Do I need/want rear lockers on my '75 CJ5?

I have a stock '75 CJ5 that is in very good shape. I'm thinking about putting lockers on the back but I really don't know Jack about them.

What is the best/reasonable price type?
Will they make a big difference?
Are they hard to install?
Any bad side effects?

The main purpose for owning this jeep is for accessing some rough AZ mountain/desert country for my weekend "job" doing exploration. I don't want to spend a ton of $$$ on it with lots of mods, but I want to make it as good as I can for some really rocky "roads". I met some guys today coming back from one of the roads I'm talking about. One Wrangler and a Suzuki. They were both rigged as rock crawlers. I was on my ATV checking out the road to see if the jeep might make it. Almost flipped the ATV a few times in bad ruts and boulders. The Wrangler made it but the Suzuki ended up on its side. The guy in the jeep said I'd need rear lockers to get in there with my cj5.

Any advice?

 

Here's a piece of "road" I'm talking about.

 

oh no this is going to be interesting.

personally i say go with some kind of locker in the rear. but other people will say a good limited slip is just fine.

 

A rear locker would be nice, but it can make a SWB Jeep handle completly different than you are used to on the street.

If you haven't wheeled much, I would say to get out on less difficult trails, and get a feel for your Jeep, and what it can do first. The more you wheel, the less you will need a locker, and you will also get a better idea of what mods you really want.

If you realy feel you have to have a locker, LockRights are around $209 last I looked at Jegs. Click Here

 

Randy's Ring & Pinion has some good tech articles on limited-slip and lockers. http://www.ringpinion.com

Check the rear axle of your '75 - many of these Jeeps were delivered with a limited slip differential (LSD) from the factory. There will be a tag spec'ing special oil if it has a LSD. You can also take the cover off and look at the differential carrier. The stock LSD is a Dana TracLock; not a great LSD, since it is ratehr weak, fairly mild power transfer and wears out quickly. You can make it work better by replacing the clutch pack.

 

I'm a big fan of having a locker in the rear of my Jeep. It makes all the difference in the world in the type of four wheeling that I do, mud and sand. I've never driven on boulders like that in your photo, though. When I went to install my Lock Right, I was surprised to find that my rear differential was already a limited slip from the factory (Trac Loc?). Anyway, because of that, I had to replace the carrier with an open differential carrier in order for the Lock Right to work. They're about as difficult to install as changing a ring & pinion. If you've done that, you can definately install a locker. As for the handling, the Jeep does handle differently, but not to the point that I would say that it wasn't worth the trade-off. For example, when driving on pavement through a turn, if you go from power to coast or vice-versa during the turn the rear axle will buck a bit. This is especially noticable maneuvering in parking lots. It's just something that, once you're familiar with it, you can live with it. Living in Florida I can't say how it handles in snow or ice.

Eric.

 

i have to agree with dan a front locker would help a lot.

 

Manual trans + rear locker + a SWB Jeep@highway speeds = 1 frightening ride, if you aren't aware of how a locker affects your rig.

I run lockers F&R in most every rig I own, except the M170. Trust me, it helps on the trail, but if you haven't learned to pick lines first, it van just as easily get you in over your head.



Please don't build past your capabilities. I personally think that by the time you have lockers F&R and 33s, you should already have a full cage.

 

First one is LBL, second is Badlands.

I have more pix of rollovers I have seen and been in than I care to count.

I just posted a couple that were people "in over their heads".

You see, a locker will make your rig so capable that it does most of the work, and makes you feel invincable. However, once you reach the limits of your rig, you are so far over your head that you have no idea what to do, and someone gets hurt.

That is why I constantly stress to get out and learn to wheel very well open before you lock up your rig.

I see a rollover probably once every third trip out, BTW.

 

Yeah, but the locker changes the driver's perception. See it happen all the time.

Kinda like when my best friend became a police officer- not all police officers are on a power trip, but tha power can go to your head...

 

Greenbean: From a Havasu resident. I have a Detroit locker in the rear and a Lockright in the D27 up front. That road looks a little ruffer than mine here--have smaller rocks. I find the Detroit in the rear works great around here, and in the sandy washes too. Rarely have to put it into 4wd. The Detroit really pushes it through. With the Lockright in front, there's just not about any place that I can't go.

BUT, with the Detroit in the rear, it IS tricky on slick streets. I don't drive mine in the rain just because of that. I know what it will do, and if I'm caught out in the rain, I'm very carefull. Does GREAT donuts!

But, then again, if you don't mind "chirping" the tires on tight turns, oversteer and understeer on dry streets, the Detroit is GREAT!