1998 Jeep Wrangler does not plow as well as before

@strickerje will do! Thanks.
Sounds like we are getting somewhere. Here’s a great article I found on why we need “lockers”: http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f9/why-do-i-need-locker-i-thought-i-had-4wd-628223/

Needs had gasket! RPM doesn’t go over 5K. I have lost compression. That’s the main problem

Do ya think maybe the tires are just getting old and hard and not gripping as well?

@bing I don’t think so. I put chains on. Must be lack of power.

I have seen plow trucks ( I drove one) with a locker engaged on the rear wheels, spinning both wheels and quickly slding off the road while trying to push snow up hill. The disadvantage to lockers is, if both wheels spin indiscriminately, the whole rear end looses traction on snow and ice. A limited slip which shifts just some of the power to the other side and better wight distribution is best for plowing. Lockers are great off road, but in a front heavy jeep on ice and snow you could find yourself in a ditch faster then you can correct the situations. a plow truck does not have to go through deep snow, it pushes it. Weight rules when pushing. So if you do install lockers, which is real expensive, you should still add lots of weight to the rear of a front heavy jeep. So, just adding lockers will not give you all the reaction you need…on ice you loose control quickly. The discussion referenced in the jeep forum addresses off road situations, not plowing snow. The best locker system is what I use on my tractor to plow snow. The fronts are always locked when engaged, but the rears can be quickly locked and unlocked with a separate foot control as needed.

@dagosa if the problem is head gasket, then it will go back to the condition it was in before, which was plowing great. There are slip lockers too. I can added for further traction. The way differential works now, sending power to the wheel that has least traction, doesn’t make sense.