Can't help on the locker. Mine has something in the rear axle, but it was like that when I got it.

4.10s should be good. That's what I have in mine with 33s, and it's still about 10% under OE.

 

If you plan on staying with 32s then 4.10 would be fine. For lockers I prefer an auto locker in the rear over a selectable, I have a Spartan locker and it works great.

 

 

Selectable lockers aren't cheap no matter which one you choose.

I have had a few configurations over the years:

Automatic rear locker. It was fine when I lived in Texas but it was a disaster the couple of days we got snow/ice. Slid all over the place. If you have a lot of snow/ice I would stay away from any automatic locker.

TrueTrac. I have a set of TruTracs front and rear in my current XJ daily driver. It behaves great, both on dry pavement and in the snow/ice. I also have the 242 transfer case with full time 4WD and it's pretty much unstoppable in the snow/ice. Of course, that's not always a good thing when you get going too fast for conditions because it's easy to do that and then have a hard time stopping. So care must be used when driving in poor weather. Off road, it does pretty good. Not full locker good but pretty darn good. Judicious use of the brakes gets me over a lot of obstacles that people think you can't get over. It's a good overall economical solution if you're not hitting the really difficult (much less extreme) trails.

Auburn ECTED. I put this in the rear of my JK. The limited slip was decent at first. But it never truly locked the rear axle when I hit the switch. And the clutch packs wore out in short order, making it not limit slip any more. It is now gone, replaced by the Eaton E-Locker described below. I recommend you don't waste your time or money on this locker for any reason.

Eaton E-Locker. This has been a great locker. Fully open most of the time. When I want traction, it's just a switch away. Locks up tight and stays locked until I turn it off. I have them front and rear in my JK and I crawl some pretty serious obstacles with ease while being able to daily drive it some days. I also have them in my J10 pickup. While I don't take it on the extreme trails, I have used them to get out of a bad stuck in the mud.

I have heard nothing but good things about the ARB air locker. The reason I didn't get them is because it requires an onboard air source which costs more money. As in several hundred dollars more. I have a portable Viair compressor to switch between my 3 Jeeps instead.

I've heard good things about the OX locker as well. Yukon gear has a few lockers too but I don't know much about them.

 

I have an auto locker in the rear of both of my vehicles and they do great in the snow, no problems at all. With an auto locker you don't have to worry about cables, wires or air lines failing and causing the locker not to work.

 

They're not as bad in deep snow, especially with good tires. But on ice or compacted snow, they do make driving an adventure.

 

It's really no different in the snow than the factory limited slip.

 

 

Sounds like a solid plan.

 

I have 4.10s with my 33s. I have verified via GPS that my speedo is dead on, meaning the gearing w/ 33s is the same as stock with the 3.55s. It is peppy enough, plenty of torque. Trans shifts well, holds converter lock up at freeway speed. Accelerates smooth and mileage is decent.

If you are struggling to keep the jeep at 65 then I think you need a tune up. When I bought mine it was on 31s with stock gears and a 4.0l. It wouldn't top 70 and struggled to get there. I gave it a good tune up and then it would bury the speedo (for testing purposes, don't need to go that fast in a jeep) and was peppy getting there.

 

The only 'issues' in snow/ice I've ever had that with my autolocker were the result of too much skinny pedal pressure by my right foot.