What do ya'll think about putting a spool in the front dana 44
on my CJ5 let me know your opinions?????:beer:

i wheel with a guy that runs a spool in his front d60 and he loves it, hes been wheeling that way for at least 5 years

Hey, I plan on doing this one I get the 44 finished.

Here are my reasons.

Cheap

Less likely to give you problems then welding

Lockrite is the next cheapest and ive heard of them not unlocking in the front.

I dont compete so I will back up if I need to make a turn

Unlock the hubs and you dont know its there.

did it occur to you that u wont be able to turn while in 4wd, next time u go wheeling, only allow your wheel to turn a quater of the way in each direction, see how u like it, a friend has a detriot in the front and he cant turn, a spool will be worse, another buddy wheels arbs, and he can turn when he is lock, i would suguest puttin the spool, u prob wont keep it in there long

So you are saying dont use a spool and dont use a detroit and I have heard in the past that lockrites dont unlock..hence a spool,

NOWAY i can afford ARB or OX...

Now what, EZ locker, LSD...come on

I run a spool in the front of my cj.I love it.yes its more dificult to make full turns on dry hard surfaces but its fine in dirt mud or anywhere your tires slip a bit- when your tires grab what an open diff would cry over its worth it.I welded mine first to see if I liked it cause i had a spare carrier.If i had the $$ id get an ox but im cheep.

I run a spools in my front and rear 44's, and I do compete. The people that knock 'em haven't tried them. They are right about it being hard to turn on hard surfaces, but you don't even know it's there in the dirt or rocks, and do you drive down the street with the hubs locked??? The spool is much better than the Lock-right it replaced, especially when your front end is bent. Just run it and save the extra $$$ for :beer: .

Originally posted by Brian E
The people that knock 'em haven't tried them.


not true. i knock them because a buddy of mine welded his front d44 and when he was done he can only turn 1/4 turn each way with the hubs locked in. that is on hard surfaces, dirt, sand, mud, you name it. after seeing how his did i'd never do it.

Thanks for the feedback all I think I will use the spool in the front for the same reason as many It's cheap and strong and i don't compete and won't hesitate to back up and if i need to turn on the way up an obstical I'll just nail the gas and slip the tires I run the spool in the rear and i run alot on the road even, and wouldn't change a thing.:beer:

Im curious to what locker you run?

I guess it does depend on where you are at...Here in Indiana its kinda hard to be wheeling on anything other than dirt and mud, unless you got the 4 wheel drive engaged at the mall of course.:D

One more spool question...Can it be, like the lockrite, installed without removing the carrier...mini spool of course.

Just my $.02...
I have a welded front in my wagoneer and it is a bit harder to turn, but that's life with a locker. Any differential lock is going to make steering more difficult, so why spend $300 on a locker that will eventually wear out when you can get a more reliable spool that won't wear out? You do the math. :D

hey 46-yes the mini can be installed like a lunch box locker without taking it out.its not as strong as a full spool but stronger than welded and you dont have to readjust the gears.t

have you considered getting independant front brakes? keep your diff open, and regulate traction by locking one side of the axle....


just an idea, and it won't hinder your steering too much (if you've got an auto... i'd hate to try this with a manual)


hey tuckster, good to see another FSJer on the board :smokin:

Heres my 02. If the money is a issue i would definalty do it. I personally wouldnt even bother with the lock rite because ive heard the same thing, that it stays locked. But a detroit will unlock and make it quite a bit easier to turn. My buddy has one in his yota with 38's. He is able to turn the wheel all the way no problem in 4wd in the parking lot. I tried with the Arb on (same as spool) THere was no way in hell that wheel was going to turn. So theres my input do what ya want.

