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4 Wheel High rear locker... advantage?

eternus

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I've yet to own a Jeep with lockers, front or rear, and don't fully get it. I don't do rock crawling and don't plan to. I like to drive in puddles, I like to drive over bumpy roads with ravines and things that make it hard to navigate... but not a lot more. My LSD in my JKU Sport has always been more than enough for my tasks (and nice in the wintery slickness) so I'm curious about lockers for a non-crawler. I presume the 4WH Rear Locker deal will be good for sand & mud? Why would YOU consider it so valuable in the Rubicon Gladiator?
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I can understand an electronic locker for the front but not rear. Why not have permanent LSD in the rear? I have an aftermarket TrueTrac in my JKU and it seriously is about the best mod I have ever done.
 
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I can understand an electronic locker for the front but not rear. Why not have permanent LSD in the rear? I have an aftermarket TrueTrac in my JKU and it seriously is about the best mod I have ever done.
I have the factory LSD and love it, though there is even the Brake Lock Diff which is another type of locker... so I have double the options. I've considered (and probably will for the JT as well) putting in a locker up front... but not any time soon. Renegades description is how I expect it too, but I've never been in a position where the LSD didn't work for me.
 

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I can understand an electronic locker for the front but not rear. Why not have permanent LSD in the rear? I have an aftermarket TrueTrac in my JKU and it seriously is about the best mod I have ever done.

Lockers are generally considered to be stronger than LSDs. Plus, with a selectable you have full control of when it's locked/unlocked. Especially now.
 

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I put lockers in my '90 YJ. I run most of time on sand dunes. It was like night and day climbing the big dunes with the lockers. And I always run in 4H. You almost never need 4L on sand. There has always been mods to engage the TJ/LJ/JK Rubicon lockers in 4H. I'm sure the JL/JT are able to be modified also.
 

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Lockers are generally considered to be stronger than LSDs. Plus, with a selectable you have full control of when it's locked/unlocked. Especially now.
My point is why ever be unlocked in the rear..... helical spline LSDs are just fine for the majority of us and its there all the time
 

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My point is why ever be unlocked in the rear..... helical spline LSDs are just fine for the majority of us and its there all the time
Limited slip isn't locked, technically. If yours is a majority street driven rig with some light trails, then sure, an LSD makes good sense. It is not as strong, nor as capable as a selectable locker though. Plus, with the independent braking/traction control newer 4x4s have to eliminate wheel slip, LSDs make less and less sense though, as they're a compromise that is becoming less and less necessary in my opinion.
 

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The TJ Rubicons had both, a helical gear limited slip, and a selectable locker. The LSD is great for street driving in the winter or even just rain given the amount of body roll and weight shift. Off road I usually just lock the rear and leave it locked, it's easier on the axle.

I just sold my '11 Ford Raptor and one of my major gripes was the lack of any mechanical LSD with just a selectable locker. It was great when you locked it for high speed off road stuff but sucked for daily driving when you tried to get on it and put down 410 hp with what was essentially an open diff. It had the "e-diff" style traction control where it applies brake to the spinning tire but that's a half assed system that works moderately at best and robs power, in my opinion, and leaves you with nothing if you turn off traction control but don't want the axle fully locked. I assume the Gladiator will have the same style of traction management, but in my opinion it's not nearly as big a deal since it's not putting down nearly the power.

At least, that's my 2¢

I haven't worked on or driven any JL Wrangler yet, what do they have?
 
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The TJ Rubicons had both, a helical gear limited slip, and a selectable locker. The LSD is great for street driving in the winter or even just rain given the amount of body roll and weight shift. Off road I usually just lock the rear and leave it locked, it's easier on the axle.
Thanks for stating, I've looked and asked in several places over the years about having LSD AND Locker... but it always turns into the "lockers are better" discussion and never says if it's actually possible.
 

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Thanks for stating, I've looked and asked in several places over the years about having LSD AND Locker... but it always turns into the "lockers are better" discussion and never says if it's actually possible.
There is only one combo LSD+Locker I know of currently available, the Auburn Ected. But, it's essentially a clutch-pack LSD that can really tighten the packs when engaged. So, it's weaker than a normal locker and will wear out like every other clutch-pack style LSD.

There used to be a helical gear based locker on the aftermarket but it was phased out a long time ago, not sure why. From what I've seen/heard, the Rubicon lockers are ok for a factory setup, but there are issues scaling them up to take more abuse that you'd expect an aftermarket locker to see... a standard locker (Detroit, E-locker, OX) is much stronger with less engineering work needed.
 

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There is only one combo LSD+Locker I know of currently available, the Auburn Ected. But, it's essentially a clutch-pack LSD that can really tighten the packs when engaged. So, it's weaker than a normal locker and will wear out like every other clutch-pack style LSD.

There used to be a helical gear based locker on the aftermarket but it was phased out a long time ago, not sure why. From what I've seen/heard, the Rubicon lockers are ok for a factory setup, but there are issues scaling them up to take more abuse that you'd expect an aftermarket locker to see... a standard locker (Detroit, E-locker, OX) is much stronger with less engineering work needed.
True true, the ECTED is the only one I know of as well. Its really disappointing cause I love the way my TJ drives. As for the TJ locker strength it's like everything else, just depends on how you wheel. I've been fine on heavy 37s and beadlocks for years but other sheer them on 33s. If I ever broke it I'd probably suck it up and go Ox or ARB.

Back the the OP's main question, an open diff can really cripple a truck in some circumstances, like trying to pull a trailer out of a wet lawn. When doing any sort of moderate offroading like slick hill climbs or boulders, the difference in capability the lockers provide is astounding. The ability to lock it in 2/4 hi would be great for sand or tossing it around gravel roads and desert trails but a lot of folks just rewire the switch to let them lock whichever axle whenever they want.

A mechanical LSD doesn't fully lock but gear based ones are awesome and would be enough for most people. Clutch based LSDs wear out. Traction control based LSD systems apply brake pressure individually to a spinning tire to create load, forcing the tire with more traction to spin.
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