If you plan on taking your Jeep off road, get it. The differential will allow your Jeep to have traction and move through slippery or slick off road surfaces without getting stuck.

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/differential.htm

 

On my last trip to CO, I was amazed at how well the trac loc kept the rear wheels from spinning in 4lo. All available power was put in the right place.

 

It's worth it, get it. It'll help on and off-road in slippery conditions.

 

It will also help you get better traction on the road once you install the supercharger. :thumbsup:

 

Not a dissent here - just some thoughts:

The JK is the first Wrangler to come with traction control and it does work. I've owned every model of off-road Jeep made from an unlocked CJ on up to a fully locked TJ Ruby.

My JK is very competent in the slick stuff, even without the locker option(s). I can feel the traction control working in slick conditions whether on road or not. This past Winter I used 4x4 in the JK the least amount ever in one of my 4-wheel drives. The traction control worked so well in 2-wheel drive that it just was not necessary to use 4x4 much in the snow and ice.

Now, I'm not trying to claim traction control is the same as a locker. I'm just pointing out that compared to "open" axles the JK's traction control does represent an improvement.

Bill

 

It's worth it. I did not get the trac lock in my first 07 JK and I paid the price when I got stuck in the mud. You might as well not even get a 4x4 w/o the trac lock. I felt so useless. My second 07 JK now has the Trac Lock and I love it. I had it on my last 4 TJs as well. This is an option that a Jeep owner should never overlook. As far as I'm concerned, it should be a standard on all 4x4s. Just my 2 cents....:2thumbsup:

 

The built in Electronic Stability Program and the Trak-Lok limited slip are actually very complimentary to each other.

Here's a scenario for you where Trak-lok beats the ESP:

Imagine you have one wheel entirely off the ground (or in super slippery slush), and the other wheel is on firm ground. With a normal differential, you are now stuck. The torque is transmitted equally to both wheels. For the wheel off the ground, it spins madly. For the wheel on the ground, it creaks a little, but doesn't have enough torque to actually move you.

In this specific situation, the ESP program won't actually help. It will add braking force to the spinning wheel, but this won't add enough torque to the wheel that is not moving, so you remain stuck.

With the Trak-lok limited slip differential, it will only allow the spinning wheel to spin so far before it starts transferring more torque to the unmoving wheel. The more power you add, the more power gets added to the wheel on firm ground. The result is - that wheel finally gets enough torque to move the vehicle, and you aren't stuck anymore.

Anyway, hope this helps.

-North Bend Jeeper

 

Hey there, bump time... is the trac-Lok even available as an option any longer? I know it was available & I have it on my 08 sahara but cannot locate it on jeeps website or any correspondence. Anyone?

 

Awesome.. I made my 08 Sahara Order today, and certainly added it... Now just gotta wait the 3months

 

I have posted this in the past as well. The Trak loc is not worth the money. It has clutches and will wear out eventually and does not even work that well. The JK has awesome electronic tractino control which works great without the weird handling issue of trak loc.

If you really want to improve the tractino, get the real locker, not trak loc (which is a limited slip) Pay the extra few hundred and get the selectable locker. There is no reason to get the trac loc, it is outdated now that there is electronic traction control and you have the option of selectable gear driven locker. Now if one is on the lot with Trac loc, that is a different story, but if you are ordering, keep it open or get the selectable locker, not trac loc. Just my two cents. I had trac loc on my 93 wrangler and was never impressed adn after about 75k miles, i had to have it replaced.

 

"The Trak loc is not worth the money. It has clutches and will wear out eventually and does not even work that well."

I couldn't disagree more. The difference in slippery conditions between having a limited slip and just having the ESP is night and day.

-NorthBendJeeper

 

I have posted this in the past as well. The Trak loc is not worth the money. It has clutches and will wear out eventually and does not even work that well. The JK has awesome electronic tractino control which works great without the weird handling issue of trak loc.

If you really want to improve the tractino, get the real locker, not trak loc (which is a limited slip) Pay the extra few hundred and get the selectable locker. There is no reason to get the trac loc, it is outdated now that there is electronic traction control and you have the option of selectable gear driven locker. Now if one is on the lot with Trac loc, that is a different story, but if you are ordering, keep it open or get the selectable locker, not trac loc. Just my two cents. I had trac loc on my 93 wrangler and was never impressed adn after about 75k miles, i had to have it replaced.

Are you crazy? Track loc helps a lot. I have had it on almost all my jeeps and my mustangs in the past. I would not own a jeep or mustang without it, it keeps both wheels spining at the same rate. Get one wheel off the ground and see if the traction control helps.

 

The difference in slippery conditions between having a limited slip and just having the ESP is night and day.

-NorthBendJeeper

Right on the money. A few years ago a lady in Texas insisted on taking her prized 3 series BMW off road, in the mud with the rest of us Jeep guys.

Long story short is her driver's side tires got stuck in wet mud and everytime she stepped on the gas pedal, the axle would spin more and more until she ended up with her car's axle partially sunk in; some tire was visable, but not much.

Thankfully we had large scraps of wood handy that we could stick in front of the tire and behind it so when she gassed the car, up came the tire out of the mud and off she went.

