Ten years ago, selectable locking differentials were about as rare as a brain in a celebutant's head. Today, selectable lockers are more common than child-star substance abuse. These lockers can be locked and unlocked using everything from air pressure to cables, and in this case, 12-volt electricity. The Auburn ECTED is actually a limited slip and a true locking differential all wrapped into one. The limited slip mechanism of the ECTED is a clutch plate-style limited slip. The locking mechanism is engaged by an electromagnet via a 12-volt switch. It's a fairly simple install if you have a few key tools and some axle experience available to you.

Lock-Right Locker
Lock-Right has become the old standby of drop-in lockers. It has been manufactured by various companies over the years, and now Richmond Gear has its name on it. We got our test unit from Randy's Ring and Pinion as they have a good price, ship fast, and great customer service.

Until recently, there hasn't been much in the way of selectable electric lockers outside of OEM applications. A couple of years ago there was the Detroit Electrac, but the unit was overly-complicated and proved less than durable in Jp's long-term testing. Eaton must've agreed because a short time after it bought the Detroit brand, it yanked the Electrac from its product line. Thankfully, Eaton has lots of experience producing electronically selectable lockers for OEM applications, like GM's gold-chainer Hummer H2 and others. So it didn't take much for the company to lock its engineers in a candle-lit room and pelt them with melon balls until they came up with a viable design for the aftermarket that didn't require air lines, a compressor, or super-long lengths of cable to operate.

Taller, heavier tires, a higher center-of-gravity, and softer springs on a modified Jeep conspire to reduce braking effectiveness. Sometimes the problem is severe enough on extreme rigs to warrant high-dollar racing parts and a custom braking system. That's all fine and dandy, but to get better braking without completely melting your credit card try upgrading to some high-performance pads and rotors from EBC Brakes. EBC pad friction material comes in several levels starting with the low-dust, extended-life replacement Ultimax pads. Stepping up the stopping power next are the Redstuff and Greenstuff (6000 and 7000) series. EBC's grip flagship is the high-friction, aramid fiber Yellowstuff pad which gives ultimate brake performance.

Most folks immersed in the world of early Jeeps have heard of Herm Tillford, aka, Herm the Overdrive Guy. In fact, those in the early Jeep inner circle know right away what you're talking about when you say something like, "I used Herm's steering kit," or, "I had Herm rebuild my T-case and overdrive." And although the company is technically called ATV Manufacturing, anybody who has visited Herm's website at hermtheoverdriveguy.com has probably come to associate the moniker with a wide selection of specialty conversion drivetrain, steering, and braking parts for early Jeep vehicles.

There is nothing worse than being all flexed-out and not being able to go any further because both front and rear differentials are open and the tires are just spinning. Such was the case with our Jeepster at the TDS Desert Safari in Ocotillo Wells, California, and we decided to do something about it.

We all need connections. I connected with a girl in high school once and it was great. She'd let me copy homework off of her, she would get her mom to buy clothes for me and dress me up, and she'd cook for me, too. Even though we had a real connection, it ended too early. I used to have the same problems with Kenny's Le Car. It turns out the French aren't that good at wiring.inline_mediumwraptextright26550205/techarticles/electrical/154_0910_october_2009_randys_electrical_corner154_0910_01_z+jeep_wire_connectors+randy.jpgTrue

Trac-Lok
Overview: The Trac-Lok is the OEM limited slip differential offered in many vehicles-from early CJs from the mid-'70s up through XJs and some TJs. It uses stacks of friction discs that hold the spider gears from differentiating until enough torque is generated by the shafts to let them spin.inline_mediumwraptextright26542252/techarticles/drivetrain/154_0910_jeep_locker_overviewjpmp_0910_10_z+jeep_locker_traction_reviews+truc_lok.jpgTrue

If you've ever shifted your T-case on the trail with your suspension all crossed up,then you know the misery. You tug, heave, and yank like a bear with his paw in a trap in an effort to row through the gates.

Yeah, yeah, all Jeeps mark their spot. If we hear that one more time we're gonna puke. The real truth is, not all Jeeps mark their spot. Only the ones with shoddy maintenance, worn components, and lazy owners mark their spot. And while most tend to attribute that oil-puking-excuse of a saying to older Jeeps, even newer models from the '80-'90s aren't free from inherent sealing troubles.

Flattie Follies
I've read your magazine for a few years now and love it. I just decided to part ways with my '03 TJ. I'm currently active duty in the Army and just returned from a 12-month tour in Afghanistan and am currently serving another 12-month tour in Egypt. While over here I just found a '46 CJ-2A for $500. So, with a few quick emails to my dad and buddies it's being picked up this weekend.

In some college some-where there is a professor droning on and on aboutseries and parallel and even series/parallel circuits. I was following Kenny around and picking on him and accidentally ended up in the back of one of these classes. I don't really remember much of it though because I fell asleep and woke up in the middle of some kind of "art" class, if you know what I mean.

