We have had a lot of guys ask about lockers for the KJ on this site and I wil provide some info to try and help out. Please don't think I am coming across as an expert but just providing info. There are many lockers on the market today and they in most part work great. I am not going to go into all of them but more of just info to the KJ. We have a club in So-cal and have installed almost every single model that is out there for the KJ so here is what seems to work for us.
Most KJs today are built as follows:
2002-2003 has the 45 tranny (great tranny ) and some 2003 and later have the 42..you could also have a manual tranny.
d30a in the front
Corp 8 1/4 in the rear with open diff or factory TracLock
231 command trac t-case or 242 select trac t-case
Some of the 4 bangers have a different rear diff and also has 410 gears. Some of the 4 bangers and a few rare 6 cyl...may habve a differnt rear diff.
The ARB...is one of the best lockers on the market today. The make a front and rear locker for the KJ. It is an air locker, works only when you turn it on and work great both on and off road. When not needed, turn it off and you have open diffs for on road us like in snow and ice. When you need it turn on the switch and you are locked 100%. Thes lockers have to be setup in a shop that can deal with setting the backlash and pinion depth. They cost the most but work great.
The Detroit TrueTrac is a gear drive locker and they work when needed if torque is applied and a wheel lifts off the ground. They make a front and rear locker for the KJ. When shifted into 2 wheel drive...you dont even notice the locker in the front. When shifted into 4 wheel drive...the front seems just a bit heavy to steer. Not a big deal but you will notice it a little. Again a shop would need to install these to set the backlash and pinion depth. The price is very good and work great.
The Powertrax is a very good locker that is installed in place of the spider gears in the rear diff. Works all the time. It is a very solid unit and has been in 2 of mY KJs with 3 trips to Moab and tons of other trips in the West. We do a lot of rocks out here and it has held up very well. Powertrax makes a couple of different versions. The No Slip and the Lock Right. The No Slip is a great unti that does not make a lot of noise and OK to use all the time on both and off road. I would recommend the No Slip to use all the time in a KJ. The Lock Right...is a solid unit but will make noise and some times has a habit of unlocking and locking at maybe the wrong time. Wet roads can be a pain with this unit and also a stick shift as well. We have a Lock Right in the rear of a Toyota that we beeat up hard...and it is manny tranny. it love to move the rear of the Toyota at every shift. The Lock Right is cheaper and that is why a lot of folks buy them...but do you self a favor and pay the extra cost for the No Slip. Easy install ...can be done at home with simple hand tools. As long as you mesh all the gears they way they need to be to do the install. The price on the No Slip Locer is great for what you get and it does an outstanding job.
If you plan on doing trails where you will do some flexing and lift a tire...The lockers I have talked about will really help out. Places that might have held you up before ...you will drive right over with lockers. It's always great to have a wheel up in the air doing the jeep wave and still moving forward. Besides...tons of the old hard core off roaders dont even know you can buy lockers for the KJ...so when you lift a wheel off the ground and keep moving...They will olook at you funny and say, "Is that thing locked up...I didnt even know they made lockers for those"....You can have some fun and say, "Thats the way it came from the factory. I dont even know what lockers are"...hehehe.. Hope this helps. I know it is just quick info and not detailed instructions but it might help a few of you out if you plan on locking your KJ. I can help with part bnumbers if needed. There are a few things to know to get the right part number if you install lockers in a KJ. Hope this helps. Later...Clint
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