Eaton E-locker

[Hedgehog]

Oldjeeplady - Your posts show an amazing understanding of your jeep project. I'm frequently impressed with the things you've written about.

Where did you get the yellow gear mesh goop? All I seem to be able to find here is blue and it's nasty stuff and it's hard to see the rubbings.

 

[oldjeeplady]

Thank you for the kind words..I am trying to learn along the way I am lucky to have a husband with great knowledge and the patience to teach me.

The yellow gear paint came in a Dana 44 rebuild kit (USA standard). But they just give you a tiny tube with brush and we don't have enough for our Dana 30 . We had to order a bunch of seals and cross ref parts numbers and the lady at our local O"Reilly store found some for us. I don't think they normally carry it, but she found some. We were also faced with the thought of what to use if we couldn't find any. Searching different forums led us to some suggestions and the best ones included artist yellow oil paint that you could find at a craft store and desitin creamy (diaper rash) cream you could find anywhere. My understanding is it needs to be oil based something.

One thing we were not clear on was - Do you wipe this stuff off after you are done getting your pattern or is it OK to leave on. The stuff we got in our rebuild kit doesn't really seem to dry, but I don't know how the gear oil will affect it - or how it could affect the gear oil. So are you suppose to wipe it off??

 

[Lumpy Grits]

HH-I make mine.
Just mix in some yellow chalk powder in with some white lithium grease.
I just leave the grease on the gear.
HINT-Check your pattern in more than one place on the ring gear.
LG

 

[Hedgehog]

Lumpy - Thanks for that. The disk brake axle I've been working on is in my garage with the carrier open wit the blue machinist goop I got at an automotive store, you can't hardly see it and even though I've cleaned it off several times I still end up with some blue on me, then on everything. Nasty awful stuff. I should put the cover back on it, at leas foe now. The whole thing needs to be cleaned again, leaving it open has allowed grinding dust to settle on places that would be bad to leave grinding dust on.

 

[Old Dog]

Hedge, if all else fails you can get some here. 500 Marking Compound

 

[Hedgehog]

Ahhh haaa, that explains it! This week I found blue goop on me and couldn't figure out where I'd gotten it from. Your link reminded me that I used one of those brushes to apply the gear goop. This week I came on one of those brushes and noticed that it was still wet, thought it was grease, now I remember it was the one used to set the gears. Mystery solved!

Now if I can only find the insolated ring used on a steering wheel shaft for the horn. My jeep didn't have a horn or ANY of the stock horn parts on it when I brought it home. While grumbling about not having a horn button on the steering wheel, Rob at Willys Works slapped down this key component, so I slapped down the money for all the rest of the parts so I could FINALLY have a proper working horn. When I got the darned thing home I thought, "Self, if I leave this in the garage it is sure to be lost." So, I put in a "safe" spot in the house. Naturally when I went to retrieve it, it's gone! I've driven myself nuts looking for it. I know it's not under the stove, the refrigerator or the couch. What I do know is I have a very satisfied CAT! The darned thing is having a great time watching me look for the wonderful plaything I'm sure he lost under something in my house. ...... yesterday I gave up and bought another one from Willys Works. Darned Cat!

 

[Lumpy Grits]

The brush is called an 'acid brush'.
LG

 

[Hedgehog]

It makes sense that you would know it's name. I always thought of them as glue brushes.

 

[Lumpy Grits]

It makes sense that you would know it's name. I always thought of them as glue brushes.

I buy'em by the box full.
They work well for gun clean'n too.
LG

 

[CJ]

The blade fuse in the factory wiring is 10A. The largest of the factory wiring is 16 gauge.

Some pics:







It took several times of install and removal to get all the settings right. On the next one I'm going to measure all the shims and lay them out on a sheet of paper with their measurements. Then when we are combining to get the "right" amount we won't have to keep measuring them individually - seems like common sense, but once you start handling them, well they can take on a life on their own - some can even fly!!

I think we watched that same youtube video.. there weren't that many for our application.

We bought our E Lockers from Summit. THEY didn't know that there are extra bearings and special shims required for the Dana 30 install. It's not even on the Eaton site....live and learn.

My husband (mriplaybass) is going to take over updating our build thread as he knows what he is talking about and I well... really don't most of the time.. I am learning... (I did put the new press together )

Nice install. A bit of advice that can really help with shim packs and changes, make a set of setup bearings. It's easy and will take the pain out of pressing on and off bearings.

See this article I wrote a while ago. -->> Diff Bearing Set-Up Tip. - Jeep-CJ Tech. Articles

 

[Barry2]

Lumpy - The guy is fairly well off, and about 60. He put it on a shelf, was ready to install it and sold the jeep. The box is unopened, so everything that should be there is there along with a new set of axle bearings. I have access to a very cool bearing puller set and my dial indicator is in the garage waiting to be used again along with shims of various sizes.

