Lockers and gears

T

TheGhost45

New member
Alright, so to start with background info, I have a 1994 Jeep YJ 4.0L with a Dana 35 rear and Dana 30 front running 3.07 gears and 29" tires, I'm going to look at a set of Moab wheels and 32" BFG MT KM1's this Thursday the moab wheels are 17" there stock off a jk rubicon, I know I'll need wheel adapters, I can get them for 500$ rims and all, I want to go up to 4.10 gears and I want a locker in the rear, if I lock the rear do I have to lock the front? And what would you guys recommend as a locker I don't want to spend to much so I was thinking Detroit tru trac seeing as it's 400$ but I'm also looking at a powertrax lock right locker as well, theyre both about same price and I don't want the locker to hit to hard on the street, but I can't afford an e locker or air locker, so what do you guys think? It's a daily driver and a weekend offroader! :D and will 4.10's work really well with the 32's cause I know 3.07's won't be really good and I don't want to compromise fuel mileage to bad! I know I drive a jeep no such thing as fuel economy but I need what I can get but I'm willing to compromise a little for performance.
 

4.10 is a pretty good choice for 32" tires. It's a pretty common ratio in the '95+ Ford Explorer 8.8 rear axle and can also be found with a limited slip differential, just look for one with the tag reading 4L10. Great upgrade of an axle. Then regear the front or find a front axle from a 2.5L 5spd YJ, it's already 4.10 gears.

Tough to compare the TruTrac with the Powertrax, that's comparing apples to oranges. The Trutrac is a limited slip and the Powertrax is an automatic locker. You won't notice the Trutrac on the street but the Powetrax will lock under throttle, causing for some quirky handling and noisy driving.
 
Oh see that's what I was unsure of, so with a limited slip when does it lock if it doesnt lock when the automatic locker does?
 
I'm not sure if the yjs have a vacum disconnect locker like the xjs do but for a considerable amount less you could get a d30 from the junk yard and make a homemade posi and just use the money u saved towards getting you a new rear
 

Axle.... the 8.8s are very common and way cheap to get parts for
 
Are 8.8 rear axles cheap? I'm considering one but I don't want to send to much, and I have a D30 front I think I do have the vaccum you mentioned I don't know about a disconnect :S I don't know a whole lot when it comes to axles and gears, I'm trying to learn though I'm only 18 so whatever you guys can teach me would be great. (:
 
I'm new also but from what I've researched the Dana 30 is a decent axle... Google homemade posi lock Dana 30... I can get a 8.8 at the scrap yard for 125.... although you would have to order gears to match front and rear... you can also see is you can find a 89 xj wit tow package and it should have a 44 in rear and 4.56 gears.. that's what I am looking for... there is less fabricating... randysringandpinion.com is the cheapest place to get gears...
 

you do have it, thats the thing on the passenger side of your front axle tube with the plastic lines going to it. you have a vacuum actuated front axle.
 
Thanks for letting me know superj, and I think I might start looking for an 8.8, is it a hard conversion? Anybody do it or is it almost bolt in? And what about any info on those rear lockers?
 

Ok well seeing as I'm in Canada I seem to be limited and prices are high on the 8.8's like 900$ :| that's out of price range at the moment, so if I spend 150 on 4.10's would the Dana 35 hold up well to 32's if I added a limited slip or an automatic locker?
 

Man oh man decisions decisions, I'm going to try to look into them a little more, but I'm considering just doing the 4.10's and If I can get a locker cheap I'm going to do it, I can get an Aussie locker for a front dana 30 for 200 but don't know if I should do it cause I don't want to rough a ride on the street and that witch is why I'm only thinking about a rear locker.
 
