Lock-Rite in the snow??

David Fillman wrote: I have Lock Rites front and rear in my 1945 Willys. They provide excellent off road traction but make for very wide turns in 4WD. I removed the interlock in my Browne Lipe model 18 transfer case so I can select 2WD low range to make sharp turns easier off road. Take it easy in 2WD low or you will snap an axle. No big deal in the Willys with rear floating hubs, but big deal in a CJ2A. On road I have to release one of the front hubs or steering will be very jerky on hard top in 2WD high range. The rear diff will clank and rattle going around a turn. You can feel it grabbing and releasing. Apply throttle in a turn on hard top and be ready for instant power oversteer due to the rear locker engaging. The MB with junk NDTs will go through up to 24" of snow depending on how hard packed it is. I compete in local Jeep events and was having a hard time going through an obstacle course some years ago. I had made it 3/4s of the way through beyond where many drivers had given up when I realized I had forgotten to lock the front hubs. That gives you some idea of how well the rear Lock Rite was working.

Sweet!

I towed my dad's 74 IH pickup through three feet of snow to get it into it's final resting place next to the house. I just used L/L and chains on the front with open diffs.

duffer wrote: My 3B has a Powr-Lok in the rear and it is manageable on ice/packed snow but you really need to remain cognizant that it's back there.  If you hit the throttle a bit to much on a corner, you can swap ends quickly.  No way do I want either a limited slip or locker in the front axle under those conditions.  And I had a Detroit Locker in the rear of that Willys for a while and just couldn't handle the road manners on dry pavement let alone snow. While Ken's extra set of axles solution would work-sort of anyway-that is a lot of trouble.  Best solution, IMO, ditch the D25 for a bolt-in D30 and buy something like an ARB or Eaton e-locker that you can have in either mode with the flip of a switch.  I put an ARB in the new front axle for my B but still using the Powr-Lok in the rear.

Definitely food for thought.
Of course, just as I pick up a two-piece axle D44, some local puts up an ad on CL for a pair of axles: A D30 front with Lincoln locker and a one-piece axle offset D44 with an open diff. Both have brand new 5.38s installed.  $1000 takes the pair.


Too rich for my blood... That's okay, though. Included in the pile of parts I picked up from Scott (Work In Progress) was a set of front Rzeppa axle shafts. They need to be cleaned up, but they are in beautiful shape aside from a bit of surface rust.




Edited by LesBerg - 16 Nov. 2017 at 2:53am

Love the Videos Stan. fun and educational!

My neighbor had an automatic locker in the rear of his CJ7 and did not like it at all on the street. Fine off road. He pulled it out and we put in an Elocker front and rear. Problem solved.