As Barry said they go for ~$800 to ~$1100. But I will say this one is an older model with a birth date of June 2012. When I do a search on the serial number Eaton has a new serial number for a newer model that is supposed to be stronger. Since I'm not going to be running big tires or doing big obstacles the older, well respected model should do me just fine.

Barry - How does the electrical connection work? Do you need to drill a hole in the diff. cover? Does the switch come with the locker and is there a big electrical draw? In operation do you hit a switch that activates the magnet to lock, then hit the switch to unlock or do you turn the magnet on and leave it on until you don't need the locker anymore?

Been also thinking about installing a lunchbox locker in the front. It seems like a good set up for a semi serious off road rig. Any thoughts....

Mr. Hedgehog I run a Eaton E-locker in my 74 CJ5 , 30 spline axles also have one I bought new in What I call my "Street Jeep" wich runs a balanced and blue printed 383 supercharged Chevy. I bought This locker in 2007. No problems.
In the box should be a rocker switch , just off or on. The instructions will tell where to drill the hole for the wire to come out, both work good with no leaks.
I got lucky when I did both of mine, I used to original shims and slipped on my setup bearings and checked the wear pattern and it was perfect.
Pressed on the new bearings and was good to go. Before I wired the relay through the ignition I left it on and it killed the battery overnight

 

[oldjeeplady]

Thank you CJ! That is a very good article you wrote. We actually did make setup bearings for our 44 install, but I didn't call them that...another example of my lacking knowledge. I am trying to learn. The folks on this forum are wonderful to put up with me - I never get fussed at for using a wrong word.

One of the things I was trying to point out was that the Dana 30 E Locker uses different bearings and larger shims than what a Dana 30 carrier uses. And of course you need two sets to make one for setup bearings and one to press in. Removal of the pressed bearing in the Dana 30 E Locker will probably damage the stator per the instructions which is an expensive part. And that information was not known by all the venders we looked at. Even the Eaton site doesn't tell you which shim pack you need for the Dana 30 E Locker. Since this cost us some time and hassle I thought it was worth sharing. Thanks again for the help and kind words.

We just installed one of these in our Dana 44 rear 30 spline. New ring and pinion too. I will look at the fuse size in a bit when I go out to feed the horses. We also have one to install for our front Dana 30 27 spline. What they don't tell you is for the front you need a larger size shim set ( I think they are for a Dana 44 front). They do make reference to the extra bearings you need, and actually you need two sets - one to grind down the ID until you get all your settings right and then a set to press on after you know your settings (backlash, have a good pattern on the ring gear, etc) On the front, you probably cannot remove the bearing without damaging the stator in the E-locker.

 

[Hedgehog]

I wondered if the bearings were different from the stock bearings. I wonder if that also applies to the Dana 30 truetrac. I've been looking into one of those for the front end.

 

[Lumpy Grits]

I wondered if the bearings were different from the stock bearings. I wonder if that also applies to the Dana 30 truetrac. I've been looking into one of those for the front end.

Go with the Lock-Right in the front, and no reset'n of the R&P is needed.
The last tru-trac I installed, used the std D/30 carrier bearings/shims. This was about 2-3 yrs ago.
LG

 

[Hedgehog]

The lock-right seems like a good idea to me, but my local jeep guy doesn't like them (lunch box lockers) in the front end. He's seen a lot of front ends torn up with them installed. He also says jeeps tend to go in a straight line with them. I've read about everything I can find on the subject and have read where you (Lumpy) like them and in several vehicles. ........ I think I'm beginning to suffer from information over load.

 

[Lumpy Grits]

L/R will work fine IF your not nutz with the skinny pedal.
The 30 front ain't all that beefy to begin with. The axle U-joints are a major weakness.
I guarantee you, that if your run that Eaton in the rear and have the L/R in the front. You'll love it.
That 'shop' just wants to sell you something that costs you more is all--
BTW: I run a Detroit Locker in my front end

LG

 

[Hedgehog]

Oddly enough he isn't into selling anything like a locker of any kind. I've had to insist on him ordering items like a bikini top. Why? Because they cost him $50.00 and other shops like Desert Rat can sell them for $53.00. Because of the help and parts he's given me I told him to order the darned thing up and I'll pay $75. I've never seen a guy like him. When a guy was looking at a chrome part he had on the wall, I've heard him say Chrome don't get you home, I said "Rob, if the guy wants to buy, sell it to the man." He has seen the box lockers tear up front ends and he doesn't want one of his customers having to spend money to repair the damage.

Don't worry, I'm listening to what you've written about lunch box lockers.

 

[Lumpy Grits]

HH-His mind is made up. Don't confuse him with facts.
LG

 

[Hedgehog]

Lumpy - you prefer the Lock Right, what about the Spartan?

 

[Lumpy Grits]

Lumpy - you prefer the Lock Right, what about the Spartan?

I like the QC, finish and fit, better on the LR.
LG