So I'm gonna bite the bullet and regear. I'm gonna go 4.88s and probably run 35s. While I'm regearing the hp d30 I'm going to swap in, I figured I'd regret it if I don't lock it up at the same time. I've always heard the Detroit truetrac is a great option because it is inexpensive and has very good road manners.

I have also been told I'd be better off with an E-locker. I do not know much about them so I would like to hear from some people with experience with these. Don't they use clutch packs? Therefore they will eventually wear out? How do they behave unlocked? More like an open or a LSD? I'm sure an arb would be better but that's about twice what I want to spend. I wouldn't spend money on a d30, but I picked up some chromoly shafts for next to nothing. And I don't wheel extremely hard. When it gets tough my first action is not to stomp the skinny pedal anyway.

 

The Eaton E Locker is just like the ARB air locker in that it is only engaged when you push the button, otherwise it's completely open as if you have no locker. So it's perfect for a daily driver. We put the Eaton E Locker in our Cherokee, front and rear, drive it to work every day and having the locker at the push of a button when we need it off road has been awesome! E Locker uses elec wiring to engage, and the ARB uses air... you get the same effect and is the same when not in use. No issues here, and we also have a Rubicon (factory air lockers)... you can't tell any difference when the locker is engaged or disengaged... you control it.

 

The TrueTrac isn't a locker, it is a torque biasing differential which means it is a gear driven LSD.
If you are not wheeling your Cherokee and just use it as a DD the TrueTrac will be ok, if you wheel it you want lockers not LSD.

The Eaton E-Locker is an electrically actuated selectable locker that uses gears to lock the differential.

The Auburn ECTED is a LSD that uses a electromagnet to push the clutches and discs together to sort of lock the differential. The problem with this is that it uses clutches and discs that will wear out and need to be replaced.

I run a Detroit locker in the rear, and an Eaton E-Locker in the front, and they work about as good as any locker I've ever ran.

 

I ran a truetrac for a while and if I'd never had a locker I might have liked it but it worked just like an open diff to me offroad. If you lift a tire you ain't moving.

 

x2

 

That's what I need to know! Cross truetrac off the list.........

Just not excited about the extra 400 it takes to get the e locker. I'll probably just have to regear and leave it open for now

 

Ah that's the one with clutch packs I was thinking of. I'll stay away from that one too when the time comes

 

If you don't know how to set up gears do the gears and lockers at the same time, it will save you money in the long run.

 

I don't know how, that's why I was going to go ahead and do it now.....just having a hard time justifying the extra expense right now. I'm not to the point where I really wish I has a front locker yet anyway. I'm still very content with my current setup aside from it being a total dog and gas guzzler because of the stock gears

 

Put a foot on the brakes with it next time. All LSD's just need a little resistance.

 

If im not mistaken the detroit locker is close to the same price as the truetrac I run one in the rear of my xj and love it I have a spartan in hte front and only time I wish it was selectable is when I am in 4low and making a tigght turn

 

I'm not sure about the difference in price between the two Detroit differentials, but it shouldn't be that much because they are both full carrier differentials and they are both really strong.

Yeah, I had Detroit lockers front and rear on my built Blazer and I used to scare the crap out of myself coming down a steep hill in low low range and needing to turn or go over a 20 or so foot drop off and the Detroit not letting it turn like it should. Gets your attention.

 

That works if it's in the rear, mine was in the front. Using your brake works with an open diff too so with that logic why would you waste money on a LSD?

 

x EleventyBrazilion!!

 

The first time you use it to climb an obstacle that's kicked yer **** time and time again....you'll know it was money well spent.