03 2wd, looking for better Winter traction

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DailyWinterKJ

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Hey guys, new to this forum. My Mother-in-law just handed down her 03 Jeep Liberty Sport 2wd. Its decent for a daily commuter, except that its 2wd and the speedo is kind of wonky. I use my GPS for my speed, so that works for me for now. My problem is with this all this snow and ice, and my one-tire-fire. I come from a drifting background where a lot of folks weld their diffs. I was thinking about doing this since 1. the vehicle was free and 2. im just driving it for the Winter. My beater with a heater, lol
Are there any spools/mini spools I could install for cheap that would help with my Winter woes? What axel do I even have? Thanks in advance
 

tommudd

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Hey guys, new to this forum. My Mother-in-law just handed down her 03 Jeep Liberty Sport 2wd. Its decent for a daily commuter, except that its 2wd and the speedo is kind of wonky. I use my GPS for my speed, so that works for me for now. My problem is with this all this snow and ice, and my one-tire-fire. I come from a drifting background where a lot of folks weld their diffs. I was thinking about doing this since 1. the vehicle was free and 2. im just driving it for the Winter. My beater with a heater, lol
Are there any spools/mini spools I could install for cheap that would help with my Winter woes? What axel do I even have? Thanks in advance

Welding your rear diffs is the dumbest thing ever , only if never on the highway and off road all the time
#1 get a good set of winter tires
#2 if you get a lot of snow and ice stud them up when new
#3 get a good locker , something that actually works
I don't care if it was free or not , do it right or just bring it to my place and drop it off
You have a 8.25/ 29 spline rear diff
I have driven a lot of two wheel pickups over the last 45 years on hills etc with only two wheel drive but good tires, not some street type or all season
I never use 4 wheel drive on any of my KJs until 6-8 inches of snow at least
Of course already told ya dumb idea to weld on Fakebook LOL
 
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wycowboy

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Get some GOOD studded snow tires put on and you shouldn't have any issues
 

JasonJ

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Even 2wd with an open diff, with good tires and not driving aggressively, it will do just fine. Nothing will save you on ice, I don't care if you have welded locking diffs and 20 wheel drive. if you lose traction on ice, you're sliding, end of story.

Look around you on the road, are there any normal passenger cars out there? If yes, bet ya 90% of them are also 2wd, namely front-wheel. Most of those folks get around just fine too.

If you're setting a tire on fire spinning out, try using less throttle.. you're clearly taking off too fast, with too much throttle to get moving.

Don't weld the diff, yes the Jeep may have been free, but when you realize the mistake of welding the diff, the replacement parts will not be.

You can save yourself a lot of headache this way, and drive safe.
 

LONGJEEPOWNER

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I live in North East Pa. where the winters are cold and snowy! I put 200 pounds in the back and a pair of studded snow tires on.. I have a 2010 Libby 2wd that I bought in Florida...
 

ltd02

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I'm originally from NEPA too and I remember throwing a couple of cast iron house radiators in the trunk and getting those studded tires every year. Seemed like everywhere I needed to go was uphill.
 

sota

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tires, tires, tires. they're the thing that makes contact with the road, after all.
 

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