zomeizter Posted March 26, 2021 Share Posted March 26, 2021 Now that my MJ is lifted and will explore some of the woodlands around, I am considering lunch box lockers and would like feedback from those who run them. My goal is to keep the MJ as a weekend warrior so no need for the high end lockers yet, those I will go for after future mods like LSx and one-tons swap, holler... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokeyyank Posted March 26, 2021 Share Posted March 26, 2021 I run a lunchbox in the rear of my WJ. It's ok, noisy af on the street and can get annoying for DD. I don't daily the WJ so it's not a deal breaker but if I did I'd probably save a little more and get a LSD type diff. On my XJ I had a lunchbox in the front and it was noticeable in turns. The clicking isn't bad it the unloading and banging that occasionally happens that gets old. A Lunchbox does offer cheap traction and they work. Are you planning to run front and rear or just one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zomeizter Posted March 26, 2021 Author Share Posted March 26, 2021 2 minutes ago, Smokeyyank said: I run a lunchbox in the rear of my WJ. It's ok, noisy af on the street and can get annoying for DD. I don't daily the WJ so it's not a deal breaker but if I did I'd probably save a little more and get a LSD type diff. On my XJ I had a lunchbox in the front and it was noticeable in turns. The clicking isn't bad it the unloading and banging that occasionally happens that gets old. A Lunchbox does offer cheap traction and they work. Are you planning to run front and rear or just one? Front and rear is the plan, and the CAD system still works, maybe it will ease the noise? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RynoMJ Posted March 26, 2021 Share Posted March 26, 2021 I’m running a Spartan in the front and a Detroit in the rear. I don’t drive it on the street though so I can’t comment on that but I can tell you the Spartan has held up great over the years no complaints. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokeyyank Posted March 26, 2021 Share Posted March 26, 2021 Possibly in the front but the rear will still ratchet and bang. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zomeizter Posted March 26, 2021 Author Share Posted March 26, 2021 I have the Spartans in the cart, I think ima give them a try... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zomeizter Posted March 26, 2021 Author Share Posted March 26, 2021 1 minute ago, Smokeyyank said: Possibly in the front but the rear will still ratchet and bang. I think I can live with that, I don't DD the MJ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zomeizter Posted March 26, 2021 Author Share Posted March 26, 2021 Did y'all run your stock cross shaft/pin? Is it even a concern? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad R Posted March 26, 2021 Share Posted March 26, 2021 When my tj had the dana 35 in it I had a lock right lunch box locker in it and I daily drove it that way for about 10 years. It had its moods but the biggest thing was it would eat rear tires. I rotated very often to help but still ate rear tires. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zomeizter Posted March 26, 2021 Author Share Posted March 26, 2021 5 hours ago, Chad R said: When my tj had the dana 35 in it I had a lock right lunch box locker in it and I daily drove it that way for about 10 years. It had its moods but the biggest thing was it would eat rear tires. I rotated very often to help but still ate rear tires. Did you wheel it hard off road? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghetdjc320 Posted March 26, 2021 Share Posted March 26, 2021 I currently run a truetrac rear and have an arb going on the front. But I’ve had air lockers front and rear, truetracs front and rear and an Aussie front with open rear. The lunchbox was terrible in snow or ice but fun everywhere else. The truetracs were very good overall and keep you out of trouble but you will still see a tire spin. The selectables were the best overall. If I drove snow or ice frequently I’d be inclined toward the truetracs front and rear. For anything else I’d go selectable. The Aussie torq locker for the D30 is a nice lunchbox setup though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad R Posted March 26, 2021 Share Posted March 26, 2021 2 hours ago, zomeizter said: Did you wheel it hard off road? Not super hard but I’m not easy on it. Where I live in Michigan there is not much unless you go mudden witch I’m not into. So I haul mine up to northern Michigan to wheel when I get time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schardein Posted March 27, 2021 Share Posted March 27, 2021 I ran a Detroit EZ Locker (I don't think they make/offer it anymore) in the front D44 of my 79 K5 Blazer with a 454 and 35" tires. I ran a LockRight in the front D30 of my 83 CJ7 with 32" tires. In my 67 CJ5, I have a LockRight in the front D27, and a Powertrax whatever it's called in the rear 19 spline D44. The rear one is the one that is supposed to have less ratcheting noises. The only issue I ever had was in the CJ7. I had parked the Jeep in front of the house. Got in, started it, and went to back up. Went about a foot when the Jeep jerked to a stop, like the brakes had locked up. I stopped and went about figuring out what happened. Turns out the roll pin that held the cross shaft had backed out (found it in the bottom of the diff), allowing the cross shaft to slide out and jam between the ring and pinion. Since I was moving so slow, it only scarred the ring and pinion a little. I replaced the cross shaft (with one from LockRight advertised as high performance) put in a NEW roll pin with some blue loctite on it, dressed up the ring and pinion with a file, and never had