I would do the pull cord locker up front... your looking to send 40 bucks on everything... just engage when you want
 
I run a locked D30 (lockrite) in my TJ ,on the street in 2wd all you get is a popping and clicking sound when turning sharp no noticeable difference in steering or road feel 4wd on slippery roads is down right scary,but if you run a manual disconnect on the axle you could unlock the axle to put power to only one front tire making it easier to steer in 4wd and lock the other axle in when you need it
 

also if you go the ford 8.8 route look for one from 95 to 2000 they have disc brakes.an open ford 8.8 can be locked for about $100.00 using a mini spool
 
i have an 81 cj-7 i run lock right lockers in front and rear they aint to noisey i dont hear them really at all all i hear is my tires and the loud rumble of the 383 stroker i have a dana 30 front and an amc 20 rear and they have been holding up to my 38's for the money lock rights work great
\
 
TheGhost45 said:
Alright, so to start with background info, I have a 1994 Jeep YJ 4.0L with a Dana 35 rear and Dana 30 front running 3.07 gears and 29" tires, I'm going to look at a set of Moab wheels and 32" BFG MT KM1's this Thursday the moab wheels are 17" there stock off a jk rubicon, I know I'll need wheel adapters, I can get them for 500$ rims and all, I want to go up to 4.10 gears and I want a locker in the rear, if I lock the rear do I have to lock the front? And what would you guys recommend as a locker I don't want to spend to much so I was thinking Detroit tru trac seeing as it's 400$ but I'm also looking at a powertrax lock right locker as well, theyre both about same price and I don't want the locker to hit to hard on the street, but I can't afford an e locker or air locker, so what do you guys think? It's a daily driver and a weekend offroader! :D and will 4.10's work really well with the 32's cause I know 3.07's won't be really good and I don't want to compromise fuel mileage to bad! I know I drive a jeep no such thing as fuel economy but I need what I can get but I'm willing to compromise a little for performance.
Click to expand...

I upgraded my otherwise stock Jeep TJ Sahara in two increments.

First, the stock 30X9.5X15 tires were replaced with BFG 31X10.5X15 ATs. The stock Jeep did pretty well with the tire upgrade alone when combined with the stock limited slip rear end and open front end. But, in some situations, I had to drive the Jeep a bit harder than I cared to due to tire slip, and lack of low end torque, etc. I also noted that the low end was not all that low, and the minimally taller tires hurt the low end power a bit.

To improve performance further, I decided to upgrade the differentials and gears. After a lot of research and advice, I decided to replace the stock 3.07 freeway fliers with 4.10 gears. I made this selection as my ultimate plan is to get 33" tires. As for differentials, I went with the Eaton E-Lockers front and rear. During installation, I had to upgrade the rear axels due to a compatibility issue with the Eaton E-Locker, so that was a few bucks that I did not intend to spend.

Overall, the offroad performance improved substantially :shock: due to the change in gears and the addition of the E-Lockers. This Jeep will now go pretty much everywhere I've so far wanted it to go, and I have not had to push the Jeep quite so hard. IMO, the rear locker was a must, but the front locker was gravy on the biscuits :o. The E-Lockers are easy to control with the flip of a switch, and I can switch them front/rear and on/off independently. Switching on/off the front locker is a nice feature, especially when making sharp turns. With some lockers, you don't get control over the lock up like you do with the E-Locker or ARB.

On the road, the change in gears from 3.07 to 4.10 with the 31X10.5X15 tires has increased the RPM to MPH ratio quite a bit. At 55 MPH, the engine is taching up much higher than I prefer :( for sustained driving, so that is something you might want to think about. I don't drive mine on the road much, so its not a huge problem for me, and one that will go away if I ever get a lift and 33X12.5X15s (my long term plan).

I keep rethinking my next lift/tire upgrade due to lack of $$ and the loss of stability that could come with those changes. I guess I'm debating if I want to keep to backroads, or do more of the rock crawling stuff.

I found the color coded gear charts in the Quadratec catalog helpful. I suggest you consult a chart like that to see what your RPM change will be with the gears you have proposed, and then go out and run your Jeep at the RPM before you make the switch, just to see how it will sound/feel/tach. I wish I had done that before changing gears as I might have done the lift first before doing the gear work.
 

The Dana 35 is a turd. No not put a dime into it. Try a Spartan locker in your Dana 30.
 
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