are slightly larger, but thats beside the point) and both had very similar vehicles all around.
for instance, if we came up to a steep rock cliff, i had an easier time picking up my front end up and to the top of the rock face, while wade had trouble pushing his front end up over the rocks. when my tires were on top of the rock face i couldnt seem to pull my rear end up and over the face of the wall. while wade had plenty of push to try and get his rear end over the wall, but couldnt keep traction in the front to hold him on top of the wall.
here is the rock face that i am reffering too
both of had to borrow a winch to get up and over the obstacle
-personally i like the aussie in the front of my rig since i DD it. i cant even tell its up there when im on the road. when i throw it in 4wd though, thats a completely different story
show off I need to get more rock time in!! when r we goin again?!!
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My Stable: 2000 Jeep Cherokee 4 Dr Sport 4 1/2" lift w/ 33X12.50 Maxxis Bighorns 1990 Chevy Suburban 3/4 ton 2WD w/454 Big Block(future towrig) 2005 Pont. Grand Prix GTP (supercharged 4 my passing pleasure) 2006 H-D Street Bob Flat black denim with some goodies 1989 Stratos 18' Fish&Ski w/ Evinrude outboard 1996 Yamaha V Max snowmobile-600cc 2006 GMC Envoy find me at facebook.com (Jason Grumpp)
Andy made it up this with just about no effort, I didn't know what I was doin' besides havin fun and the JK Rubi was at stock height so clearence was an issue!!(haha-Rob-u r on youtube!!)
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My Stable: 2000 Jeep Cherokee 4 Dr Sport 4 1/2" lift w/ 33X12.50 Maxxis Bighorns 1990 Chevy Suburban 3/4 ton 2WD w/454 Big Block(future towrig) 2005 Pont. Grand Prix GTP (supercharged 4 my passing pleasure) 2006 H-D Street Bob Flat black denim with some goodies 1989 Stratos 18' Fish&Ski w/ Evinrude outboard 1996 Yamaha V Max snowmobile-600cc 2006 GMC Envoy find me at facebook.com (Jason Grumpp)
and the moral of this thread is...it's not whether you lock the front or rear, it's all in your driving(wheeling) style. Even still, I am going to install a Aussie locker in the front sometime this winter
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My Stable: 2000 Jeep Cherokee 4 Dr Sport 4 1/2" lift w/ 33X12.50 Maxxis Bighorns 1990 Chevy Suburban 3/4 ton 2WD w/454 Big Block(future towrig) 2005 Pont. Grand Prix GTP (supercharged 4 my passing pleasure) 2006 H-D Street Bob Flat black denim with some goodies 1989 Stratos 18' Fish&Ski w/ Evinrude outboard 1996 Yamaha V Max snowmobile-600cc 2006 GMC Envoy find me at facebook.com (Jason Grumpp)
I still don't know how I got up with such ease and you didn't. We have same tires and lift height. I didn't do anything different when I went up, I watched you, and we were doing the same stuff...
I didn't do this when I went up but sometimes you can click the ebrake up 1-2 clicks and it will help. Acts as a pathetic locker, not going to save your life, but might help.. haha
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'99 XJ, 5.5" lift, 33" MT's '11 Dodge Charger
I miss the days that they made toys that could kill a kid.