Lockers

[Blazer Ralph]

Hey all it’s been a while since I’ve been on here but got a question. I was recently out hunting in my 82 k5 blazer and it was raining up in the mountains. I came across a pot hole in the road that was extremely muddy and maybe around 2.5 feet deep or so and my truck wasn’t able to get up and over it so I was stuck. I put a bunch of big rocks in the hole hoping that would help but truck just wouldn’t make it. Luckily a gentleman in a 4 seater side by side helped pull me out with a tow rope. I have 33” m/t tires on truck. I have a th350 transmission and 4:10 gears front and rear. Truck has np205 I believe, some you stated it was a np205 from pics I posted. My question is what can I do to prevent this from happening again? Someone told me it’s possible that even though I’m in 4wd not all wheels are spinning and I might need lockers. Any advice?

 

[Blue85]

Assuming you put the truck in 4WD and locked the hubs, that gives you minimum of 2 wheels turning (one in front and one in back). Have you verified that the 4WD actually works correctly? There are many threads to search here about traction aids, as there are pros and cons to all of the types (friction, locker, selectable, gov-lock, helical gear, etc.). If you have a 10-bolt rear, one option may be replacing it with a stouter axle that already has a locker in it.

 

[doubletrouble]

Did you put it in 4-Hi or 4-Low?

 

[nvrenuf]

Does the Blazer have manual locking hubs? ‘82 could have had auto locking hubs which are notoriously unreliable with age.

 

[Blazer Ralph]

Assuming you put the truck in 4WD and locked the hubs, that gives you minimum of 2 wheels turning (one in front and one in back). Have you verified that the 4WD actually works correctly? There are many threads to search here about traction aids, as there are pros and cons to all of the types (friction, locker, selectable, gov-lock, helical gear, etc.). If you have a 10-bolt rear, one option may be replacing it with a stouter axle that already has a locker in it.

I did lock the hubs and put truck in 4L and it does feel like it works. I just had the gears put in a few months ago so don’t want to just put new axle as I don’t go off-roading or rock crawling in truck just use it for camping and hunting trips. Just need it to do light off roading I guess

 

[Blazer Ralph]

I had them ch

Does the Blazer have manual locking hubs? ‘82 could have had auto locking hubs which are notoriously unreliable with age.

I had them changed to manual

 

[Blazer Ralph]

Did you put it in 4-Hi or 4-Low?

4-low

 

[Blazer Ralph]

What’s the best option without having to change the axles? Is the powertrax lock right any good?

 

[imiceman44]

What’s the best option without having to change the axles? Is the powertrax lock right any good?

That's what I had.
It works good for your situation

 

[HankScorpio]

I ran a Lock Rite in a Wagoneer and it worked well. Throw one in the rear and don't worry about the front. You can go everywhere you want with just a rear locker. My Blazer has a 14bolt in the rear with a Yukon Grizzly locker and an open front diff. I take most of the hard lines when I am 4 wheeling and it does great. When Jeep started putting front lockers in everything people decided they were mandatory, they aren't.

 

[Blazer Ralph]

That's what I had.
It works good for your situation

Awesome thank you

 

[Blazer Ralph]

I ran a Lock Rite in a Wagoneer and it worked well. Throw one in the rear and don't worry about the front. You can go everywhere you want with just a rear locker. My Blazer has a 14bolt in the rear with a Yukon Grizzly locker and an open front diff. I take most of the hard lines when I am 4 wheeling and it does great. When Jeep started putting front lockers in everything people decided they were mandatory, they aren't.

Great! I will get one installed in the rear and hopefully not get stuck again lol