The last time we messed with the suspension on Jay Miller's TJ we showed you how to convert to coilovers using top-quality Walker Evans 16-way adjustable shocks, Eibach Springs, and some simple shock mounts from Currie Enterprises. The story is on our web site at jpmagazine.com if you want a refresher. Well, the Jeep is back and this time we're tackling the back end, ditching the factory coil setup for some clean, simple coilovers.

Like most of your finer strippers, Jeeps were meant to be topless. Or at leastsporting a little bikini top. And like most of your finer strippers, Jeeps can be touchy, problematic, and cause no end of grief. However, unlike most of your finer strippers, you can simply order the parts and components you need to make your Jeep stable, reliable, and free of Daddy issues. That last one is a bit of a stretch, but let's face it, both in the gentleman's club and on the trail it's better to be unencumbered by problems.

We've all heard the stories that a friend of a friend's father knew someone whowired his car up to shock anyone who touched the door handle or sheetmetal. While it is possible, it is illegal in every state we've checked so far and not very nice if you forget to shut it off before touching the Jeep yourself.

Ya just won't listen to me. For years I've been preaching the gospel that it's betterto regear your 2.5L's axles rather than bolting a bunch of go-fast parts to the engine. My argument was that for less money you'll get better driveability, fuel economy, and performance by changing gears. So I finally put my money where my mouth is.

Sometimes comfort matters. When you're slogging umpteen miles on your tires every day with only the occasional foray into the back woods, it makes sense to select a tire with mild on-road manners and not a crazy off-road performer that will shake your fillings loose on the pavement. We ran a set of General Tire's now-discontinued Grabber APs on a daily-driver nearly 20 years ago. So when it came time to shoe another daily driver with a tire that wouldn't make us feel like we were driving a paint shaker, we were curious to see the improvements time and technology brought about in General's more modern AT2 tire. We had five of the tires in a 235/75R15 size mounted and balanced on our Wrangler's 15x8 aluminum aftermarket rims and proceeded to eat up the on- and off-road miles.

Back in the '90s, Goodyear introduced the MT/R name and with it, a radical depar- ture from the other aggressive tires of the time. It balanced well, was quieter than anything else that aggressive, and its construction lent itself to abuse like no radial tire did before. Fast forward a decade, and many Jeepers have come to look at the MT/R as the tire for the Jeep that drives on- and off- road, and many of the MT/R's design features have found their way into other manufacturers' tires.

In the time of radial tires, the Pit Bull Tire Company has come to be famous for an aggressive line of bias-ply tires that work great off-road. Coming from such an aggressive lineage, we tested these Growlers like we would any other mud tire-we broke them in for 1,000 miles on-road, and then took them in the dirt to pound on them and make them yelp for mercy.

Once you move into Interco's Super Swamper line of tires, you're really saying,"I care more about off-road performance than on-road comfort." In fact, you're saying it in bold, neon letters the size of a battleship. The Super Swamper TSL, or three stage lug design is comprised of short, intermediate, and large lugs that bite hard and clean out quickly. They're built on a tough bias-ply carcass that can soak up hard rock hits, rubbing, and any off-road abuse you can dish out. Where the LTB differs from the regular TSL design is in the layout of these TSL lugs, with the LTB featuring more aggressive, wider lug spacing. The outer lugs are offset farther to the outside of the tread and the sidewall lugs extend down onto the sidewall more than the regular TSL. Interco offers the LTB in a lot of cool sizes not found in some of its other lines. We're dreaming of the 16/40-15 for some future projects, but for now we ordered up five 31x11.50-15 Interco Super Swamper LTBs for testing on a mildly built Wrangler.

I have been going on about how much better HID (High Intensity Discharge) lightsare for your Jeeps all this time and it's occurred to me some of you might not know how they work. Heck, some of you younger guys likely take the existence of HIDs in automobiles for granted.

It turns out that some of you guys out there actually read what I have to say. As surprised as I am that the editors of this magazine keep inviting me back and that some of you actually like the column (thanks for the fan mail!), but I was really surprised when a pair of LED headlights showed up in the mail.

Crown Jewels
I enjoyed very much your two-part article on the $500 YJ project ("Why-J," March '09)! I don't have a YJ, but I do have an '85 XJ I've owned since new and have been gradually restoring. Since it has the venerable 2.5L motor, a lot of your article applies to me, including the high-reading oil pressure gauge, which I never figured out until now!

We have had enough experience with crappy, half-built, or half-resurrected Jeeps over the years that we are uniquely qualified to help just about anyone. We aren't bright enough to know when to say when and leave those piles of Jeeps at home, and not take them off into the woods. So, that leaves us uniquely qualified to fix basically anything with nothing, especially in the dirt, and especially well enough to get back to camp.

Getting stuck, breaking down, or even surviving a rollover off-road isn't the end of the world providing nobody is harmed. So when your progress is impeded for whatever reason, it's important to keep your head about you and remember a few simple rules.