LockRite Locker issues,

wag4x6 · Post by **wag4x6** » Sun Jan 18, 2015 9:33 pm

I have an 89 G-Waggy with a D44 in the rear on 35's. This last week I put a LockRite (lunchbox locker) in the rear. It doesn't stay locked when I need it or when I don't need it. Under a load it makes a very loud, violent banging noise like the rear end blew up. It also locks and unlocks driving down a straight flat road. I also noticed that it didn't unlock when going around a turn on the street because my tires barked throughout the turn.
As far as I can tell I installed it correctly. Not too hard to mess up, ya know?
Does anyone have any in sight as to what the problem maybe?

AwesomeJ10 · Post by **AwesomeJ10** » Sun Jan 18, 2015 10:01 pm

What model lockright?

Here are a few things to check. Keep in mind that some of the symptons you described may actually be somewhat normal for the cheaper lockright. In fact, I had the same issues on my wifes YJ with a 14 bolt and took the lockright back out due to issues. After a good discussion with the richmond tech support guy, he claims the following stuff might be going on:

Did you install the thrust washers that go in between the side couplers and the carrier? Those are VERY much required.

Did you install the new, hardended cross shaft in the carrier or reuse the stock one?

Springs installed correctly? I know they only go one way, so it's kinda hard to mess up.

Are your rear tires worn evenly and at the same tire pressure?

Bent axle? You can measure along the top and bottom of the rear axle, from the 'diff housing' where the axle tubes are pressed in and the backing plate for the brakes. Those measurement should be exactly the same. Top/bottom. Front/rear.

Axle shafts contacting the lockright? In other words, they *might* be a touch too long.

Worn carrier. I know that may sound a little far fetched, but after doing a lot of research myself, I'm replacing my wife's 14 bolt carrier with another before putting the lockright back in.

Hope this helps!

wag4x6 · Post by **wag4x6** » Sun Jan 18, 2015 10:16 pm

Did you install the thrust washers that go in between the side couplers and the carrier? Those are VERY much required.

Yes, Someone else I spoke too said they may be worn causing an issue

Did you install the new, hardended cross shaft in the carrier or reuse the stock one?

Stock one, Why a hardened one?

Springs installed correctly? I know they only go one way, so it's kinda hard to mess up.
Yes.

Are your rear tires worn evenly and at the same tire pressure?
worn the same, Same pressure

Bent axle? You can measure along the top and bottom of the rear axle, from the 'diff housing' where the axle tubes are pressed in and the backing plate for the brakes. Those measurement should be exactly the same. Top/bottom. Front/rear.
don't know, I haven't had any weird noises or leaking oil seals

Axle shafts contacting the lockright? In other words, they *might* be a touch too long.
don't know

Worn carrier. I know that may sound a little far fetched, but after doing a lot of research myself, I'm replacing my wife's 14 bolt carrier with another before putting the lockright back in.
how would I know if its worn.

The locker is used, I took it out of the carrier it was installed in. It was put in by the person I bought it from and it only had two trips in it. It was removed to install a selectable locker.

Thanks for the quick response.

Post by **Stuka** » Sun Jan 18, 2015 10:50 pm

The hardened cross shaft is because the stock ones don't hold up. Also if your stock one is warn, it can cause excessive play.

I think it would be worth popping the cover and inspecting it. In my experience your issue is the springs or thrust washers. Although if your carrier is badly worn, it could be the issue.

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Jerry Blair · Post by **Jerry Blair** » Mon Jan 19, 2015 7:25 am

I had one that did this same thing installed in a '93 YJ dana 35. It was a brand new, lock rite brand. I returned it under warranty and the new one did exactly the same thing. Turned out the Dana 35 was bent. I replaced the housing with all the internals and it worked great until I sold it.

AwesomeJ10 · Post by **AwesomeJ10** » Mon Jan 19, 2015 10:34 am

Jerry Blair wrote:I had one that did this same thing installed in a '93 YJ dana 35. It was a brand new, lock rite brand. I returned it under warranty and the new one did exactly the same thing. Turned out the Dana 35 was bent. I replaced the housing with all the internals and it worked great until I sold it.

how did you come to the conclusion the axle was bent? Measuring with a tape measure or another method?

j2sax · Post by **j2sax** » Mon Jan 19, 2015 11:20 am

Just to reiterate, when you mentioned the "leaking oil" you are talking about an issue with a bent axle shaft (which I am sure would cause issues as well). With the "measurements" he was addressing a bent axle housing... which is present on more vehicles than you might realize. Unfortunately, many times they can be almost symptom free (although tire wear generally is revealing) until you change operating parameters... heavier accessories in the rear or your situation.

Hope you get it figured out soon.. dealing with internal issues in an axle can definitely be frustrating!

wag4x6 · Post by **wag4x6** » Mon Jan 19, 2015 5:55 pm

I mentioned a leaking seal because I had a houseing that was bent for sure and it was puking oil at the outer seal. It also seized the bearing on the same side it was leaking from. I was/am using that experience as a benchmark for determining a bent houseing.

Jerry Blair · Post by **Jerry Blair** » Mon Jan 19, 2015 7:23 pm

Blake wrote:
Jerry Blair wrote:I had one that did this same thing installed in a '93 YJ dana 35. It was a brand new, lock rite brand. I returned it under warranty and the new one did exactly the same thing. Turned out the Dana 35 was bent. I replaced the housing with all the internals and it worked great until I sold it.
how did you come to the conclusion the axle was bent? Measuring with a tape measure or another method?

Mine was bent up on the passenger side tube. I measured floor to tube in several places along the axle tube. The pumpkin end measured shorter than the wheel end. About a 1/2 inch if I remember correctly. I also used a framing square to try check for front to back bends.

