Sway Bar disconnect & Axle Lock for an idiot?

[ResponsibleAdult]

Best. Dogs. Ever.

Truth.

He was our first. (We have #2 and 3 now.) My LJ was his. Couldn’t keep him with us forever, but I can sink unreasonable amounts of money into his Jeep and pretend we are still riding around with his head on the centre console...

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[macintux]

Truth.

He was our first. (We have #2 and 3 now.) My LJ was his. Couldn’t keep him with us forever, but I can sink unreasonable amounts of money into his Jeep and pretend we are still riding around with his head on the centre console...

I was fortunate enough to volunteer at a Newf competition at a local reservoir many years ago. Spectacular dogs, but at the time I only owned a del Sol, which was not exactly conducive to transporting 150 pound dogs.

Now I realize I'm just too crappy of a person to own that special of a dog. Takes more energy and time than I'm willing to commit.

 

[JDaPP]

Axle lock is simple. If you have the standard open differentials,then when one wheel loses traction, the differential sends all the power to the wheel with the least amount of traction. This is why you will see a truck with one tire that has dug a 2 ft deep hole in mud and the other tire, that looks like it has traction is not dug in. Axle lockkers allow you to lock both sides together so that regardless of traction, both wheels spin at the same rate so even if one wheel is in the goop, you still keep moving forward. Now modern Jeeps have traction control that will to some degree use brake modulation to reduce the affect, but it's not always effective.

Swaybar disconnect is something that Jeepers have done for years manually and it's been automated in the Rubicon. By disconnecting the front swaybar you allow the axle to travel more easily and a bit farther. So on the bumpy stuff the Jeep rides a little squishier and it has slightly more travel in the front. You can buy manual disconnects, they just require you to get out and disconnect the swaybar manually using swingaway or takeoff linkages. I will say that I always thought the automatic swaybar was a gimmick but when I'm watching my friends try to put their swaybars back on a muddy Jeep, I'm okay with the gimmick.

Excellent description, somebody once told me that 4x4 = the ability to have all 4 wheels turning but lockers guaranteed it. With open differentials 2wd meant you could have as few as one wheel turning, 4wd means as few as 2 (one front, one back), 4wd + locker meant 3-4 depending on front and back.
For the sway bar disconnect, Google it under images, if you can find a picture comparing it to sway bar connected you can see the huge difference in articulation / tires ability to make contact.

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