Eaton E-locker

[profire]

HH I ran a lock right in my 2007 JK on 35's With the Dana 30 up front. Never had an issue. Before I sold the jeep I pulled the lock right, it now is in my 85CJ. If your not flogging your jeep you should be fine.

 

[Hedgehog]

NO, I don't plan on flogging my jeep. But, you never know. When you finally get the parts to do something it can be like a song, you know the one ....... "My brain says you can't do that boy, but my pride says OH yes you can."

Right now I know I have a competent jeep. It gets around off road surprisingly well, but I know it has limitations and I live within them. But with a decent engine under the hood, a true locker in the rear and a very decent locker in the front I could easily fall prey to the pride side of my brain and say, "OH yes you can." Let the flogging begin. I hope to be more mature than that though.

 

[Lumpy Grits]

HH-IMO you would do well with the LR.
Another carrier I have installed many of, is the Power-Lock LSD. I ran one in the front for years till I went to the DL.
In fact, if I lived in snow/ice country. I would run PL's front and rear instead of my DL's.
Power-locks are very smooth and you don't even know it there.
No ele switches to think about etc. They work when needed-
Something to think about-
LG

 

[profire]

"My brain says you can't do that boy, but my pride says OH yes you can."

Read more: http://www.jeep-cj.com/forums/f2/eaton-e-locker-24435/index5.html#ixzz3T3p7He47
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I certainly understand, I try to backup and pick another line if I don't make it the first time. But hey when the crowd is gathered around and watching and cheering you on, well things can get interesting.

 

[Hedgehog]

Now that I've got the locker in hand ... had to travel to pick it up ... I've got a question. When its installed, can you hear or feel the locker engage? Do the newer differentials have the shims on the outside of the bearings? Why do I ask? The bearings are already installed, this is the second locker that already have the bearings pressed on and one owner said the shims go on the outside.

 

[Lumpy Grits]

Never seen a '44' with outboard carrier shims.
LG

 

[caveman]

Not going to say that it wouldn't work but I've never seen it too.

 

[mriplaybass]

Just saw the thread. We, (oldjeeplady) have an E locker in our 74 Dana 44 . Yes, the shims go on the inboard side of the bearing. That is why you use a set of "sacrificial" bearings to do your initial set up. Grind them out so that you can slip them on and off by hand. You can then do your setup without committing to pressing the bearings on. The same thing can be done in order to shim the pinion race to achieve proper pinion depth, but this time you grind the bearing race so that it will fit in the bore by hand. Makes it a lot easier to add or remove shims. Worth the few extra dollars for an extra race. Right in the instructions from Eaton, it says to use sacrificial bearings to do the shim setup because once the bearing is pressed on the stator side, pulling it will destroy the stator. If you have already committed to buying this locker, I would recommend taking it to a Transmission shop to pull the bearing for you. The Eaton instructions do state that pulling the bearing with a conventional puller will destroy the stator. Maybe a transmission shop will have more sophisticated equipment to perform this task. Or, just try installing it first with the existing shims. Maybe you will get lucky and the existing shims will give you the back lash, pre load, and pattern you are looking for. For the others looking for the gear paint to do the pattern check, you can get it at O'reilly auto parts, P/N T-5117-Y for $11.49. It comes in a container kind of like a magic marker. Not very handy for marking angled gear teeth, so you need to have an acid brush to properly apply it to the gear tooth face. The only problem with this paint is that unlike the paint that comes in a rebuild kit, it does dry in about 10 to 15 minutes. Kind of like the stuff salvage yards use to mark their parts.

 

[Hedgehog]

Yes. I have the locker "in hand". Last night I was reading the instructions and they clearly say to install the shims on the outside with the bearing races. Maybe that is something new, like all of you I've never seen it done that way. IT is my intension to do it the traditional way with the shims inside the bearings. Honestly having the directions saying something different from what I am expecting has me a bit paranoid and I keep checking the part number to make sure I've got the correct differential for my Dana 44 .

I have access to a great bearing pulling device that is very gentle on the bearings. I say device because its more a package of bearing tools than it is just a puller. It almost looks home made, but I've seen it for sale. EVERY shop that does diff. bearings should have one of these things. Anyways, pulling the bearings without damage should be no problem.