I have a friend with a 65 Mustang that kept spitting out rear wheel bearings. A straight edge on the offending side showed his problem.

Armair1 · Post by **Armair1** » Wed Jan 21, 2015 10:48 pm

I had the same problem with one I installed in rear axle of my wag (D44) several years ago. Is the one you have actually branded with the LockRite name? I know you said you bought it second hand so maybe you don't know for sure? The reason I ask is the LockRite design has been manufactured under different brand names over the years from what I understand. BJ's was closing out the design sold under the Detroit Ez-Locker name dirt cheap a few years back. I could not pass it up- bought one and installed it in my wag (with the zytainium? cross pin) and had the exact same problem your describing.....locking and unlocking violently going straight down the road. Sounded like the diff was going to grenade. I pulled it apart and inspected everything....could not find anything visually wrong. Ended up putting it back together with the spiders back in stock form. Worked fine- I then ordered a Powertrax LockRite brand and installed it. Has worked perfectly to this day with no problems- very pleased with the performance. I actually like the way it performs better than the Detroit locker in my other wag, it is very predictable as the Detroit has a mind of its own sometimes!
I remember researching it at the time and others had the same problem with the Ez-Locker. As I recall the fix required additional shim adjustments (different from what the stock diff had) that I did not have the technical ability at the time to do.
I remember when I got the LockRite I compared measurement with a micrometer on all the components of both lockers and could not find any differences- they seemed to be identical but the LockRite works and the Ezlocker does not! Since then I have also installed a LockRite in the front of my other wag and it works perfectly as well.
The only problem I have ever had with either of my LockRites was one of the cups cracked when I snapped an axle. I ended up using one of the cups from the Ez-Locker to replace it. I then ordered a replacement cup from LockRite. Still have the Ez-locker in the box on a shelf in the garage.
Anyway I suspect you can get yours to work properly with some set up adjustments (likely at a driveline shop). But that kind of goes against the theory of a "drop in locker" that you can do your self on a budget!

Good luck with your project I hope you get it working properly.

chevelleguy · Post by **chevelleguy** » Mon Jan 26, 2015 6:23 pm

After running mine for several years, it started doing the same thing, unlocking when driving straight down the road with a horrific bang! Re-shimmed the side gears as tight as I could get them and still be able to reassemble it. That fixed it and it has never been so smooth and quiet. I worked at a transmission shop at the time and had access to plenty of used rear end shims, so I can't tell you what they were originally intended for, but they are very common.

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wag4x6 · Post by **wag4x6** » Mon Feb 02, 2015 7:22 pm

Thanks Chevelle, Ill give that a shot. it feels like its too loose and not able to stay locked. I also compared it to a locker I have on the shelf for a Toyota 8" and the Toyota one feels a lot tighter where the teeth lock together. The interesting thing is the Toyota and the D44 both use the same drive pieces ( the inner pieces that the cross shaft goes through) Only the side gears are different. I may try the tighter drive plates and try to shim the side gears.

By the way, hows that pinned NP229 holding up?

wag4x6 · Post by **wag4x6** » Sat Feb 07, 2015 3:55 pm

Update on my locker issue.
I took the diff out and removed the locker. I reassembled it with different thrust washers and used the drive plates out of the Toyota 8" locker I had on the shelf(same as the D44 drive plates). Put it all back in the axle and test drove it around the neighborhood. On the street it seems to work properly, silent when driving straight or coasting through a turn. The only time I heard anything different from having an open diff was on a right hand turn going uphill under power when the tires barked(Richmond Gear says its supposed to do that). I found a couple dirt areas and with some small(3ft) climbs that had loose dirt on them. The locker grabbed both tires and drove right on up them leaving two trenches as I ot on it with no banging noises as before. I also did a couple power brakes in the dirt and both tires spun. Trying to do that before it sounded like the rear end exploded and shook the entire truck.
So, the long and the short of it, I think whatever I did to the locker this time around seems to have fix the issues I was having. Now to get it on the trail and give it a proper test.
Thanks for everyones input.

AwesomeJ10 · Post by **AwesomeJ10** » Sun Feb 08, 2015 9:23 am

Nice!

Can you better explain what you did? I am thinking of messing around with my 14bolt lockright...

Post by **Stuka** » Sun Feb 08, 2015 9:31 am

Glad you got it working!

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wag4x6 · Post by **wag4x6** » Mon Feb 09, 2015 3:10 pm

Blake wrote:Nice!

Can you better explain what you did? I am thinking of messing around with my 14bolt lockright...

hmmm, lets see if I can do this.
When I disassembled I started looking at all the parts. I noticed the drive plate(parts of the locker the cross shaft goes through) teeth bad some chips in them. I also noticed some play between the drive plates and the side plates. When out of the carrier I could put them together and slightly move them. ChevelleGuy mentioned about the worn thrust washers on his so I looked at mine and visually they were pretty bad. I didn't have a micrometer to measure with but my eyes told me they weren't good.
I had another locker for a Toyota that uses the dame drive plates as the D44. It fit with the side plates much tighter. When I reassembled the locker into the carrier I used the better fitting drive plates and different thrust washers. I don't know which part solved my particular issue but between the different drive plates and thrust washers that seemed to solve my issue.

AwesomeJ10 · Post by **AwesomeJ10** » Tue Feb 10, 2015 9:56 am

Interesting.

My issue with the 14bolt lockright is that is actually reuses the the side gears. So you end up with brand new drive plate and used side gears (and used thrust washers).

I wonder if I should buy new side gears? hmmm...

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