99XJake

3" lift 8.25rear 31s 3.73 gears

I only am after a rear locker.
I do not "wheel" per say but I get down some very sloppy back roads, hunt, occasionally offroad with friends but I do not go on wheeling trips more than like twice a year. This is a DD and like all of us there's nothing wrong with wanting a capable reliable 4x4

Now. I do drive this thing like a race car lol(even if its not) ideally I should get an elocker and that'd be that but obviously that's some $$$ I'm not sure what if any selectables are out there for less than 800. (I could save)

Given my driving style is there such a locker short of selectable that I wouldn't absolutely hate on pavement?

EvstaG

Honestly, (honesty hour, remember) a limited slip and maybe even an open diff are going to be better than an automatic locker on "sloppy back roads". An auto-locker is going to make the rear-end swing around even more than it already does, and probably isn't going to get you that much further if you have 4WD. What makes you think you want or need a locker? They're main function is to keep the tire with the most traction spinning when the two tires have extremely different levels of traction, which is probably not something you encounter much on a back road.

andrewmp6

Which rear end do you have ?

Waynerd

In actuality I lose traction pretty easily with my open diffs. Just on the slightest off camber stuff when it's wet and muddy. Maybe if I disconnect the sway bar it would help. Then in deep snow forget it. Haven't ever gotten stuck but I e done a lot of uneccessary spinning. Of coarse I haven't wheeled hard yet. Just driving around the lawn or through some fields is where I've encountered it. Grass can get slick as ice now that I think about it. I feel pretty silly with a jeep on 33's having trouble getting up a grass incline.

Turbo X_J

Are you using the accelerator pedal as an "on/off" switch? Far too many peeps do and this is responsible for a lot of "I can't get nooooooooo traction" type of complaints. Just before the tires break traction you should be easing off the gas not mashing it. If you want to get stuck all the time full throttle at exactly the wrong time is a good way to accomplish that. After all, when it was new it only had 190 bhp and it's probably a whole lot less than that now.

XJlimitedx99

For your purpose I think a Detroit Truetrac limited slip would be right up your alley. I'm not sure it would be worth the price of the unit and installation though. Unless you plan on doing bigger tires, regearing the diffs, and using your vehicle for more serious offroading then you're better off spending your money elsewhere.

AceWhite

I'd look into tires before lockers. Tire tread makes a huuuuuge difference in differing kinds of terrain. A road/ mud tire may not works as well as a mud terrain for example. Just a thought......
Climbing & off camber trails where you end up with one tire grabbing is a good reason for a locker

TRCM

Since we're being honest.....

1) the purpose of a locker is to keep the tire with the most traction turning....if it's spinning, it has zero traction

2) I can say in my experiences, a locked rear axle swings out far far less than an open or limited slip rear axle unless you are driving like an idiot

3) in my 88, with only a rear locker and 29" mud tires, I was able to go anywhere on our hunting property...and I mean anywhere. We had a caravan of about 20 truck one day, and we had to go the thru big mudhole on the property. All the full sized trucks either used 4wd, or had to hit it with speed.....lifted or not it didn't matter. I was able to literally idle thru it in 2wd with my jeep. A limited slip would not have made it, nor would an open diff, as the ruts I drug my axle across & along would have stopped those axles. I actually bent my tie rod that day from the ruts. But both tires spinning evenly as they dug thru worked just fine.

EvstaG

I should have been more clear. Obviously you want the locker applying torque to the tire with the most traction to keep it spinning and/or turning in relation to the axle housing, not the ground. Why bring up semantics like that, let's keep this productive.

He specifically said that he drives his XJ like a "race car", which is why was less inclined to agree with an auto-locker in the rear, considering the terrain he described in the original post. Is a locker going to get you through more terrain than a limited slip or open differential? Of course. Do the benefits outweigh the detriments in this scenario? That's up to the OP, but previous suggestions like spending on tires instead of a locker are good things to think about.

TRCM

Just trying to get the correct info out there. What you said made no sense to me, so I tried to make it make sense.

I've seen people on here explain how something works exactly backwards, and still swear they are right.

99XJake

All in all I've sort of talked myself out of this idea that I need a locker. I've never been stuck. Frankly its been peer pressure from my doucher friends who say stuff like "all those light bars(one) and no lockers" I've been raised on the concept that skinny tires with a lot of sidewall get the job done. I was just kicking around the idea. I've got an 8.25 rear. And since, like some of you have pointed out I'm not doing any real serious wheeling, there's no point in dealing with the road manners of a locker for 10% of your time spent on a trail. I do have a lot of faith in my jeep I was just wondering if a locker was in the future what's the best course for my driving habits.

As far as bolt ons my jeeps pretty stacked and I've left tired 5.3 Chevy's in the rear view. I think each jeep is unique and temperamental when it comes to on road performance I got lucky with mine she seems to like going fast.

(Cowl)CAI, 4.10 gears, mustang injectors, stainless header, 2.25 exhaust header back, "performance" ignition/plugs/cap/rotor she's spry for a 99. I pull a 42' trailer all day governed at 67mph so by comparison the xjs a top fuel racer😂

In the market for a SRT grand probably gonna get me in trouble but its a short life we live

andrewmp6

A small lunch box locker can do for cheap,But you gotta learn how to drive with one in the rain/snow its not that hard to get use to.

TRCM

A lunchbox locker can be done cheaply, and it does make a big difference in off road abilities.

It also makes those 'slide out moments' more predictable once you are used to driving with it.

Road manners......I still have yet to grasp what people complain about here.....if the locker in correctly installed, it is really no different in 90% of the situations out there than a limited slip. In the other 10%, it keeps you moving where the limited slip won't.

I have a LSD in my ram, and it drives no different than my cherokee with a locker....except I know I am less likely to get stuck with the cherokee.

Fred/N0AZZ

Ok I can speak on auto lockers as I have been using them since 1972 starting on 2 WD 1 ton Tow Trucks in CO. in the mountains. They were daily drivers and I had drivers in 5 of my trucks in the beginning all had no issues with them after driving them for a month, other than a lot more traction. Even my wife drove one of them for a while and she never complained like I hear on these forums at times. She still drives her Fox body Mustang with a "572 ci. BBC" and it has a Detroit locker in it.


The horror stories I hear I just have to smile about and go on. I will tell you about my XJ as it has Detroit Lockers in ft and rear in it. After I installed it in the rear I found I could go places where I had to be in 4wd before, a lot further.


NO LSD's for me like the non autos for me but is I had it to do over would use an elocker in the front only. Anyone with common sense can drive with a auto locker a very short learning curve as with anything. For the rear do use a full case locker much stronger.

cruiser54

True words my friend.

Aussie in the rear. Drive and learn quickly.
Cheap and easy DIY stuff.