[Ducman]

My ’97 TJ is pretty mild (small lift, 32’s, etc.) & the trails I run are usually in the “moderate” range. I decided to try to make it a little more capable by beefing up the (lacking) D35. I ended up getting a Warn full float axle kit, a Powertrax “No-Slip” unit, and a Confer axle truss for a very good price through a friend of mine.

Got everything installed, pulled out of the garage, and heard some strange clicking & snapping noises from the rear. I’ve never had a vehicle with a locker before so I wasn’t sure if this was the normal sound that a locker might make. Drove it around the block, a few more clicking noises from the rear, but everything seemed ok.

The next morning while driving to work the Jeep was driving pretty strange. Then on my way home I realized the sounds from the rear had gone away, and the locker was, well, locked. It was not disengaging around corners.

I called Powertrax and they are sending me a replacement unit. I haven’t taken the differential apart yet to see what happened. I can’t imagine that I installed it wrong, it’s pretty straightforward how it goes together. The one thing that comes to mind is the full float axle kit. Since the axles now have no c-clips holding them in, I wonder if this is allowing the “side couplers” to slide back & fourth on the axle splines, thus not making the locker work correctly <IMG SRC="smilies/confused.gif" border="0">. Anyway, I guess I’ll find out tomorrow when I take it apart! <IMG SRC="smilies/eek.gif" border="0">

Any comments or suggestions what to look for?

Thanks

Dave

 

[Kendo]

Did you tell PowerTrax that you had installed the full floater kit? I'm not sure what the differences are in their product, but they DO make a c-clip version and a non c-clip version.

The clicking and popping is completely normal. It may or may not disengage going around the corner, I noticed that mine would unlock sometimes and not other and even lock and unlock (depending on throttle input) while turning the corner. Before you replace it, jack it up and do the "spin trick" like the instructions demonstrate, that will tell you if it's working.

Did you use the "go- no go" feeler guage that came with it? You should have checked that when you were done.

 

[Ducman]

Originally posted by Putzboy:
[QB]Did you tell PowerTrax that you had installed the full floater kit>>

Actually I called Powertrax & Warn before I started working on it to make sure that everything would be compatible. They both said no problem. I also called Powertrax again this morning, they said that they do have a non c-clip locker for earlier applications, but there is no problem using the c-clip unit (for my ‘97) with the floating axle kit.

I did the wheel spin “trick” before I put the differential cover back on and everything worked fine. Also, it passed the go-no go check.

It sure seems like it’s locked up all the time, like something is jammed.

 

[Kendo]

I would try the wheel spin trick again before I did anything with the new unit. If it is locked up, pull the cover and see if the springs have slipped out or something is out of alignment. Seems strange that it would just "happen" driving down the strret, but who knows?

 

[JayH]

I nailed a lock rite after installing the warn full floater. Broke all four shear pins and ended up rounding off the teeth on the coupler and side gear on one side, and then took out a hub and an axle shaft as it started to let go and catch driving home.

I'm sending it in for warranty now, but have started to wonder whether the 5.2 isn't pushing too much power to the rear end since the 231 swap.

Jay