You should at least consider a Detroit Truetrac. Both wheels will grab when you need it for mud, wet grass, snow, mild/mid trails etc (I can attest to this first hand). But Truetracs are not necessarily designed for harsher stuff.

And they are not perfect. Sometimes the driver has to tap the brakes to engage. It hasn't happened to me yet. But I am sure it will at some inopportune time

Less maintenance and less complex. No cables or switches. Also, IMO more practical for road use in poor road conditions (driver doesn't have to engage to get the benefit). But again, they are not for hardcore stuff. So if you change your mind down the road, you will just pay much more money.

 

I love my Yukon grizzly rear locker and my Spartan locker up front however if I had a 2wd and was a daily driver I would seriously consider a Detroit Truetrac it gives you everything you need and nothing you don't .

 

X3 on the Truetrac. That's what I am planning for my 2wd. I have a Torsen diff in my Ford Ranger (Torsen & Truetrac are both gear driven LSD's). It will give you pretty good performance on road in snow and such, something that doesn't have to be engaged. Most likely, you won't even notice its there. As long as both wheels are making contact, you won't (hopefully) have to do the brake trick. You may notice a slight dip in fuel economy, but for most of us driving XJ's, fuel economy isn't that big a concern. Between a Truetrac and a good set of AT tires, you should be able to go anywhere you want to go within reason.

Also, as far as 32's, you would need at least 4:10 gears. but if you are going to regear, you might as well go for 4:56. That way if you ever want to go to 33" tires, you could without kicking yourself.

 

Good to know i thiught it had a carrier break because the lockers i was looking at specidied 3.73 or lower gears.

 

A Truetrac or locker won't affect your fuel mileage.

 

So from what I understand the Detroit truetrac is a LSD, different from aussie and spartan locker. Besides them not being able to handle "harsher" stuff; which I don't plan on going any harsher than some mud and some dirt/gravel/sand/small rocks, is there a more likelihood of me getting stuck going with limited slip instead? Also does the Detroit truetrac come with the same "clicking and popping" that comes from lockers like the aussie and spartan?

 

Technically you can get stuck easier with the Truetrac since it is a limited slip not a locker. The Truetrac works by transferring torque from the wheel with the least resistance to the wheel with greater resistance, but the wheel with the least resistance has to have some traction to create torque to transfer. So if one wheel is in the air where their is no traction it will have no torque to transfer to the wheel that does have traction, applying the brakes in this situation would put resistance on the wheel that's in the air allowing torque to be created then transferred to the wheel with greater traction. The Truetrac doesn't make noise like an auto locker does and is unnoticeable until you need the extra traction. Another thing to consider is a Truetrac is a full carrier replacement which will require backlash to be reset, and you will need new carrier bearings and races, where as a drop in locker like an Aussie or Spartan drops in the existing carrier.

 

The Truetrac sounds like what I'd prefer, seeing as I don't want the sound of the drop in locker and this will 80% of the time just be my DD to and from places, not necessarily only an off-road vehicle. What would products would it take and what would it cost for a full carrier replacement and could you explain what resetting backlash is, would it still fit 4.56 gear ratio? Also I appreciate the answers to all my other questions, i'm sure this is kinda tedious.

 

After watching some videos on youtube I think I understand what you meant, after getting the product i'd need to get a master ring and pinion installation kit if i'm not mistaken and the 4.56 gear would need to have the backlash reset for coast and drive side?

 

If your changing to a 4.56 gear then you will need a master rebuild kit, and you will have to set your pinion depth, pinion pre-load, and backlash. If your just swapping carriers to all you need is a new set of carrier bearings and races, and backlash will need to be reset. The Truetrac will work with any gear ratio in the 8.25.

 

Alright then i'll go with the Detroit Truetrac and the master rebuild kit even if I don't have to use all the parts and I'll let my mechanic mess with the 4.56 gears.
If that's everything I need to know then I appreciate your patience and info!
https://www.quadratec.com/p/yukon-ge...-825-rear-axle

 

00t444e is right on the money about the Truetrac, well said sir. I didn't mean that fuel economy would drop drastically, but perhaps 1 mpg at most. Which in my case could have been caused by upgrading from the Goodyear Wrangler RT/S to the General Grabber AT2'S at the same time.

I think you will enjoy not having the clicking of a locker on a DD vehicle. If it was not a DD then the locker would probably be better. The master rebuild kit should be all you need, but see what your mechanic says. While you have the axle apart, make sure everything is in good shape, (seals, shaft bearings, and even the shafts themselves) so you do it once and done. It sounds like you have a good plan with lift, gears, and tires.

 

I'm thinking so too, and i'll see what he says. Also thank you I've been planning this lift project for months, trying to make sure I have all the info I need and it's 100% correct. The XJ is the first car i've loved enough to put effort into trying to learn cars. I have finally gotten enough money to bang it all out at once too

 

PLEASE tell us how you accomplished that! XJ... NEVER... ENOUGH... MONEY