front locker question (disconnect)

[mjeff87]

Someone please check my logic on this....

 

-Open front + 4WD+CAD engaged = one or the other front wheel powered, depending on traction

-Open front + 4WD but CAD not engaged = all power to the disonnect side, no front engagement at all

-Locked front +4WD+CAD engaged = full power to both front wheels, steering difficult and vehicle "pushes" in mud/snow

 

Yes? Now consider a locked front in 4WD but with CAD disengaged...in essence, it would be like an open front except instead of differentiating between both wheels, the non-disco side would always have power to it, regardless of which wheel had more "slip", right? So in theory, it would act just like a regular front diff (minus the power transfer), and still be steerable in 4WD? Then if things got really hairy, you could engage the CAD and have both wheels powered to get you out of whatever you're in.

 

Am I missing anything there? Reason I'm asking is that I'm thinking about locking the front sometime down the road, but haven't heard really good things about "streetability" or good behavior in snow. Wouldn't a locked, non-connected front behave almost just like an open carrier, i.e. no pushing/hard to turn?

Jeff

[pingpong]

Here is what I have found from MY experience. Usinf a lunch box lucker up front, and you won't have any of the bad handling that ppl always talk about up front. MY rig was my DD for a yr, and I drove it locked up front on the street all the time. Steering takes a lil more effort up front when 4wd is engaged. Thats about it. If you keep the CAD axle ( I don't know why you would, with so many HP 30's available aT CAPS) You can lincoln lock your front and have lil to no adverse side affects, excpet for the possible u-joint and axle shaft explosion.

 

The way the xj/mj/zj/yj t-case is designed to work is the front axles are alays free spinning until you engage the 4wd. That being the case, that is why axle u-joints can cause vibes in the steering wheel. It is also why the front D/S will cause vibrations when extreme lifts (over 8") are applied to HP 30's and 5" on low pinion 30's. This is why they say to put t-case in nuetral, and trans in nuetral when flat towing, or towing with a set of wheels on the ground.

 

 

 

Patrick

[mjeff87]

Thats about it. If you keep the CAD axle ( I don't know why you would, with so many HP 30's available aT CAPS)

Patrick

 

:D cause I got a stock 4.56 D30 out of there, and it's a disconnect, and I don't have to pay to get one regeared

 

You can lincoln lock your front and have lil to no adverse side affects, excpet for the possible u-joint and axle shaft explosion.

Patrick

 

that is un-cool......

 

I'm on the fence now, deciding if I should full-lock the D44 when I get it regeared and leave the front open, or use that $$ to lock the front now, then add a drop in locker to the 44 in the future.

 

Six of one, half dozen of the other?

 

Jeff

[pingpong]

Jeff,

 

If I was you, I would find a non disco front axle and swap the 4.56's into that. The disco axles do have their issues beside the CAD failing. I bent one :shock: Yeah I almost flopped, but it still bent the tubes, which caused me to destroy an axle, and break my locker :roll: Also if you catch the Pick apart right you can find a 297 equipped xj or tj and get stronger shafts.

 

 

 

The rear, is a hardchoice. If you plan opn stil;l driving it on the road, go with a lunch box locker. Unless you have the extra coin, and then I would opt for a selectable in the rear. Give you the best of both worlds, and help your rear tires last a lil longer. On top of that it wouldn't puch when rounding corners, or try and drive around you on wet pavement.

 

 

Patrick

[Bounty Hunter]

Your understanding of how the CAD works with the different scenarios is dead on. I have been running a Lincoln Locker in mine for several years now with no adverse problems. Pretty heavy wheelin and no axleshaft or ujoint explosions or bent housings as mentioned above.

 

For me, it's a poor-man's selectable locker. My Waggy D44 that's going in will also have a CAD, but this one is in the diff housing on the driver's side of the diff. It'll have an aircraft cable from the diff cover to inside the cab.

 

I keep the CAD connected 95% of the time on the trail, only unlocking it for the tightest of turns. You have to be careful when it's disconnected as you'll be in 3wd and all the torque through the front driveshaft will be sent through the driver's side axleshaft, a lot more torque than if it were sent to both axleshafts.