Gear and Locker Questions
 

Alright so I'm trying to get the Cherokee ready for a long road trip from Northern Indiana to the middle of Alaska. Its always been a dream to take some time and drive to Alaska once I get out of school. I plan on having about 4 to 4.5" of lift total and run 33s. I would like to have some opinions on what would be the best way to go about re-gearing and installing lockers. First I'm not sure if I should go with lockers front and rear. If so what would be the best type and brand to go with. Second what would be the best gear ratio to get set up with. I have found that 4.10s might be a solid choice but with the amount of highway driving I'm not sure if i should go with them or not. Also what is a good brand to go with for them. I do not want to lose much power since i will be doing wheeling while on the trip.

Right now the jeep sits with a D30 up front and a C8.25 out back. Any input is greatly appreciated.

By the way the trip will not be until the summer of 2012 at the earliest so i have some time to save up for stuff but at the same time i have to also save up for the trip itself.

IMO i would run 4.56's with 33's especially if you have a auto. My buddy has 33's with 4.10's and says he wishes he would have gone with the 4.56's....

Yeah.. 4:56 for auto, 4:10 for stick. If you're going to do a lot of hwy aside from the trip, 4:10 will net you better mpg.

Any ideas what the better brands out on the market are? Also would it be worth it and put in gears and a locker at the same time? Can i attempt to do this at my house or should this be done at a shop by professionals?

U can install an auto locker (lunchbox) in about 2 hours yourself. No messing with the ring/pinion gears.

Setting up gears is not easy. Have a pro do it. If you can afford the lockers at the same time, have them do it. You can do a lunchbox locker yourself, but something with a full carrier (arb, ox, detroit, etc), might as well have a pro do it.

There really isn't a big difference in brands, except for better warranties. Some brands might be quieter than others, but when you are running big mud tires on a lifted jeep, who cares. This is where I have gotten my gears: http://www.rwkhaussupply.com/magento/drivetrain.html Best pricing I could find anywhere.

What would you say is the best type of locker for my application? Since i will be on the highway about 75% of the time on my trip would one type be better than others?

No such thing as "best".........better to say "most practical". Since most of your driving is on pavement, I would think u would want a traction enhanced diff that has good road/street manners, works full time (doesn't require a manual on/off switch)...........one that's just in there and providing locker traction and good street manners. A auto locker will do that and a lunchbox auto locker will do that and can easily be installed (following the directions) in a couple hours in your driveway/garage.

+1

"Best lockers" would be selectable. ARB, OX, E-locker. Only because you can turn them on for maximum traction, and off for street use. The con is they are expensive, but those who have them, are super happy w/them.

LBL are cheaper, easy to install, have good off road traction and are decent to acceptable on pavement. You will hear clicking from the locker ratcheting and opening/closing on turns, and an LBL in the front is not good for snow/ice driving.

Or you can also get limited slips, like a truetrac. Not as good for offroad traction, but decent and excellent for street.

I used to run an LBL in the rear, and a truetrac in the front. Worked really well for where I live.

I would say that since you are going to be doing mostly highway driving unless you want to spend allot of money on a selectable locker your best bet would be a Detroit TruTrac torque biasing differential. Most people call a TruTrac a LSD, it isn't, it has no clutche discs, it uses gears to transfer up to 40 percent of available torque to the tire with the most traction. It is a full differential that replaces the carrier so it is stronger than a lunchbox locker, and it is almost invisible when driving on the highway.

[QUOTE=djlarroc;854597..........You will hear clicking from the locker ratcheting and opening/closing on turns.........[/QUOTE]

Some auto lockers click/ratchet, some don't. PowerTrax No-Slip (auto lunchbox locker) is almost as invisible as a limited slip diff but when locked, it's as locked as any of 'em.......no one-tire-fires on pavement away from a stop.........and both wheels spin same speed even with one on the ground and the opposite in the air.......and does it all automatically/quietly.