Differential Upgrade Moving Forward

[Seabee1999]

Good day to all. I’m looking for some thoughts and advice of what to consider for the future in updating the diffs of my Jeep. At the moment, I have an 2021 JL Sport S. It’s a 3.6L with the 6-speed manual transmission. The build sheet I have says the my front axle is a Dana m186 and the rear is a Dana m220 with the Anti-Slip diff. I know things wear down over time and from what I’m gathering the current LSD I have is a clutch style LSD.

My Jeep is my daily driver and over the years I’ve owned several and they have all be daily drivers as well. However, I’m am not afraid to take this Jeep or any other Jeep I’ve owned before onto the trails to get from point A to point B.

With that being said, I’m content with the size tires that are on the Jeep currently. I believe they are equivalent to 31” tires and for what I do or intend to do that is enough. Perhaps a touch wider would be nice but again, I’m not looking to go to hard or to extreme.

Where I currently live at in central OK, the two main things I’d have to contend with while going on trail would seem to be super slick mud, snow on the roads and ice storms in the winter.

In reading threads on here as well as other forums, I think I have gotten a better idea of what direction I’d like to go in; however, I still have a few questions that I’d need help answering. So here they are.

1st question would be, how different are my current stock axles (m186&m220) to the Dana 30s and 44s?

2nd question, is there a company that makes a Torsen style LSD for the stock axles I currently have (both front and rear)?

3rd question, the gear ratio I have is currently stock as well (3.45). Would I have to regear if I changed out both stock differentials I currently have?

At the moment, because of what I anticipate my driving style and conditions to be in the future, I do not believe that having lockers would be the direction for an upgrade. From my readings of other threads, my belief is that a Torsen style LSD would be more beneficial than what I currently have once it breaks down. I feel that I’m looking to fill in some gaps that I can’t seem to locate in searching previous posts or on Google.

Thank you for your time and any assistance and clarity you all can provide.

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[azwjowner]

1. They are equivalent to Dana 30 and 44, but said to be slightly stronger.

2. Nitro currently sells one: https://www.nitro-gear.com/Nitro-Helix-LSD-M220-p/tors-m220.htm. Eaton has not yet released the popular Detroit Truetrac for the JL.

3. You do not have to regear. It is gear work in that the ring gear has to be moved over to the new differential and the backlash set to match the existing backlash, but you are not replacing the ring and pinion. (It's a great savings on labor if you are interested in regearing at the same time.)

I have had a rear Truetrac in the past and it was absolutely fantastic. I am waiting for it to be released for the JL.

 

[donmontalvo]

The more I wheeled, the more I realized I needed lockers.

https://donmontalvo.com/2020/12/28/35s-lockers-and-trails-from-hell/

 

[Seabee1999]

1. They are equivalent to Dana 30 and 44, but said to be slightly stronger.

2. Nitro currently sells one: https://www.nitro-gear.com/Nitro-Helix-LSD-M220-p/tors-m220.htm. Eaton has not yet released the popular Detroit Truetrac for the JL.

3. You do not have to regear. It is gear work in that the ring gear has to be moved over to the new differential and the backlash set to match the existing backlash, but you are not replacing the ring and pinion. (It's a great savings on labor if you are interested in regearing at the same time.)

I have had a rear Truetrac in the past and it was absolutely fantastic. I am waiting for it to be released for the JL.

Thank you for replying.

1) Thanks for clarifying the axle issue. I appreciate that.

2) Thanks for clarifying the Eaton issue as well. I had thought I read that they came out with one but I think with all the reading I did I had read myself in circles and couldn’t determine if Eaton had a diff out or not.

3) in part, I think the reason I had asked if I should regear or not was b/c of the cost saving in labor. So the follow on question I’d have at that point is this, how would a 4.10 gear ratio affect equivalent 31” or 32” tires? As mentioned, I’m not trying to go all out in any capacity to turn this Jeep into a wheeling/rock crawling vehicle. I’d be using this primary for getting to and from work and driving on backcountry trails for taking photographs and camping.

 

[Seabee1999]

The more I wheeled, the more I realized I needed lockers.

https://donmontalvo.com/2020/12/28/35s-lockers-and-trails-from-hell/

Thanks for this. I’ll consider it possibly in a far distant future upgrade. At the moment, lockers are not in the foreseeable future.

 

[azwjowner]

Thank you for replying.

1) Thanks for clarifying the axle issue. I appreciate that.

2) Thanks for clarifying the Eaton issue as well. I had thought I read that they came out with one but I think with all the reading I did I had read myself in circles and couldn’t determine if Eaton had a diff out or not.

3) in part, I think the reason I had asked if I should regear or not was b/c of the cost saving in labor. So the follow on question I’d have at that point is this, how would a 4.10 gear ratio affect equivalent 31” or 32” tires? As mentioned, I’m not trying to go all out in any capacity to turn this Jeep into a wheeling/rock crawling vehicle. I’d be using this primary for getting to and from work and driving on backcountry trails for taking photographs and camping.

I have the same Jeep as you, minus the factory limited slip. I don't think you need to regear for offroad capability. Mine has been plenty fine with 3.45 in first gear, low range. It crawls itself up steep slopes at 2 mph without even touching the throttle, clutch, or brakes.

You could regear to 4.10 and the RPMs would be slightly higher than a stock Rubicon, which would work well. But that would not help you out in your stated uses. It could help you out with the awkward gap between 3rd & 4th gear - I find that driving 40 MPH is slightly higher than I'd like for RPMs in 3rd but too slow for 4th. 4.10 would move that minimum speed for 4th gear down by about 5 MPH, which would be nice. At the same time, 6th gear would be available for highway use to keep the RPMs down (I currently only use 5th). But regearing seems expensive if you have no real performance need for it.

 

[Seabee1999]

I have the same Jeep as you, minus the factory limited slip. I don't think you need to regear for offroad capability. Mine has been plenty fine with 3.45 in first gear, low range. It crawls itself up steep slopes at 2 mph without even touching the throttle, clutch, or brakes.

You could regear to 4.10 and the RPMs would be slightly higher than a stock Rubicon, which would work well. But that would not help you out in your stated uses. It could help you out with the awkward gap between 3rd & 4th gear - I find that driving 40 MPH is slightly higher than I'd like for RPMs in 3rd but too slow for 4th. 4.10 would move that minimum speed for 4th gear down by about 5 MPH, which would be nice. At the same time, 6th gear would be available for highway use to keep the RPMs down (I currently only use 5th). But regearing seems expensive if you have no real performance need for it.

This has been a tremendous help. I appreciate it. Thank you.

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