another problem. I eventually sold that axle when I swapped in a front D44. All of them work(ed) well. You can hear them ratchet, which doesn't bother me, except for the one in the rear of the 67 which I really can't hear over the Buick V6 breathing through fender well exit headers into glass packs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PIKE Posted March 27, 2021 Share Posted March 27, 2021 I have a full case Detroit locker in the back of my truck. It does not ratchet at all. It does give you a good bang every once in awhile. Have a trutrac in the front of all three 4 wheel drive vehicles I own. Like others have said they don't fully lock up, but for a daily driver they are seamless maintenance free and do a great job in mud or snow. No compressors, electric lines or clutches to wear out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zomeizter Posted March 27, 2021 Author Share Posted March 27, 2021 My dudes, thanks for your feedback, this is exactly what I was after. I will do the Spartans front and rear, mostly for fun and because they're cheap, I'll just have to contain myself from wanting to rebuild the axle assemblies completely once I tear into them... On a different note, I'm also starting to mod my K5 with one-tons and those babies are getting E-locked Eatons...this is my overland project so it will take a while, also I'm poor and time is scarce ;) Carry on my dudes and dudettes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zomeizter Posted April 7, 2021 Author Share Posted April 7, 2021 I received the Spartans recently and will proceed to install these sometime soon. I also would like to replace the upper and lower ball joints for the knuckles, and I'm considering removal of the CAD system for a one piece axle shaft but I'd like to keep expenses low, what's y'all's advice on this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MontanaManche Posted April 7, 2021 Share Posted April 7, 2021 (edited) 54 minutes ago, zomeizter said: I received the Spartans recently and will proceed to install these sometime soon. I also would like to replace the upper and lower ball joints for the knuckles, and I'm considering removal of the CAD system for a one piece axle shaft but I'd like to keep expenses low, what's y'all's advice on this? I'm not sure on the year range but some of the newer xj's had a better set of axles you might be able to get from a junkyard. If I remember right they were 1 piece and had bigger u joints, I wanna say they switched around 96ish?? I'm sure there is information somewhere I just can't remember where I saw it. If you can find some of those you can get a kit with the CAD block off plate and the right seas very cheap. EDIT: the years for those axles are 95-99 xj's. Edited April 7, 2021 by MontanaManche Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghetdjc320 Posted April 7, 2021 Share Posted April 7, 2021 All XJ axles 95 to 01 and also TJ D30 axles of all years. All have the 297x u joints. All abs axles starting at least in 91 XJs also had 297 joints. Most one piece axle shafts will have the 297 joints. Some ZJ’s without the CV joint axles shafts also have what you need. Rock auto has plenty of options if your looking for something new. You’ll need to add a passenger side axle shaft seal in the diff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zomeizter Posted April 8, 2021 Author Share Posted April 8, 2021 Right on comrades, gonna grab some from rockauto, is the CV style ones not recommended or do they not fit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zomeizter Posted April 8, 2021 Author Share Posted April 8, 2021 Also, should I get adjustable ball joints or just go with OEM style? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MontanaManche Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 37 minutes ago, zomeizter said: Also, should I get adjustable ball joints or just go with OEM style? usually adjustable ball joints are for super difficult to align trucks, unless your lifted super tall all you really need is either adjustable upper control arms or adjustable lowers, preferable both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zomeizter Posted April 8, 2021 Author Share Posted April 8, 2021 3 minutes ago, MontanaManche said: usually adjustable ball joints are for super difficult to align trucks, unless your lifted super tall all you really need is either adjustable upper control arms or adjustable lowers, preferable both. LCAs and UCAs installed are adjustable, but they can only do caster adjustments. I'm just trying to get ahead of the game in case camber needs tweaking... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MontanaManche Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 44 minutes ago, zomeizter said: LCAs and UCAs installed are adjustable, but they can only do caster adjustments. I'm just trying to get ahead of the game in case camber needs tweaking... in that case I wouldn't worry about it, if your camber is that far off you probably have some serious axle warpage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghetdjc320 Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 Check your caster angle first to know what you need if anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zomeizter Posted April 9, 2021 Author Share Posted April 9, 2021 23 hours ago, MontanaManche said: in that case I wouldn't worry about it, if your camber is that far off you probably have some serious axle warpage. Aight, I'm gonna grab some moog ball joints and see how it goes. As far as the CAD delete I was inquiring about, pulled the trigger on the Yukon Gear kit with the moly shafts...doing it right the first time I reckon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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