front or rear locker?

[94workinprogress]

hey yall i plan on installing lockers into the first gen X both front and rear, but not at the same time due to finances. the question is which diff should I lock up first, it looks like i'll be using a lockrite locker just because of price. most of my off road use is in mud, weather it be muddy hill climbs or muddy ruts that fill up wth water and swallow the 33's. currently im thinking of locking up the front first and maybe i say maybe just welding the rear spiders. can anybody give me some pros and cons to front locking before rear locking? thanks guys

 

[jd4242]

aussie is cheaper.what do you have in the rear now?if its a ls i would do the front first but then again unless your doing the work the front cost way more to do!!also what gears do you have?i see you have 33's and a 100lbs of mud on them you might think about doing gears first

 

[little x]

Front first. That way your road manners are completely unaltered until you get the rear in there, you also won't be wasting rubber scrubbing it away on the road until then. Plus the front has more weight on it, so it will be getting more traction. And IMO it's easier to 'pull' yourself through/over something then it is to 'push' yourself through.

 

[Happy Jack]

Feelings can run strong on this one way or the other. Depends on the type of wheeling/driving you do. If you get a chance unlock your front hubs and run around a bit in rear wheel drive. Then pull your rear drive shaft and drive around a bit on the front end. Most times I have found that a truck will climb farther in 2wd rear than it will in 2wd front.

I dd both of my trucks and don't mind rear lockers and no sway bars. And I don't mind more difficult turning with a front locker for short periods.

Now you can use the same driving skills with one locker that folks do with open and ls diffs. Ridding the brake is the best way. Most braking is on the front wheels so if your front is open just hold the brake pedal down a bit while you climb. If your rear is open put a few clicks on the e-brake.

I have tried just a front locker and just a rear locker. They both have advantages. I like a rear locker for the wheeling I do ahead of a front locker. But I give up stuff for it. May not be worth it for most folks. Figure the the locked rear will as posted cause more tire wear, noise, quirky road manners as it locks and unlocks going down the road. And I think it cost me a bit on mpg driving 800 miles out west and back.

But when I get there and wheel on the trails all day every day for 1-2 weeks I sure do like it back there. On my truck with both I just leave the front lock outs unlocked as it turns so much easier. Then just lock in when needed. Most times I just need the drivers front for a bit. For me fighting the front locker every day all day for 10 days gets old. With the open rear and front locker I just lock in the passangers front for light wheeling and only lock the drivers front in for the difficult stuff.

Now I like my stuff and don't like to break it. I don't like to bounce or spin a lot. So my driving technics might not be for you. Not saying one way or the other is best. Just saying what I do may be different. I spend my $1.25 and do what I like to do. Others spend their $1.25 and do what they like.

Good luck. In the end either one will help your truck.

 

[cmhaah06]

I had the same question a while back. I ended up going with a front locker, i have ls in the rear. I love it. It does depend on your style of driving though. I go as slow as i can, dont spin or bounce around to much. I like to let the locker do the work it was meant to do. Oh yeah, I am running the lockrite and have had no issues with it. Works extremely well.

 

[Exploring XLT]

Hello, I have a traction lock 3.73 stock differential, the clutches in it appear to be warn out, what are my best options for upgrading/fixing it?

 

[shran]

You can either replace the clutch pack, remove it completely and install a PowerTrax no-slip locker, or replace the entire carrier with any 8.8 traction device - ARB, Detroit, spool, etc. Those options are arranged from cheapest to most expensive.

 

[Mbrooks420]

Find a driveline shop that will do the standard Kevlar clutches with extra steel plates. Super common 8.8 mod, and works very well. Had it in my first Explorer and it had tons of rear traction.

 

[Exploring XLT]

Any idea on a reasonable price for that?

 

[shran]

Clutch packs are $75-120 depending on whether you get the standard or Kevlar. If you can do a brake job or change a u-joint you can rebuilt your trac loc at home.

 

[Mbrooks420]

I believe mine was between $3-400 but was done under warranty while my second transmission was being rebuilt.

 

[imp]

hey yall i plan on installing lockers into the first gen X both front and rear, but not at the same time due to finances. the question is which diff should I lock up first, it looks like i'll be using a lockrite locker just because of price. most of my off road use is in mud, weather it be muddy hill climbs or muddy ruts that fill up wth water and swallow the 33's. currently im thinking of locking up the front first and maybe i say maybe just welding the rear spiders. can anybody give me some pros and cons to front locking before rear locking? thanks guys

@94orkinprogress
Word of caution on welding spiders: The gears are very hard, heat-treated alloy steel. The diff. carrier is typically cast steel, or worse yet, malleable cast iron. Welding those two dissimilar materials is difficult. I did it long ago, and the welds cracked loose. imp

 

[Mbrooks420]

I wouldn’t ever consider Lincoln locking a street truck.

