Howdy Christian I too am a mild offroader. I would not hesitate to use the stock axels for anything I have ever done or wanted to do. I will never be found wandering the Rubicon..
Now with that said let me chime in here. The lunchbox in the rear is a good idea. I use Powertrax and am very happy with it. The AUSSIE is merely a takeoff of it and most likely reengineered around the Powertrax rights!
For the front please think again, YOU need to be able to unlock the front OR at the minimum have clutches in there..
You have described the front unlocking INCORRECTLY!!
What is going to happen is BOTH driveshafts are spinning at the SAME rpm.. The rear is LOCKED Both wheels turning the same. Now the front wheels are going at DIFFERENT rpm than the rear wheels (because of the circle they are trying to make.. SO the OUTSIDE wheel will have to slow down at the SAME time the INSIDE wheel speedsup... NOW all 4 are going at the SAME rpm! How do you make a turn like that? NO YOU DO NOT!! Do not even TRY to rationilize it.. You WILL go straight ahead like everyone else with a lunchbox in the front does..
So don't put a lunchbox up there unless you have a set of lockouts on the axels. The front must have some disconnect method.
Big JIm <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/pfft.gif" alt="" />

BigJim your point is valid but your logic is very hard to follow.



No problem with that...


Ok, the front wheels don't turn at different RPM untill the turn is underway.but I can still follow you.


You lost me there.

Anyway it's true, In a turn all four wheels need to turn different speeds or some will have to slip over the ground. with the front automatic locker steering is reduced not eliminated. A selectable locker is definitly preferable in the front. And the dana 30 will hold up fine for most people with 33's and a locker. The Dana 35c is another story. If you put a locker of any kind in there with 33's and wheel where you NEED a locker, it will break sooner or later. I have one friend that blew up his spidergears running 33's with an open 35c and another that had no trouble with his on 32's until he put in a locker, then he broke an axel. He upgraded his axels and still wheels it but what with the regearing, the detroit locker and the axel upgrade he must have 1200 to 1500 bucks in that rearend by now. Time will tell if it holds up. I'm not gonna spend any money on a D35.
The Aussie locker in the front works well for me not because of the CJ's front wheel disconnects but because of my twin sticked Dana 300. I can engage or disengage the front axel in high or low range without having to stop or get out of the Jeep on the trail. As far as I know this is not an option with a TJ's NV231. I would say Yeah, put a selectable locker in the front first, I'd go with an OX, no air source or electrical problems, it's cable controled, and if you do mild wheeling like you say thats all the extra traction you'll need. run the D35 till it breaks and then worry about upgrading the rear.

The point of automatic lockers is that they will never let a wheel turn slower than being driven, but will let a tire spin faster than being driven by driveshaft. So in a turn the outside tire should be able to turn faster, but I guess I am realizing the maybe since all of the torque is now on the inside wheel it probably tends to push you straight. Since I have never had a locker in the front, I take your advise.

So my original question was: IS A LOCKER IS THE REAR (lunchbox type) AND LIMITED SLIP IN FRONT A GOOD IDEA???
I figure this way I have the rear locked, and with the limited slip up front, I will gain some traction in the front, but it will still be able to differentiate. The reason I am wanting to do this is because I have to change the diff carrier anyway since I am re-gearing, and a limited slip will be the new carrier. Sort of killing 2 birds with one stone.

Thanks for all your input, I know that most people will have different opinions, remember that I am only planning on doing 3.0 - 4.0 rated trails, and never plan on going larger than 33 inch tires. I have a 3 yr and 3 month old children, this Jeep is more of a fun vehicle for the family than being meant for serious rock crawling.

I would say, No, not a good idea to put a locker in the rear DANA 35 with 33" tires. Not unless you are sure to have another way to get your kids back home from the trail. Leave it open and take it easy and it Might do fine. If it were just about any other rear axel I'd say yes, good combo. a lot of people don't like limited slip diffs but it would be slightly better than just an open one. If you go where you NEED a locker then put a selectable one in the front and leave the rear open. If you must put a lunchbox in the rear, upgrade the axels for the kids sake. Just my opinion. I'll say n' more!. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/drunk.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/drunk.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

