Any Jeepers in here?

[lovemachine]

Lockers.

Are they worth the money if you have never done "hard" off-roading?

 

[Hookeye]

I've never had a locker in any of the 7 Jeeps I've had.
Would have liked one.
Doesn't take much to get stuck.
Adding a locker and driving normal should prove sweet.

But who drives normal after they get a locker?

I'd just try more stuff and get hung up worse, or break more junk.

When I retire my ZJ from daily driving it will get a locker.

 

[Caleb]

Wow...well out of my budget

 

[Hookeye]

Locrites are only $300


FWIW I got my ZJ for $3500 in '06.
Lift was............about $500, and took me 6 hrs to install with hand tools (no air).

Jeep= Kroil.

Get some.

I have about $6K in my piece of crap. But have driven it for 6 years (just a boring ZJ with 3.5" of lift and 32" mudders- nothing hardcore, works great as a deer hauler though).

Do pretty much all my own repairs, if I didn't I'd have aay too much in the thing.

 

[eldirector]

Lockers.

Are they worth the money if you have never done "hard" off-roading?

Nope.

I wheel with a guy that runs 35" tires on his stock axles with no lockers. He goes about anywhere the rest of us do. Just needs more throttle and more momentum. Hasn't broken anything (yet). My "unlocked" TJ actually did surprisingly well when we took it out earlier in the month.

Lockers will definitely increase traction. The downside is that they transfer all that force to the rest of the drivetrain. The stock Dana 30 and 35C in a Wrangler aren't really up to the abuse.

On a daily-driver and occasionally light wheeler, unless you are routinely getting stuck with 2 tires spinning, I wouldn't bother. If you DO go with a locker, I'd just get a drop-in version (rather than a full carrier replacement). No point in spending a fortune on the stock axles.

 

[eldirector]

Wow...well out of my budget

Dude, you can afford a Volvo! That's well out of MY budget!

If you think these are expensive, look at the newer 4-door Jeeps. My wife REALLY wants one.

 

[lovemachine]

I see.

So how much am I looking at if I had lockers installed. And upgraded my axles and did a regear?

I'm also trying to decide if it'll be worth doing a SYE. I know it'll take care of vibrations, but honestly, I'm probably used to them by now because I don't notice anything...

 

[Caleb]

Dude, you can afford a Volvo! That's well out of MY budget!

If you think these are expensive, look at the newer 4-door Jeeps. My wife REALLY wants one.

My Volvo is an 2001, and I paid less than what some of you guys did on your jeeps. Did I mention I just bought a new-to-me car?

 

[Hookeye]

Upgrades...........you either do them yourself or have a bud in the club do them for a reasonable price

 

[eldirector]

I see.

So how much am I looking at if I had lockers installed. And upgraded my axles and did a regear?

I'm also trying to decide if it'll be worth doing a SYE. I know it'll take care of vibrations, but honestly, I'm probably used to them by now because I don't notice anything...

One thing leads to 10 others, doesn't it?!!??

Lock-rite lockers are about $300 or so each.
New gears (and the install kit) are another $200 each, and you must do both axles, so $400.
May as well do the front u-joints while it is apart. Another $50.
Labor is what will kill you. Look at $200-$300 per axle, depending on the shop.

So, about $2000 for front and rear lockers and a re-gear, I am guessing. I do everything myself, so save the labor (well, "save" isn't a good word).

You can also get upgraded axle shafts (chromoly) front and rear to reduced breakage, and they make a C-clip elimination kit for the rear (a common item to break).

If you have driveline vibs, then your driveshaft u-joints will have a pretty short life. Cheap "fix" is a skid-plate drop, but you lose clearance. Better fix is the SYE kit with a new drieshaft. I dropped the skid in my TJ, since I don't really wheel it much.

 

[lovemachine]

One thing leads to 10 others, doesn't it?!!??

Yes! And I have found out the hard way....

$2000 for lockers, axle and regear. Plus what, another $1500 for SYE...


Crap. I swear a 4-door truck is looking better all the time.

 

[terrehautian]

I have always been a fan of Toyota pick ups. I like the 89-91 ones specifically.

They normally came with at least 31's, if not 33's and were pretty good off road. I also like the new Tacoma's with the TRD package (lockers).

 

[eldirector]

Yes! And I have found out the hard way....

$2000 for lockers, axle and regear. Plus what, another $1500 for SYE...


Crap. I swear a 4-door truck is looking better all the time.

Well, learn how to install gears/lockers yourself, and knock $600 off of that. It isn't hard, just very time consuming. Which is why shops charge so much.

 

[lovemachine]

Another problem.

$2000 is an AR15 build. Which I've already started doing.

I can't make up my min which to do! Jeep or AR, Jeep or AR.....

 

[Caleb]

I have always been a fan of Toyota pick ups. I like the 89-91 ones specifically.

They normally came with at least 31's, if not 33's and were pretty good off road. I also like the new Tacoma's with the TRD package (lockers).

I'd rock that with a 7mgte swap in

 

[Twentyfootdaredevil]

Yes! And I have found out the hard way....

$2000 for lockers, axle and regear. Plus what, another $1500 for SYE...


Crap. I swear a 4-door truck is looking better all the time.

It all depends on what you want the jeep to do and where you want to go. Even with my bigger tires I couldn't make it 10 feet down most of the trails I like without both lockers working.
A lunchbox locker in the rear axle will do wonders and get you ALOT of places but the, you are going to be worried about the rear axle all the time.


Most of the time I tell people that want to get more into offroading to ride with a guy that has a rig like he "thinks" he wants. A few people have rode with me thinking they wanted to try bigger obstacles and were more than happy staying in a TJ w/ 33s.

 

[Newpaper Man]

 

[Newpaper Man]

This is my old cherokee that was sold last year use to be a four door built every square inch of it myself. Really wanted a wrangler so I sold it and bought one. Now shopping for an other wrangler.

88 cherokee
4.0 auto trans
5.5 inch lift
33x12.5x15 TSL swampers
8.8 rear axle welded spider gears
Dana 30 with a lock right

 

[Dick]

Ahh, sorry i missed so much. Yes, my name suits me ill be at the badlands sept 15-16. Please, come out and we will see what it can do. See if it can follow my 500 dollar jeep and determine which is superior. In all honest, no bs opinion, that volvo is more set up for winter driving than offroad. The ground clearance is lacking, independent suspension on all corners offers zero articulation, and the lack of any low range (or even any kind of transfercase selection im guessing) will make even the sand hills difficult.

Budget Jeeps can be done if you arent picky and not afraid of body damage on the trail. Wheeled with a bone stock 800 dollar xj that did most of what bundy hill had to offer minus huge rocks and deep mud holes, but not for lack of trying

I still find it odd that people open the Jeep then cant believe that the people in it are all about Jeeps.....cmon, really, its a thread about Jeeps!

 

[Newpaper Man]

The jeep above started out as a budget wheeler with a $250 lift kit and 31s when it was all said and done total build cost was over 9k but that includes two motors and a couple of trannys a couple of tcases and an axle or two. Getting into the hobby can be very cheap but keeping your junk going is a budget killer. Then you get out with some other guys and want to keep up with them on the trails then Just Empty Every Pocket