 

[96EXXLTinCO]

We have 2 rigs on 35’s, one with a LSD rear and open front, and the other with ARB air lockers front and rear. The selectable locker in the rear makes steering on the asphalt much easier, and the selectable front adds some confidence when you get into the harder/deeper stuff off road. After wheeling with both lockers engaged, and then with just the rear engaged and only using the front as needed, I’ll never use anything but a selectable in the front. Being fully locked makes the steering in snow and really slick mud unpredictable by my experiences at least. And the open/open on road makes for a much nicer driving experience. Just my opinion, but the extra cost of a selectable front is a no brained for me now.

 

[ovrlndr]

Also interested in this tread.
I've previously run an Aussie Locker in the front of my Xterra. It totally transformed the rig.

I'd like to do the same for the Explorer as I have Warn manual hubs.

Do we have a list of makes/models for these ?

 

[Fixedgear74]

My rig is an ever-changing DD/Trail Rig.
I live in snow country, so my experiences will vary from others, but here are my 2 cents.
I run a Detroit locker in the Rear. The Detroit is always there when you need it, otherwise I forget it is there. Yes, you can't drive like a "race car driver" and not expect the Detroit to complain though.
I run a Eaton Elocker (selectable) in the Front. I like this option because it allows me to run my front diff in Open or Locked when in 4 wheel drive depending on the conditions at hand. Driving with a fully locked front end on snowy/icy roads is sketchy at best (I personally like to drive in the direction I steer the rig, go figure ).
I agree with @96EXXLTinCO that a selectable in the Front is the way to go. The Rear is open for discussion in my mind, I am really happy with my Detroit (reliable and always there when I need it) but a selectable is the "Best of Both Worlds" for most rigs (especially Daily Drivers).
The 2 most common Selectable Lockers in my opinion for the Front TTB D35 are the Eaton Elocker and ARB. This will all come down to personal preference, but you can't go wrong with either.

 

[96EXXLTinCO]

As I understand it, anytime you turn, all 4 tires need to travel at different speeds to maintain traction on each. Ok, so let’s kick in the rear locker and leave the front open. Now in a turn, 3 tires will be traveling at the speed they need to maintain traction. The rear tire on the inside of the turn radius will break traction because with the locker, it’s going to turn at the same speed as the other rear tire no matter what. 3 out of 4 ain’t bad and works just fine in my experience. Ok, let’s maintain that same turn radius and kick in the front locker as well. Now we have all 4 tires needing to travel at different speeds again, but they’re now all traveling at the same speed. 3 of them have to break traction and the one that won’t will be the rear tire on the outside of the turn radius. This causes the both rear tires to try and work together while the front is just spinning. This causes you to just keep going straight, no more turning. On the steep narrow mountain roads we play on, not exactly ideal and will certainly get your attention. Turn of the front locker, front tires start to turn at the speed they need to to hold traction and we’re turning again. THIS is why my preference is locked rear and open front if I have to choose. Whenever we hit the trail and something comes up that I’m too confident in being open/open.....I turn on the rear. Granted I’ve only got one years’ experience with running air lockers, but the only time I have actually needed the front one was in deep snow, and one long steep and MUDDY hill. That’s it. Any other time I had the front in was purely precautionary.

I’m not the best at explaining things and I know I could have done better, but if I gave you something to think about and ponder a minute than I achieved my goal. I have no experience running. Locked front an open rear and would be interested in hearing who’s that seems work from someone who has/does.

 

[MrQ]

Dealing with a front locker, like said above is that it increases your turning radius, is hard on your tires and on a your front driveshaft components. Personally I have wheeled with both an LSD and a Spartan auto locker in the rear. The locker gave amazing traction off road, but loved to lock up on turns during regular driving. Was part of the reason I trashed my rear diff. The LSD is a good compromise; much better on road manners and is fairly helpful off-road. I personally am going to be locking the rear on my '93 as its my off-road toy. My 98 will be going with an LSD since it will be a cruiser, but with decent off-road capability.

TLDR; You want to street drive your rig, leave the axles running different speeds and just run a tight LSD...You want a toy, lock it up.