Im thinking of saving up for a front mopar D44 with locker for my sahara... even tho its an 07... i thankfully have the d44 rear already (not locked tho). And I have factory 4.10s...

Should be an easy swap right? Not too much work, basically unbolt all the crap from the old axle and roll the new one under.

If I did this... I was thinking about getting the harness and switches (quadratech has it all)... But im curious... i'd only be swapping out the front axle... and the back is still an open diff...

I know the rubis use the same button, pressed once for rear locker, and twice for front and rear.

what would happen if i only have 1 locker for this? will it all not work?

If not how do i wire it up? could i still just get the swtich so it looks factory, and wire straight to the battery?

I may end up not getting it... I will have about $1500 for some mods... the axle is $1599.. but then theres shipping.. and the $75 wiring harness and $30 switch set... plus tax... so my $1500 wont get me very far.


its a lot of money... to still not be able to do that much to the jeep. man all this stuff gets expensive. If anyone wants my paypall acct, I will begin accepting donations.

 

Running only a front locker isn't the best idea in the world.... not that it won't work, but usually the rear helps more then the front.

I've also found that doing the right lift and shocks will really help out more offroad. I wheeled an open XJ for years with a smart balanced lift and was able to get myself into plenty of trouble. And managed to get more then a few comments that the jeep drove like it was locked. Drivers skill and keeping all four wheels on the ground is key

 

Yeah I've heard that too... but i already have a rear 44... so i dont necesarrily need to replace it... and a front locker will befinately be an improvement over no lockers... i know theres times when a situation would work better with a rear locker...

my plan (if I could have my way... and money) would be to stick an ox locker in the rear eventually.

but since I may not be able to afford everything involved in a front axle.. maybe i would just do that now? dunno.

Its ironic... im on this site everyday drooling over these rigs and looking longingly through catalogs... and then when my wife basically says were gonna spend some money on the jeep (not that i need her permission... but she does our budget, and we've been going through a harder time recently) I cant be sure of what I actually wanna do to the jeep. You'd think it would be easy... but when its hard to come by the money... its even harder to spend it

 

amen brother.... I'm feeling the same way.

 

I heard you can't use factory switches in a Sahara due to the Sahara brain being unable to fathom lockers. Can anyone confirm this or not?

 

Many would disagree. I used to think the same way until I did the D44 front axle swap in mine. With the longer wheelbase of the Unlimited I think the front provides a greater benefit.

 

It's pretty subjective, I used to think much like you but have seen enough good debate on it that I would probably do the front Rubi D44 swap before anything to my open rear D44. If you have the LSD in the back then it is even better to do the front D44 swap.

 

I have done that install alredy to both front and rear axles . Do not buy the switch pannel your wasting money on it . Axles are a good buy. Get the harness from the dealer it will cost you about 75 bucks and no shiping ,get the 4 door harness it is cheaper for some reason . You will onley need the 2 plugs and wires for each locker one is for the indicator and the other is for the locker . Wire the locker to a togle switch 20 amp fuse and to the batery and no relay .
Indicator to a led light mountid on the dash. Do not hook it up to the computor or main wireing harness cause you will have lots of problems . Like onley in low range rear first and then front gets engaged and once you go faster than 7 mph it disingages the lockers . The rubicon has the program for it but the x,and sarah modle computers dont comply with that program cause they were not designed for lockers fromthe factory. You will have to get the toe in for the front end adjusted becouse it is at 7/16 - 1/2 inch mine was. It is now at 1/16inch

 

Another vote for front locker. When i put a locker in the front of my yj i just couldnt believe the difference it made. Rear helped too, dont get me worng just seemed to get more from the front.

 

Rear Limited Slip (I don't mean the freakin' BLD everyone has that) is a good question. It amazes me that Rubi owners still speak up on this issue. It must be some inadequacy thing on their part. The JK limited slip is every bit as capable as the Rubi rear locker. Add in a front locker and you have a monster. I'll ride with a similarly equipped Rubi any place, any time to prove that point. (Of course, I'd do it anyhow just for fun.)

As far as putting a D44 in, do a search. This has to be the third or fourth largest discussed topic on the forum. A search pulls up more than you possibly want to know about this. Some points are:
1. Install is about six to eight hours depending on available tools and help.
2. No you can't wire it into the JK's system.
3. Don't buy your stuff from Quadratec. The switch is useless and the harness is cheaper from the dealer. The part number is readily available from this site.
4. You don't need a relay to hook it up.
5. A 20 amp rated toggle works great although a lot of folk like the ARB switch.
6. If you're serious about wheelin' a winch would probably be a better first buy than a front locker (if you already don't have one.) That would give you more overall capability. But do keep that front locker in mind for your second big spend.

Sorry if I sound grumpy. My doctor can't quite figure out why I'm still sick so he keeps giving me more pills. I think one of them is a McCain or a curmudgeon pill.