JulietKilo

HAHA oh yeah. My first Jeep was an X from 2004. I wish I could have built it up like you all have the opportunity to do now with the help of MOPAR. I you all for upgrading. I think it will be more fun and rewarding but this time around for me I had to have the Rubicon. I absolutely love it and sometimes I cant believe its in my driveway!

RCJeeper

I installed my D44 yesterday with the help of a buddy. Wow. Surprisingly easy. Total time 6 hours with test drive and alignment. What made it go easier? 1. Buddy - some things just aren't possible with two hands. (thanks Kevin if u ever read this (unlimited TJ owner)) 2. Air tools. - what a time saver. 3. Having done the lift.

Now the lift took me almost 12 hours and I was beat. I have not yet done the electricals so I will be patiently (or not so patiently) waiting for that writeup.

I was gonna wire it up independently but I just saw a new 4wd catalog and the wire harness was in there for $109. Tempting.

seer1

It's $72 from the dealership. I do think you'll be sorry if you wire it into the system. It'll take a way a lot of options for you.

RCJeeper

Seer1,

What did you do about connectors to the axle lock and indicator? I am still in the middle about whether to buy the harness and go the factory route or just wire it in independantly.

I would be much more tempted to go the independant route if I could get connectors that snapped in and then route the wire to an aftermarket switch and relay. What did you use?

JulietKilo

I believe the harness is the way to go. If you are willing to spend 1500 dollars for locking axles why not spend the extra 100 bucks to make it plug and play. The reason I say this is because the axle has several connections coming out of it not only for the ABS/ESP but also for the plunger switches that indicate whether the axle is engaged or not. There is more then just the actuator that needs to be wired to have it done correctly.

RCJeeper

Some people are going through great lengths to get the axle locker control wrestled from the computer. It would also be nice to just flip a toggle switch to up for on and down for off rather than factory momentary button switch, which can get confusing right when things get tricky on the trail.

BTW, I got lucky and found a new one for $1150, just had to drive 50 miles or so to pick it up.

JulietKilo

This wirinig diagram may help. I posted a write up I found online a while back here. https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/show...t=sway+bar+mod
It has everything you need to decipher the system if you know what to look for on the computers harness. Flash will probably be required but I think this is quite doable!

rubiconjack

just a general question about the D44's with lockers and the 4.10s

My front axle decided to poop out on me after the engine was replaced .. so we talked ot the dealership ... first they said 1600 for the front axle .. and wou'dnt be able to go 4 wheeling with it cause the rear would still be stock ...

well ... we are doing both axles now ... the rubicon axles with the 4.10 gears and lockers ... we also ordered the toggle switch and the wirning harness .. all from quadratec at 3100$ ish .... its about 500 cheaper than ordering from quadratec. They get in tuesday or wednesday next week ...

what changes are done to the driveline that would basically change anything ... I have upgraded driveshafts .. that won't mess with the axles will it?

The shop that did my lift, he's also oing to do the axles as well ...

how do these axles run with 35" tires? More power.... or what? Compared to 3.73 gears and the D30 front and D35 rear

Piginajeep

4.10's will make your JK a little quicker, they have to swap out the yokes if you had them changed with the driveshafts...

seer1

Don't make it harder than it is. Ya, ya,ya you can wire it into the system, but then you still have to contend with rear locker (What if you only install a front locker?) first, only in four low at less than 10mph, only allowed on Tuesdays and Thursdays... So you actually turn it into a "Plug and Do What They Say."

No pictures yet, but if no one else does a writeup, I'll do one when I have the time to do it up right. I bought a Carling toggle switch and toggle cover and a blinking LED from Purple Cranium. I then picked up a couple of inline ATM fuse holders and two, five blade universal relays (one for a spare) from Checker. In short I installed the switch in my Cooltech LLC switch panel with the blinking LED installed above that. The light is hooked to the indicator solenoid on the axle and then to the battery (3amp fuse.) When the locker engages, the solenoid does also becoming an on-off switch for the light. The locker is wired to the relay-20 amp fuse/battery and the switch is of course wired to the relay. Toggle up-locker (and light) on, toggle down-locker off, I do like having the toggle switch cover to prevent it from being accidentally engaged.. There's no restrictions, unlike Chrysler I feel I have the intelligence to know when to turn it off and on. I used the two plugs from the wiring harness in order to make a clean, secure hookup to the axles. $78 might seem a little much for just two plugs, but one of the plugs is bolted right onto the axle and with the electrical plugs themselves being wierdly skinny, I went with factory instead of getting a headache coming up with something else.
Cheers