Yeah I though I'd start with the existing shim pack. Since I'm also doing a gear change it is more than likely a false hope, but you've got to start somewhere.

Thanks for the part number. It will make life a lot easier.

 

[caveman]

I was just watching a show where they were setting up a dana 60. No it's not a 44 but made by the same company and they were setting it up with the shims on the outside of the bearings. Makes me have second thoughts.

 

[Lumpy Grits]

HH-Call Eaton, and ask them.
There has to be a reason they were already mounted and the outboard shim deal is the only ans. I can see at this time.
Another outfit to contact would be Randy's Ring and Pinion
http://www.ringpinion.com/
LG

 

[mriplaybass]

Just looked at Old Dog's link for the gear set up paint, much better product than the pen that I found. I just ordered 2 kits.

 

[WireEd]

I'll trade you my ez locker...plus a case of beer...

 

[Hedgehog]

Ahhhhhh ... no! I do appreciate the kind offer ..... hmmmmm beeeerr ....... Sorry, still no.

So, where do you get a set of shims? I've looked in some of my catalogs ... nothin' there for shims.

 

[Lumpy Grits]

Contact Randy's Ring & Pinion.
I have bought shim kits from them before.
LG

 

[Hedgehog]

Called Eaton, kind of disappointing. Talked to their tech. person, you could tell he was kind of standing there shuffling his feet and coming up with no answers. Then he gave me a number to a Diff. shop, they had no answers either, just some more phone tag. Finally called The Diff. Squad who work for Crown. The guy was very helpful. He said that the newer Dana 44 's are machined for thicker shims so putting them on the outside wasn't a problem. The older 44's take very thin shims and it's almost impossible to get them in place without ruining the shim. The older 44's have to be shimmed on the inside of the bearing as it's always been done. Now to get the spreader and bearing puller and have at it.

 

[Hedgehog]

While digging around looking at lockers I see where Yukon is running a spring rebate program $30 for a lunch box locker. $35 for their Dura Grip. No bad if your lookin' for what they can offer.

 

[Lumpy Grits]

On that "E" be sure to put the thickest shims to the outside of the carrier.
Less chance of shim damage.
FWIW: I have never used a 'case-spreader'.
So-why didn't you call Randy's?
LG

 

[Hedgehog]

Because I called Eaton and he recommended a guy who recommended a guy. Then I called my guy who recommended a guy. Then did a search on shim kits and saw that the company had a group called "The Differential Squad". So what the heck I gave them a call and they were absolutely on the ball. Others seemed confused and a little arrogant about the whole question, they tried to make me feel stupid. Them, "Are you asking how thick the shims need to be, I don't know that." Me, "No, I'm asking about what size or diameter the shim kit needs to be for an outside the race installation." The Differential Squad knew what I was asking about, they knew the E-locker I was working with and had the answers. In short they were VERY professional and I appreciated that.

Why didn't I call Randy's, first off, you originally said that I should call Eaton and ask them and I did. That got me started down the path I took. Secondly, Randy's sounds like a small shop, I hate to waste a small shops time if I'm more than likely not going to buy anything from them. It just feels wrong to me. But, without question I would have called him if I hit a dead end road.

I've done one Axle with and without a spreader. At first I used a couple long bars to pry the Dana 30 carrier out. I didn't like the potential for damage. The spreader I used is always available and it did make the job easier on the carrier and diff. case. Now with the instructions in hand Eaton says not to spread the case more than 0.015". Interesting, because I followed the guys advice that owned the spreader and spread the heck out to the diff. I guess it didn't hurt the diff. case because the shims needed were consistent before and after using the spreader. Other than the expense of buying a good case spreader, why are so many people opposed to using one?

Simply put the older Dana 44 's are not machined to allow thicker shims and it's darned near impossible to stuff the thin shims required on the old axles outside of the races. Makes perfect sense to me.

 

[Lumpy Grits]

Don't need pry bars to get a carrier out.
I just loop a rope around the carrier and jerk it out. I have a 'bed' of cardboard and rags to catch the carrier.
Randy is a major supplier, with great C/S. No worries-
Surprised at the level of BS/ you had from Eaton.
LG