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Rear Locker in 2WD ? Yup - it works ...

dmhines

dmhines

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I was watching a YouTube video with a review of a the HD Rebel and the YouTuber was showing how they could lock the rear differential in 2WD.

I was jealous because I thought the lockers only worked in 4WD on the PW .. Of course I had to go try it to my surprise the rear locked in 2WD

This maybe common knowledge to other Power Wagon owners but I had no idea .. however.. if you RTFM .. it also is documented in the manual the rear locks in 2WD ...
 
I think 2018 and earlier the rear locker was only able to be engaged in 4WD. But yes, it will lock in 2WD on 2019+. Relatively limited usefulness IMO though. Especially since it has a LSD that works quite well, requires no buttons to be pushed, and is smooth/no detriment to turning; and 4WD is easy to engage if terrain starts to get uneven

I’d much rather sway bar disconnect would stay disconnected at higher speeds, would smooth things out when cruising down dirt roads.
 
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el_barto said:
I think 2018 and earlier the rear locker was only able to be engaged in 4WD. But yes, it will lock in 2WD. Relatively limited usefulness IMO though. Especially since it has a LSD that works quite well, requires no buttons to be pushed, and is smooth/no detriment to turning; and 4WD is easy to engage if terrain starts to get uneven

I’d much rather sway bar disconnect would stay disconnected at higher speeds, would smooth things out when cruising down dirt roads.
Click to expand...
I had a 2009 Rubicon Wrangler .. and I know the lockers and sway bar disconnect only worked in 4WD ... I assumed PW was the same ...

I wonder if MOPAR improved the water resistance of the Sway Bar Disconnect mechanism ... on my 2009 JK I had to rebuild/replace it twice due to water intrusion.
 
el_barto said:
I’d much rather sway bar disconnect would stay disconnected at higher speeds, would smooth things out when cruising down dirt roads.
Click to expand...
Totally. I wish someone would figure that one out on AlfaOBD
 
I like the ability to lock in 2WD, but the fact it forces an unlock at about 25 makes it way less useful.
 
dmhines said:
I had a 2009 Rubicon Wrangler .. and I know the lockers and sway bar disconnect only worked in 4WD ... I assumed PW was the same ...

I wonder if MOPAR improved the water resistance of the Sway Bar Disconnect mechanism ... on my 2009 JK I had to rebuild/replace it twice due to water intrusion.
Click to expand...
Well, interesting and good to know! I have a jeep too and assumed they nerfed the locker use in the truck like they did in the Wrangler.

I'm curious on that as well with the swaybar disconnect. The 'trail rated' ones in the JK jeeps were known to die pretty easily and you couldn't replace just the motor. And working ones were priced like unobtainium. I eventually went to the EVO manual unit for mine.
 
It's worked since the 19 as far as I know.


There used to be a guy that made bypass kits for the older trucks. But he sold them on the old Power Wagon Registry board (where I came from). That place had a lot of good info and people, but it's pretty much defunct now days.
 
I’ve never driven in sand, but I’m guessing very soft sand is pretty similar to what we call “sugar snow” (snow that has been thru thaw-freeze cycles and has the consistency of sugar, and has almost no self-adhesion…very difficult to drive thru).
In general, no, you don’t want to use your lockers in the snow, you want them both open-open. If your axles are locked, you tend to loose steering ability, the vehicle tracks where it wants. If you’re stuck in the snow/sand, that’s when you want to use lockers (in addition to traction boards, if available) to get back up on top of the sand/snow.
Most important thing to do offroad in snow/sand is air down the tires
 
I ran a K5 Blazer with a lunch box locker in front and Aubrun posi in the rear in the sand dunes.
Did it work? Yes.
Was it hard to steer? Yes. Front end pushed in every corner. Wish I would have left it open.
 
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