IS A LOCKER IS THE REAR (lunchbox type) AND LIMITED SLIP IN FRONT A GOOD IDEA???
For my use YES! That would do me fine with the axles you have now! BUT, some of the Rubi-runners we have on here could tear it up on their first run out of the box.
So knowing that an old consertive guy like myself would do it zackly like that and on the other end the runners would NEVER do it... Make up your own mind. And use it in good health.
Big JIm <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/pfft.gif" alt="" />

The point of automatic lockers is that they will never let a wheel turn slower than being driven, but will let a tire spin faster than being driven by driveshaft. So in a turn the outside tire should be able to turn faster, but I guess I am realizing the maybe since all of the torque is now on the inside wheel it probably tends to push you straight. Since I have never had a locker in the front, I take your advise. [/quote]

Christian,
Your ring and pinion gears are responsible for multiplying the torque supplied from the driveshafts to the wheels. And A full locker locks both axleshafts,passengerside and driverside; the torque from the driveshaft is basically split/distributed evenly to the passenger and driver side axleshafts when a full locker is engauged. When you lift a tire in the air four wheeling while a full locker is engauged, both passenger and driver side wheels turn at the same rate, thus real "four wheel drive" when lockers are installed in both the front and rear differentials.

Another problem with limited slip type traction devices, is that when you lift a tire on one side of the Jeep with a LSD installed in either differential, it is just like having an open/non-locked differential: almost all the torque from the driveshaft goes to the lifted tire, and therefore no traction to push/pull the jeep over the obstacle.

I wish you could have posted what you wanted to do with the TJ here on 4x4wire before you purchased, but that's the old should've, could've, would've scenario! Jeep offers TJ's with 2.5L and 4.0L engines, and also offers the 4.0L with D35 & 3.07 gears, or with D44 & 3.73 gears,& track lok LSD. The D35 axle is for Jeeps that Dad buys for his college bound daughter! The D44 axle is for frequent offroading with the TJ! Hey, when I bought my first Jeep (even my 2nd Jeep) I didn't have a clue about axles. My 98 sahara and 05 unlimited, both have D44 axles --- I learned the hard way.

Jeepete is giving you very sound advice . . . even though you only want to do moderate to moderately difficult trails with your TJ, a selectable locker in the front D30 and nothing for the D35 is the sound recommendation. Save your dollars to upgrade the rear axle. A free-floating, stouter rear axle will provide a lot towards getting the family home in the same rig they all began the trip in.

I would like to have someone technically explain why it is nearly impossible to steer sharp left or right while making a climb on a trail that is providing steady traction to the wheels in a rig that has a full locker engauged in the front axle: perhaps Sunder, Super Dawg, CSP, or other members that are more mechanically-inclined would explain this steering concern?

I doubt I'm more mechanically inclined, but it's difficult to stear a locked front under load (power being transmitted from engine to ground efficiently) because in order to turn the wheels have to go different speeds - the outside wheel makes a longer arc - and this is prevented by the axles being locked together. So in order to turn one wheel has to slip. I belive even the Aussie locker doesn't like to turn by allowing one wheel to go faster than the "driven" wheel when both wheels have good traction and are under load. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

Thanks! I knew that! I guess I just wasn't thinking! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/zombie.gif" alt="" /> For some reason, I thought there must be more to it. Oh well! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/ignore.gif" alt="" />

I find it hard to believe that .

Goin around a turn with LS, the outside wheel has to turn faster than the inside wheel to keep the vehicle turning instead of going straight like it would with a locker or spool.

OK, well this is very discouraging. I thought twice about buying a Jeep because I knew about the weak axles, like I said before I guess I under-estimated how bad they are. A lot of people make fun of Isuzu, but they are built strong so I never had to worry about it.

So it sounds like I should take my $900 and either buy a dana44 (maybe a Ford8.8), or buy a selectable locker for the front only. Then unfortunately I am stuck with the 3.07:1 diff gears for a while, and I will never be able to re-gear to anything higher than 3.54 because of the carrier size difference.

OK so ARB front? Anyone have the new Tera locker?

Or I will have to try to scourer the junk yards to try to find a Jeep dana44 rear, in the Phoenix area I bet that is nearly impossible and I will probably pay a premium.

I guess the other option is try to wait to save up for more upgrades, the problem is my wife in going to be quiting work soon, so I really probably only have this one chance to get my upgrades done.