First Jeep. Welding spider gears.

Well the shop I manage a guy came in yesterday that put his 02 liberty in a ditch bending the control arm and cracking the front bumper and fog light. I gave him an estimate for the repairs and he said I’m done with it. Asked me if we would scrap it! I told him bring me the title and I’ll givd him $100 for it. This morning he brings me the title and now I own a 2002 liberty with 125k miles that runs like a champ!

I fixed it today and brought it home. We have a bit of snow on the ground so I decided to try it out. It does bother me that this is a 1 wheel peel in the rear. 4wd worked great but still 1 wheel peel in the back making it not the greatest.

I was wondering does anyone make a spool for the rear that is cheap? If not I may weld the spider gears. This isn’t an every day driver so I don’t mind the hard turning and extra wear. Thanks allot in advance!

It has the Chrysler 8.25” rear end and there’s a host of options including lockers, limited slips and lunchbox lockers. The factory limited slip was called trak-loc and is okay for mild off-roading. Works well for snow and loose stuff though. You can also get a locker for the front Dana 30


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please don't weld it. there's far better choices.

if you want something cheap that seems to work well, go look at a spartan locker.

also, I hate you that you got it for so cheap.

If you're not concerned about wear or driveability, just go with a lunchbox. It'll be much better than welded gears. But hey...it's your cash and you seem to know the pluses and minuses.

LMAO, welding gears( Lincoln Locker ) is old school that only works if you are going straight basically . Never even think of it again please
Lunch box lockers are ok, not great but OK
I'm running TruTracs front and rear and do really good
Even if you only paid 100 for it, treat it a little better than junk
hate to see anyone destroy a great vehicle

mercdudecbr600 said:

It has the Chrysler 8.25” rear end and there’s a host of options including lockers, limited slips and lunchbox lockers. The factory limited slip was called trak-loc and is okay for mild off-roading. Works well for snow and loose stuff though. You can also get a locker for the front Dana 30


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Dana 30a , not a Dana 30

the ‘02 had a d30, right? When I looked at my build sheet I don’t recall it being specified as 30a even though I know other years had them.


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Thank you all. While at work today I will definitely be looking at Thoes options. I’m not going to treat it like junk at all as it to nice. However I’m not going to put thousands of dollars in it either.

mercdudecbr600 said:

the ‘02 had a d30, right? When I looked at my build sheet I don’t recall it being specified as 30a even though I know other years had them.


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No they all had the D30a , no difference from 02-07

$100 for an 02 with only 125k you are very lucky.

Thinking of going with the spartan locker. Where would be the best place to buy it? Would it be a direct fit plug and play?

Detroit said:

Thinking of going with the spartan locker. Where would be the best place to buy it? Would it be a direct fit plug and play?

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Better than nothing, if you want a tad better than the trash loc
and 29 spline

I'm curious.. I also live in MI, I drive my KJ around A2 (Ann Arbor) and the Detroit area all the time throughout the year.. I've never felt the need to install a locker, nor have I ever gotten so stuck that the open diff caused a problem.

I mean, in 4wd-part or full time, you'd have at LEAST two wheel peel, yeah?

I had a rear locker in my Tacoma, only used it twice, but it was awesome to have t house 2 times