Yeah but were both building rigs for serious crawling so stock axles suck. Well I will be lol.

 

even then lol. my new rear has a spool. maybe if a good used selectable turns up some day I'll consider it

I've had great success buying used lockers. detroit, aussie, etc. can't go wrong IMO buy whatever turns up in your local for sale sections or CL. if you don't like it you can resell it and try something else for yourself. I picked up my detroit for $280

 

Yes, AW4. Not sure how the auto-locker reacts with a manual.

Too much coin for me too, to buy new..


I mentioned that my rig is a daily driver but I should add that I live on a sandbar island with one main road. The jeep is essential for venturing off it. Fun and trouble are always close.

 

Makes sense now about your tire wear. With a manual it's locked all the time unless you're on the clutch or in neutral. I have the 5spd. Tire wear is noticeable. But at least they wear evenly now.

 

Even with a manual, only the slowest moving wheel should be locked unless they are both slipping.

For the OP, in his rather unique environment, I would think auto lockers would be fine.

 

When the tires are locked you're basically dragging one of the tires around a corner at every corner which is where the Increase in wear comes from...

 

Chirping the tire is fun too!
I celebrated having a rear locker by installing two of those tiny spare tires found in the XJ..Smoked em up good!

 

With an autolocker the outside wheel is unlocked under power in corners and the inside is unlocked when engine is braking. The transition can be a little annoying....

Each wheel has its own cam and is independently locked or unlocked.

 

If you have power going to the wheels, no they do not ratchet, source, I have two auto lockers. In a manual when the tranny is not n neutral and when you don't have the clutch in There is power to the wheels and the locker does not unlock. On an auto,if you're off the gas there is no power going to the wheels and they will ratchet around turns.

 

To be perfectly honest I really don't notice them at all on hard surface roads in fact yesterday I drove it into a larger city for around here 250,000. Drove in city traffic for about 2 hrs. (I hate the city) to pick things up that I need it for.

Off road I will let you know when your in 4wd and you hit hard surfaces, hard to steer and No U-Turns on the trail . But the rear locker gives you much more traction in 2 wd.

 

That's kinda where I'm at. However I do live about 5 hours from Moab, so I can easily see myself wanting more traction as I get into the more serious crawling trails over there. Plus, the trails where I live are pretty muddy and/or steep and full of loose rolly rocks. That's why I've started to think about it. The thing is, I haven't found myself in a situation yet where I was just spinning 2 wheels and said man I need a locker, other than when I got into deep snow and had 2 wheels off the ground - that sucked, but it taught me how to feather the brake correctly with open diffs!

I figure when I'm ready to get re-geared I'll just decide then. That way if I go with e-lockers I can have a shop do them with new gears and get the warranty and all that good stuff.

 

it's really easy to overthink it. I think that would be my biggest piece of advice to give anyone who is building a jeep, especially for the first time. just take whatever comes your way that's pretty close to what you had in mind. buy used parts. and just do stuff. if you don't like it change it up in a few months. none of these parts are a life sentence. do whatever (within reason) fits your budget and time frame and go wheeling. change it later. you're not going to get your jeep right the first time no matter what you do

so don't overthink it

 

Great advice for sure!

 

I am trying make sense of this whole thread. If I want to get an aussie locker for my front D30, will it stay unlocked as long as I am not in 4wd? I have a 5 speed with a 241 TC. My Jeep is a DD and I don't want to add any extra wear to my tires. I thought since the front won't engage when not in 4wd, and the open hubs would make it on-road drivable still right? What if I need to drive in the CO snow?

 

Yes. In 2wd you will not notice the locker.

I'd imagine that the auto-locker up front in the snow would make things exciting. If you spend a lot of time in the snow then I'd opt for a selectable.