axle question

[bails85]

what is a spool and what does it do. ie. spooled 44.

[curtis]

Locks both axles all the time. Not good on the street.

[6spdYJ]

Look on www.summitracing.com and search spool. It's a solid chunk of metal that the axle shaft splines fit into to make them effectively one shaft all the way through. There is NO differential action. They are for maximum traction in a straight line or putting 100% torque to both wheels on the axle regardless of contact with the ground. They will grind your tires down fast on the street and may risk snapping shafts with OEM equipment. But... A lot of guys redneck their own by welding up the spiders in an open diff. Look up "Lincoln locker". The guys I've known that do this on their trail rigs swear by them. With the longer XJ, squirrly handling might not be that much of an issue.