Taking a Powertrax No slip OUT

[JoshC]

Alright, my mechanic called me today and said he couldn't get my locker out of my 8.8 to get the regear done. He said he couldn't get the c-clip off. I went to the shop and we worked on it for an hour and we couldn't get it out. I called Powertrax twice and left a nasty message the second time. They have one guy on the phone at tech support, horrible. When he did call, i was at home, but he said turn the c-clip slot facing down and you should be able to knock it out. We tried that kind of but it won't come out. If we can't get this out, then i don't know what i'm going to do. Anyone have this problem before?

Happy trails!!

 

[RiverRat]

Putting it in or pulling it out of a 8.8 w/3.73s shouldn't be difficlut at all. Now it takes a little more "cussing" to get it in/out if you have 4.56s. What part doesn't want to come out? Once you get the pin out you take each part out and then get down to the c-clip.

I have a Powertrax with 3.73 and then upgraded to 4.56.

 

[JoshC]

I'm doing what you did, putting 4.56s in. We can't get the first c clip out, on the passenger side axle. He took the cross pin out and all the springs came out that hold the cross pin in the center.

After we decided that we couldn't get the clip off, we were just doing to put it together, but then we couldn't do that. Something is wrong and i can't see what. It won't line up flush on the pass side now to get it back togther.

Happy trails!!

 

[JDraper]

Since I bought the Sammy for offroading, I took the one out of my X and sold it. (I'm gonna buy a new one for the Sammy.) It definitely isn't easy the first time. Now that I've done it once, the second time wouldn't be as bad. The best way to do it is to make absolutely sure that the powertrax teeth are lined up so that all the discs sit flat against each other before you start disassembly. I didn't do that when I took mine out, and I'm betting your mechanic didn't either.

What I had to do was get a flat blade screwdriver into the powertrax teeth and move them until they are aligned per the assembly instructions. If you don't do this, the c-clip won't come out. Then the plates will lay flat against each other and you can get the c-clip out. I hosed it with some brakleen to get rid of any oil or grease in there that was causing the clip to hang up.

I cussed and swore and fought with mine for about 4 hours to get the clip out. Once I realized that the teeth weren't aligned properly, it took me about 20 minutes

 

[JoshC]

Jeff, so after i get the teeth lined back up, should i put the cross pin back in to keep it lined up? After they are lined up, how did you get the clip itself out? Hit on the top of it to let it fall out.

I can't seem to get it lined back up now. The driver side was out of wack and i started to mess with it so we could get the cross pin back in and then it fell into place and the pass side went out of wack, now i'm getting out of wack

I really really want to get it regeared before i take it to Cory's. If i get a chance to work on it this afternoon, then maybe i can get it done.

Happy trails!!

 

[JDraper]

You can't have the pin in place. It keeps the axle from pushing in to release the c-clip. What I did was reassembled it and got it all back to the installed condition, and then carefully removed the center pin leaving the springs between the gears in place. I then gently rotated both sides together until the c-clip slot was pointed down about 45 degrees. You have to ve VERY careful that you rotate everything at the same rate so that the gears don't disengage and pop out. I then wedged the gears apart so they wouldn't get out of whack and bumped the passenger's side axle in and out to get the c-clip lined up with the slot. A couple of taps on the powertrax with a hammer and it fell out.

Believe me, I was about to kill someone at Powertrax before I finally figured it out. My blood pressure was WAAAAYY up and Dr. Torch was about to make an entrance. I was royally pissed off!!

Note: Take a really close look at your installation directions to make absolutely sure you have all the components lined up properly. You have to have both the paddles in the active spacers and the paddle opening in the synchro ring lined up with gears in the couplers. If all 3 items aren't aligned like the instructions show for original installation, it won't come out. Look at steps 11, 16 & 17 in the instructions.

I did not have the rubber o-rings installed in the c-clip slots with my powertrax so the c-clip was free to fall off once I had everything in place.

 

[JoshC]

The mechanic was saying something about the rubber orings, but i don't remember those on there, not saying that they weren't it's just been a while. I did talk with him again today and he said he was going to roll inside again and try it, so maybe he can get it out. He's never worked with one of these so i told him that if he gets it apart to just put the open carrier back in it and i'll finish it later, so we'll see. I'm going to be out of town tomorrow for work (sorry not up your way Jeff for the tires) but that i would give a call see what he found out. Thank again.

Happy trails!!

 

[JDraper]

If your mechanic doesn't have the installation directions handy, he can go to http://www.powertrax.com and download them as a pdf file. He'll definitely need 'em if he's never worked on one before.

 

[JoshC]

Yeah i gave him my whole box with my spider gears and the installation instructions. I'm actually going to give him a call and see if he does have email so i can send him a link to this page, maybe he will understand it more seeing it the way you put it.

Happy trails!!

 

[JoshC]

Well i talked to the mechanic and he got the locker out. He said he had to drill a hole in the clip and crack it in 2 pieces and let it fall it out. He also had to replace some bearings that were shot. But he got it out. I got my new springs in the mail today. He's just going to put the open gears back in it until i get it back from cory, then i'll put it back together.

RiverRat--what is so hard about putting the locker in with 4.56 gears? Anything tips you can give me would be great cause i'll be doing this in a few weeks!

Happy trails!!

 

[GJarrett]

Originally posted by JDraper
I did not have the rubber o-rings installed in the c-clip slots with my powertrax so the c-clip was free to fall off once I had everything in place.

I made a major mistake when I installed my Powertrax; I forgot to remove the O-ring. That rubber O-Ring is still in the C-clip groove on the axle, so there is no way it will ever freely fall out. If and when I have to remove it, I will have to drill a hole into the Powertrax C-Clip slot big enough to fit some small needlenose pliers in there to grab the C-clip and pull it out.

 

[RiverRat]

JoshC,

The 4.56 ring gear is thicker than the 3.73 l/s I took out. It just means you have to be a little creative on how you put the parts in. It's a real tight fit. I have some pics if you run into any trouble.

 

[JoshC]

Hey Gerald, that is exactly what the mechanic did. Luckily he had a few c clips laying around that he was able to put back in. I guess he left them off, hope that doesn't hurt anything. He did just put the open back in it until i get it back then he said to bring it back down and we'd work on it together, free, so that he could see how it goes together.

Thanks RiverRat, i might take you up on the pictures, but it will be a few weeks. He told me that he had to grind a groove in the center pin to make it fit, did you have to do that?

Happy trails!!

 

[RiverRat]

No grinding was needed. The pin just cleared the ring gear teeth. I guess each differential is a little different.

I layed there under the truck thinking the powertrax wouldn't fit but then it hit me (no pun intended) and the parts went right in. I just had to put some of the locker parts in backward and then rotate them 180 degrees once they were in the carrier.