Locking Diff? Please advise

[gadget73]

Looks good, thanks for the writeup. Just an unrelated question, but what kind of condition were your axles in? They wear towards the flange end where the bearing rides. If they have grooves and pitting, its generally suggested to replace the outer bearings and the axles before the axle snaps.

[johnunit]

And if they snap, your wheel falls off. Unless you have disc brakes, then it just wedges in the fenderwell and messes everything in it's path up.

[davidwarner]

Thanks....I didn't think to look at the axles. I didn't need to move them in or out very much to install the PowerTrax. How would I Inspect them? Just pull them all the way out after the C clip is removed? Are there seals or anything that could get damaged when removing the axles? I'm thinking that they should be ok as the car has less than 90k on miles on it. Perhaps I'll look at the axles when I take it apart next year for inspection. Though I am wondering how I'll get the C clips out (from the slots) if I need too.

Just another note on the Powertrax installation; I didn't have to remove the Ring Gear or the Bearing caps. I am really surprised at how simple it was.
If the instructions had been more accurate I would have had no problems at all.

[sly]

only need to pull them out about 6 inches to see the area the axle rides on.

[davidwarner]

ok, thanks. Sure wish I had checked them when I had the diff apart

[gadget73]

There are outer oil seals that can be damaged, but those are pretty simple to change. if it starts leaking oil out from under the drums, that'll be the issue.

So the Powertrax unit pops in the center of the stock open carrier? Interesting. Most any other option is a replacement carrier, not something you fit in place of the stock pin and spider gear arrangement.

[marquisman]

yea, that part i did not get. if its how you say, would be a decent upgrade.

[Mercracer]

.. I'm thinking that they should be ok as the car has less than 90k on miles on it...

Age will wipe out a seal more than mileage. An old dried out seal will not tolerate the weight of the axle on it when you pull the shaft out and the weight is off of the bearing.

[davidwarner]

Yeah, the stock carrier remains in place. If you look at the picture you can see that the carrier gains in thickness as it goes towards the passenger side. I think that is why I had to install the bits in reverse order. When I tried to install the drivers side first (as the instructions call for) There was not enough room to slide the RT driver into place. The drivers are the donut like pieces with ridges that engage each other.

[davidwarner]

Ok, for anybody that is interested; I googled 'Powertrax No Slip has two slotted drivers'. It appears that several people have encountered the same problem as me (thinking they had the wrong part). Apparently, they are now supplied with two slotted drivers and there is supposed to be a note explaining this included with the documents. I didn't see the note but am going to look in the box again to see if it's there. Reading the other responses has put my mind at rest anyway. Now I know I installed the right parts. Some posters in the below forums also mention the need to reverse the install procedures. In any case, it's still working with no problems (about 700 miles now).

http://www.chevelles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=328066

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f11/no-slip-29-spline-chrysler-8-25-i-sent-wrong-part-534202/

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=959606

[1987cp]

Very, very, VERY neat info! Huge thanks for doing this! Very neat test with the jack, too - after all, the point would seem to be that you can still go forward even if one drive wheel has NO traction.


Surprised that anyone didn't know that the point of either type of Powertrax locker was that you don't have to replace the carrier ....

[davidwarner]

Thank you….Hopefully the review will help anybody that is also considering this mod.

It will be interesting to see how it turn out over time but I still haven’t driven it in wet or snowy conditions yet. What I would really like to know is if the improved traction with the No Slip will be better than a standard front wheel drive vehicle. In other words which one will get throught the snow better, my Grand Marquise with the locker or my front wheel drive Buick Century.

I think some people refer to this type of locker (where you don’t replace the carrier) as a lunch box locker.

Also, there seems to be some confusion over the Powertrax Lock Right and the Powertrax No slip. The Lock Right is less expensive but is not considered to be as road friendly.

I’m wondering what will happen with the Powertrax line now that Richmond have been bought out by Motive Gear.

[marquisman]

what will happen? the quality will drop a ton or, just get deleted from the parts list completly.

[davidwarner]

Yeah, I suppose, that would be the typical expectations.

[1987cp]

Also, there seems to be some confusion over the Powertrax Lock Right and the Powertrax No slip. The Lock Right is less expensive but is not considered to be as road friendly.

Uh huh ... considering that the whole point is that one decouples in one way, and the other decouples in the exact opposite way. Lock Rite is like a normal locker and decouples the outer wheel in turns, while the No Slip decouples the inner wheel ... right?