38Kc

Hi I'm new to the form and to off roading in general. with the exception of atvs. I'm wanting to get a jeep cherokee to use as a trail rig. It will not be used on the street at all. so my main question is what type of locker to use in front and rear axles without spending a ton of money. From what i have read a detroit locker looks to be the best option for me as far as the rear goes but I'm not sure if its best for the front? Any info you guys can give me will be much appertained!

Also im not sure on what kind of trails are around me. I'm in central Illinois and i know the badlands off road park Attica, IN is somewhat close as well as the cliffs off-road park inMarseilles, IL. I'm just looking to do some slow crawling type of wheeling. not so much mud pit.

Rockhead

The cheapest way to lock your differentials is to weld the spider gears together. If you are going to install lockers, lunch box (auto) lockers are the least expensive. I run lunch box lockers front and rear with no problems as far as drive-ability. Good luck and have fun with the project.

JeepRunner5

Not trying to hijack your thread 38Kc but i was going to ask about locking diffs as well and stumbled upon this. The lunch box locker would that be a good choice for a winter daily and summer/fall/spring trail rig? and is it best to lock only the rear or to lock the front as well or only one? I have a 3inch lift and will be putting either 31 kO2s or 32 KO2s

38Kc

Thats what I'm trying to figure out as well JeepRunner5. I plan to only wheel with the jeep I'm not going to be concerned with if i brake it or not as much sense i only plan to have around $6000 max in it up front. thats buy the jeep, lift it, do bonkers and tires many lower gears not sure my budget well allow for it through. I'm looking to many craw so I'm thinking no slip at all is best but idk never done it.

andrewmp6

Depends your budget you could get a detroit locker front and rear,Or one rear and a arb front.But since its off road only you could also run a spool front and rear which are locked forever.But on a tight trail it might be best to have a slectable locker type like a ox or arb.

Fred/N0AZZ

I have Detroit Lockers front and rear in mine but a selectable up front is the best idea and I really like the eLockers. The Detroit's are full spool auto lockers and very strong/quiet/excellent quality.

JeepRunner5

I have a friend that put Detroit lockers in his silverado and loves them but i heard they are very pricey. If you had to guess what would be the cost to do detroit lockers? Also for an arb or ox what would it cost to do those? I would like to try to do them myself if they are really expensive?

38Kc

Thanks for the input guys.

38Kc

Ok so i know that I'm getting away from the lockers now but if i jump up to say 35s what gear ratio should i look to put in for more of a crawling application? i know ill have to trim the fenders to run 35s.

andrewmp6

Heres a gear chart most of us go by http://www.quadratec.com/jeep_knowle...article-26.htm its made for a auto trans if you have a stick then go up the next gear set

Rockhead

Change one to my response. If your not a welder, I agree with andrewmp6's answer. Put spools in, cheap and strong. For tight corners when off-roading just drop out of four wheel drive.
Don't under estimate the lunch box lockers if you decide to install lockers. For a vehicle with the power the Cherokee has and it's weight they are a good choice. Plus, you can install them yourself. Have fun with the build.

cruiser54

I'd put an Aussie front and rear. An afternoon's work and under $700.

I take it you're not regearing.....

Fred/N0AZZ

Your question about gearing with the 35" tire and rock crawling I have 4.56 gear in mine but run both 33's on the highway and 35's off road only. For what you inquired about the 4.88 gear would be the correct one.


A full spool locker vs. a lunchbox are you can install the lunchbox without removing the gears but they are not as strong as a full spool but they require removing the gears. That is why most people install lockers when they do gears as no extra labor required.


From having both Detroit's a selectable would have been the best choice as I have had to turn around in some very narrow trails where 4wd was required for part of the turn and the selectable is much easier than shifting the TC in and out many times. It was after that that I did the TC linkage upgrade lol.

Fred/N0AZZ

Look on any of the Jeep dealer web sites for latest prices on them all.

metaldemon7

I did the lunchbox locker on my 98 XJ with an 8.25 rear. For me it was a waste of money. It would make loud banging noises, and at time would unlock completely like drive shaft had been removed. Calling Powertrax was not helpful at all they told me I broke something on the install, so I removed it to look at it. Nothing was broken, so I put it back in. Double checked the go/no-go gauge. Still did the same stuff. I called Powertrax back, and now they said my housing was bad. I bit the bullet, and rebuilt the rear with an Eaton E-locker. I am just saying that if you run into any issues with a lunchbox, you may have wasted money like I did. Powertrax would not back their product.