Originally posted by kmgmacgood
....I'll just nail the gas and slip the tires .....

with your tires turned and spooled that will be enough to snap the u-joints clean off of that thing, what ever u decide on, just remember what u read on this board

I ran a welded up front end in my Toyota for a while. Yes it makes a huge difference traction-wise and yes it hindered my steering quite alot. The problem wasn't while doing the actual tough stuff, the problem was in between the tough stuff and not being able to make that corner with out a back-up - go - backup - go.

Also when it was pulled out after about 6 months of abuse the welds were cracked. I was sure that the welds were going to hold no problem but those components see a bashing when wheeling so make sure its welded tight.

Washington, Maine ...huh.......

I am going to put a borrowed mini spool in my 44 for my next wheeling event (EMWF). I'm interested in how the steering does.

If you do run the spool you might also want to run some ctm joints in there along with some good shafts. I'd also put a big powersteering cooler on. Also make sure your draglink and tie rod are up for the job, there's going to be alot of extra stress on everything .

for the tough shit you could lock both hubs... for just toolin around, you could lock only one side... 3WD

I ran a welded front Dana 44 at Attica last October with basically a stock steering set up with 39.5" TSL's. The pump was worked for boosted pressure. It would turn, kinda. It didn't have the power to turn the wheels unless the Jeep was moving forward. Now I'm running a full hydraulic set up using the same pump. It turns much better now. Only gets hung up if a tire is wedged other than that, I have full lock to lock. I'm going to try a different pump.

My brother in law has a spool in his 44 and runs a Howe full hydro set up. He basically open palms the wheel all the time. He also has full lock to lock.

Before I swapped in the 44, I was running a lock-right in the 30 with 36" TSL's. It wasn't the easiest thing to turn, but if I rocked it, it would turn.

Willy pete has a point, though its not as much difference as you would think. I have a YJ with a lockright in front and detroit in back. When I first locked the front I tried it on pavement and it was scary. hardly any steer at all! I installed a cable disco for the front to replace the vacuum and it made a small difference, but not alot. But...when I wheeled with this setup it was great and on the trail it handled fine! went anywhere I wanted to go, no problem. Now I was not aware at this point of the lockright EVER unlocking so whats the point of not spooling? I got the lockright cheap so no regrets, but I wouldn't hesitate to spool it otherwise..however you will notice a problem on dirt roads at moderate speeds in 4wd. In my case it doesn't bother me because I just use 2wd for that and being locked in the rear is genarally fine. I WOULD lock the rear first though. Don't start with the front.Also front locker isn't real easy in snow regardless of what you use

Hey all thanks for all the info on the subject I do have a set of ctm joints and I think it will be fine especialy when using warn shafts I also have a reworked steering pump so that should also be alright and I am in the process of putting a crossover steering setup on and I will make it strong as hell. Thanks again for the feedback.

{for the tough shit you could lock both hubs... for just toolin around, you could lock only one side... 3WD -willypete}

hey why wont this work?:idea: :idea: :idea:

If you have a twin stick Tcase the Spool wouldn't be a big deal. You should possibly look into that. I still say go detroit over a spool, or ARB/OX over both.

Originally posted by Victor
I installed a cable disco for the front to replace the vacuum and it made a small difference, but not alot.

So not much better with the posi? I guess the rear spool would push you and youd still slide on the drivers side wheel.

nope just wanted to spool the front and detroit in rear and run in 3 wheel till it got really tough then lock the other hub. guess ill put that twin stick on and do it

Just watch you PS fluid doesn't get too hot, the first time out after welding the front on mine it boiled over like crazy. I put a huge cooler on there from a tranny cooler kit and it never gets too hot now.

Originally posted by Jason R
If you have a twin stick Tcase the Spool wouldn't be a big deal. You should possibly look into that.

WTF?? Um.. the spool is locked up all the time.. As long as your hubs are locked you'll ~feel~ it. It doesn't care if there's torque applied or not, so your twin stick theory is wrong. :flipoff2:

Originally posted by Jason R
I still say go detroit over a spool, or ARB/OX over both.

Agreed!