front powertrax POS

[mynameisaric]

so, my rear locker threw fits because my installer shaved the pin to get it past the 4.56 gears. i slid a whole pin in, and its been better, not perfect, but a great improvement. And the front locker has never done anything out of the ordinary, it has always been a good little locker. until about 2 weeks ago.

the little POS will not disengage. i pulled the front driveshaft to no avail. so the next day(yesterday) i pulled the front diff (and pulled out 2 broken CV shafts). cracked the diff cover off and looked inside and...... saw nothing out of the ordinary. except that the teeth on the powertrax were clamped shut. i put a flathead in there and that was the only way i could get the teeth to disengage. my pops tells me to replace the cv shafts(liftetime autozone warranty) and maybe it will work. so i put it all back together. put fluid back in and back out of my driveway. to my surprise, its disengaged and i can steer. i get to the end of my street and pull onto a main road "click click click" but i can still steer easily. next turn "click pop". next turn "pop pop clunk" and it engaged and still to this point remains engaged. pretty sure i have not snapped the new cv shafts yet, but i probably will sometime over the weekend at this rate. (there is still no driveshaft hooked up)

called richmond gear tech support... --->"i have no idea"

so my options:
A.) pull the front diff, cut the cv shafts, and turn into a 2wd and miss the badlands 10th anniversary.

B.) drive around till it explodes, and then think about option A

C.) someone chimes in and gives me easy instructions to fix this and i live happily ever after since my dad got ahold of a trailer to tow my little black POS explorer down to the badlands where i can beat the hell out of it and give it good reasons to snap cv shafts.

p.s. i thought about removing the locker, but since it is in the front diff i'm worried about shims n such and i have no idea how to setup gears or anything, and since i didnt do any of the installing on the diff i really have no clue where to start.

thanks for your help in advance. i love this forum community.

 

[wanderer351]

pull it back apart...and grease the engagement teeth??

thats all I can think of..its a lunchbox right?

is it awd?/sensor-trac(thingy)

 

[Blee1099]

Who installed the front locker? I'd take it back to them for warranty work.

 

[mynameisaric]

no auto4wd or awd, i popped in a 1354 case over the winter, and right now there is no driveshaft hooked up. i'm going to call the guy that did all the installing after i eat lunch(at work right now). i don't think its his fault, since it worked fine since october or november(on and off the trail) but just recently it has been throwing fits and will not disengage.

 

['97 V8]

It sucks to hear that man. if all else fails i'd just yank the locker out..of course after making sure everything will be okay after its done.

 

[Jefe]

Powertrax No-slip or Lock-right?
Did you pull the locker out of the carrier to make sure there isn't any crud (locker bits or axle circlip perhaps) inside the locker forcing it to lock?

 

[mynameisaric]

it is a powertrax no-slip.

i have not pulled it out of the carrier, because i sort of have no idea what i'm doing. I dont know where the shims are, and i dont want to get everything all out of whack and have it explode when i put it back together.

why, oh, why cant my truck just work. it has been non stop problems for the past month or 2. first the motor took a crap, got it back, but it overheated and idled high due to a coolant leak, then this locker thing started happening, and it made me mad and i threw my keys at this stupid beast, the little chip in the key fell out so it wouldnt start. i spent 4 or 5 days trying to figure out why it wouldnt start(not knowing about the PATS system). replaced the fuel filter and fuel pump, finally tried the spare key and it started right up, but i had a massive fuel leak from the o-ring on the pressure regulator(it ripped somehow putting it back on) and now the motor runs fine, no leaks (still idles a little high but does not overheat) but i have this damn locker problems.)

some force of mechanical nature is keeping me from the badlands june 17.

 

[nissanboy]

sounds like the springs that hold the pieces apart are worn out or one of the pins that the spring sit on are broken or not seated.

Pull it apart, Dissassemble it, and reinstall

 

[mynameisaric]

i just pulled it. cut the cv's. i'll stay 2wd until i dig out of debt and build up some full width axles. i was texting while driving(which i do all the time with no problems) except this time i look up and i see a big freaken mail box. it must have been surrounded by bricks cuz i have hit curbs at high speeds and my alignment has been unafected, but my alignment is MESSED up now. tie rod looks straight tho. so hopefully a 60$ firestone alignment will cure my truck.

 

[j602]

Texting while driving. Yeah, smooooth.

 

[mynameisaric]

yeah.... not so much. i hope i at least took out the mail box since i have to get an alignment now. (ok not really, thats kind of mean..... and a federal offense)

other than the alignment, i only got 2 scratches. but they blend right in with all the other ones on my truck. there was one witness, but i dont think he cared.. he just looked at me crazy.

 

['97 V8]

ouch...those mailboxes pop out of nowhere. get the firestone lifetime alighnment...best 169 bucks ive spent. ive takin to them(truck) about 3 times so its already paid for itself.

 

[mynameisaric]

well i called firestone to setup an apointment. i have to wait till tomorow, but it is right down the street from my work, and they are running a special on their lifetime alignments.... 129.99 so i'm going to go with that. 2 alignments and i almost break even, 3rd one comes out to 10 bucks and every alignment after that is free. i know i will need at least 2(one now and one after the sas), and i'm in too deep with this truck to let it go anytime soon, so i will probably need another one before i let the truck rust in peace.

 

[Kirby N.]

Take the powertrax apart. It is easy to do. Half hour. Then you can figure out whats up and sell it as a "working" Powertrax. It is probably the pins are broken and it is causing it to bind up and not un-lock. You can buy new pins and springs from the manufacterer for like $35.

 

[mynameisaric]

dont you have to remove the ring gear to pull out the powertrax on the d35.

 

[boominXplorer]

Once you get the diff cover off all thats left is the 4 bearing cap bolts and make sure the pass side axel stub is pulled out. You should be able to pry it right out.

 

[Kirby N.]

I don't even think you have to remove the carrier. I am trying to remember how I got my lockright out. You do have to take out the axle shafts. Either way, like boomin said it is not much of a job. Take out the cap bolts and pry it out, then take off the ring.