The Jeeps behind her had Detroit lockers and were able to drive through that troublesome area with zero problems.

Bottom line is that ESP works great on paved surfaces. In this case, the ESP was a hinderance to her situation and actually caused her car to bury itself in the mud. When you lose the pavement and come across some deep mud, you'll need a locker to get through.

 

yes it is still available as a option, I just traded my 09 2 door in for a '11 4 door and the new one has 3.73's and a trac lok, so im pretty happy

 

hey, are you still happy with your 3.73 and trac loc? I'm debating over 1)sport with pentastar 5 speed auto + trac lock versus 2) rubi with open diff'ed axles. Can you answer a question for me please? this 2012 wrangler will be my main drive. I commute through snow and rain. I live in utah, love to go off road, love to drive over things, am not a mechanic so car will stay basically stock, am a little chicken so won't be super-wild off road. others on this site have praised the combination of BSD plus trac-loc. someone suggested to me that rubi with BSD but open diffs may not give me the same on-road daily performance in rain and snow as the sport with BSD plus trac-loc. your thoughts? thanks

 

Oh great. That's good news I gotta tell you, having the Trac-Lok rear end D44 and the factory BLD/LSD together has made this Sahara surprisingly amazing off-road. We are kicking around the idea of a new 2011 JKU and I don't need the rubi full lockers but was hoping to still get the Trac-Lok as an option.

I am a huge fan of the D44 mechanical trac-Lok rear, it would be a shame if Jeep discontinued such an inexpensive but extremely effective off-roading tool.

Thanks for the input!

 

Im not sure if i have the trak-lok or not...

I hope i do... i have the 24S package and the 3.73 gears and all that nonsense i do not know if it came with it... How can i get the build sheet?

 

I agree vette the trac-loc is a great option but I didn't see it in the jeep website either. Actually I didn't see the half door option on th jku either???

 

Slightly stale thread, but since it ended with the question...



Yes on both. You can select them if you poke about the "build your own" business, but jku and 2-door.

 

If it is a high ratio limited slip it will be a plus.
In 4Lo ESP turns off so the LSD is the only traction control device going.
However, there must be some resistance one both wheels. I had a helical gear limited slip on the front of my YJ. And when I really needed to lock, it was more slip than limited.
In the rear, that is where the hand brake comes in handy. If the difference in traction overcomes the LSD, you can apply a little bit of hand brake.
For $270 extra, it is not a bad deal. It'll cost about $1K for axle to regear and put after market lockers in.

 

If it is a high ratio limited slip it will be a plus.
In 4Lo ESP turns off so the LSD is the only traction control device going.
However, there must be some resistance one both wheels. I had a helical gear limited slip on the front of my YJ. And when I really needed to lock, it was more slip than limited.
In the rear, that is where the hand brake comes in handy. If the difference in traction overcomes the LSD, you can apply a little bit of hand brake.
For $270 extra, it is not a bad deal. It'll cost about $1K for axle to regear and put after market lockers in.

If you are saying the "brake-lock-differential" portion of the traction control shuts off, too, that is not true.
That portion of the traction control remains active, even when the rest of the system is off.

 

Must have been when I had the lockers activated that the ESP off indicator came on. Not need for it when locked up. I didn't get it out but twice before the winter. Spent winter building it up. Just waiting for tires now.

 

:thumbsup:

I love it.

 

I see this thread is old.... however, I see someone asked the question: "How do you know if you have trac-lok" or "how do I look at the build sheet to check?"

Definitely wondering this myself. I thought I knew everything about my jeep but now I realize I don't know if mine came with trac-lok or not. Is there any particular model that does come with it standard?

...

 

I see this thread is old.... however, I see someone asked the question: "How do you know if you have trac-lok" or "how do I look at the build sheet to check?"

Definitely wondering this myself. I thought I knew everything about my jeep but now I realize I don't know if mine came with trac-lok or not. Is there any particular model that does come with it standard?

...

I know that Trac-Lok was standard on all Sahara's from 2007 to 2010. I am unaware of changes from 2010 to 2013. But, on your build sheet and window sticker from the dealer, it will state "Trac-Lok" 3:73 on the standard side of the sticker.

I hope this helps. You'll know if you have it when you're seriously off-camber and one wheel is off /loose, when you gas the engine to around 3k rpm, the other wheel locks up and voila, you're off and running:cheers:

Certainly not as predictable as the Rubi locker, but VERY nice to have. Much better than plain limited slip open dif by a large margin.:highfive:

 

bumpity bump. :wave:

 

My 99 XJ had a sticker on the axle indicating it had a trac lock diff.
The other way if to open the diff cover. Traclock has the clutch plate set.

 

rubi with open diff'ed axles.

Whats the point of the rubi then

 

I think he refers to the Rubi with the diffs unlocked, on the road. Unlocked, it is an open differential.

 

Shoulda paid closer attention when I was buying the jeep and have the dealer look it up for me. I did get the 3.73 ratio and a few other extras on my '11 JK Mojave edition.. kinda makes me wonder if I got Trac-Lok too.

 

I think he refers to the Rubi with the diffs unlocked, on the road. Unlocked, it is an open differential.

I never experienced a open diff situation in my rubi