cnskate said:
I can't buy an Aussie for the rear because I have the Chrysler 8.25. Is the True Track a limited slip? Easy installation?
The True Track is a limited slip device using gears, not clutches or cones, so there are no wear issues to speak of, it is very smooth and positive, and if I recall correctly, you don't need to use special diff lube. Initially, I installed one of these in the front D30 on the CJ-7 and noticed an immediate improvement in off road traction, especially in deep sand, including a benefit on the open diff AMC20 rear because the driveline, being gear driven, is limited to the speed of the driven wheel. It tended to slow down the entire driveline's tendency to lose traction due to wheel spin. It was not as effective as a locker would have been, but it also did not effect the front steering in any way at all.
The same tendency to control a driveline with a single device is shown with a rear locker only, in that with the rear locked, the front driveline is also speed limited to the rear wheel with traction. There can also be a tendency to understeer with a rear locker only, but the effect is far less difficult to deal with, and places no strain on the steering components. If you have to lock (not LSD) one or the other axle, the rear is far easier to live with and will give you the greatest benefit.
As for limiting turn radius and other drive issues with a front locker, all of them will limit and bind the front end, including automatic lockers. Automatic lockers will ratchet during a turn to allow one wheel to run faster than the other, but only on solid or uniform surfaces with fair to good traction and only if you are not under firm power. Under power, the automatic locker stays locked, mimicking a spool, and the tires will fight each other because they will turn at the same speed regardless. One tire will usually track the ground, the other will scuff or spin. This binding causes a lot of feedback in the steering and opens up your turn radius like you won't believe. It puts a great deal of pressure on your power steering, and if you are unfortunate enough to have manual steering, you will feel the strain.
The degree to which you will have to fight with a front locker depends on tires and terrain. I note that there are comments that they are not all that bad, but this is a matter of degree and perspective. Will you notice a front locker? Absolutely when using 4WD. They are anything but invisible.
As for use in winter, having lived in the Great White North for 26 years, I would suggest most humbly that you don't try driving a locked vehicle in winter on icy roads. Not that it can't be done. It can. But a locked axle, when tires break loose, will take you downhill, wherever that is, or in the direction of your greatest momentum, all without your permission. Lockers and icy roads are simply dangerous, and require a great deal of attention. Any locker, automatic or otherwise, WILL cause one or the other tire on a locked axle to skid in a turn on icy roads. It has to when there is not sufficient traction available to cause the auto locker to ratchet. Once traction is lost on one tire, all you have left is the other, and as they say, it is all downhill from there. I will only rarely drive a 4WD vehicle in 4WD on snow and ice roads, never locked, and always with a lot of caution. AWD is entirely different. 90% of the vehicles I ever saw upside down in the ditch in Alaska were 4WD vehicles. It is not a coincidence.
Your question, though, is whether you will benefit in expo driving from a front locker. I have to day I doubt it. A rear locker would be far more effective, and even if the model you want is not available for your axle, another brand will be.
As for ease of installation, the True Track replaces your carrier, so it requires a reset of ring and pinion. It is not a drop-in device, and unless you are comfortable with setting up gears, not recommended for the DIY guy.
