89cherokeelimited

Ok I have a detroit locker in my rear axle and when I hit about 20 MPH my rear axle makes a god aweful noise. When I let off the gas it stops making the noise but when I hit the gas again while i'm at a speed 20 MPH or higher it makes a loud noise and when I hit the gas again it makes the loud noise again and my rear end will not come out of pos. I completely tore the rear end apart and couldn't find anything wrong with the locker but it still makes the horrible racket... Think I just need a new rear end? Or is a Detroit Locker supposed to not go over 20 MPH? Never had one and never drove a vehicle with one...

CrawlnCoupe

it shouldnt be making that noise, the only bad thing i've heard about detroit lockers is that when the locker engages or disengages (should only happen when cornering) it make a clunking noise....and the fact that they sometime like to engage early when cornering if you get on the gas. i would say something else is wrong with the rearend. im no expert, but im gonna say something doesnt sound right.

a1racer

yup pretty much right on the button it sounds like a issue in the drive train but its hard to tell what the issue is right now can you explain what state the axle is in are the u joints old new have the seals be done recently or are they old how are the bearings new old

winston427

If you have not found the problem by Saturday, give me a call and I can come up to H'ville. I'm no expert on diffs, but 2 brains working together are better than 1.

Mike H.

A detroit (full carrier) install requires full setup of the ring and pinion.
Was this done?

89cherokeelimited

Sorry I haven't been on much i've worked almost 70 hours this week lol I'm actually on my comp at work right now.
I've had everything replaced except the actual locker. Here's one thing i've done trying to see what the prob is.

I jacked the rear end up and put it on jack stands and took the wheels and tires off to just the drums and took off the diff cover. I spun the passenger side drum and then grabbed it to stop and the drivers side tire kept spinning and made a grinding noise but when I drive my rear end stays in pos and makes a loud noise. If I spin the tires slow it they spin in diff directions but when I spin them hard they make a grinding noise

EndlessMtnFab

No it does not.


Assuming you are not doing a gear ratio change .... all you are resetting is the backlash. The pinion depth does not change, nor does it need to.


Most times .. you can get away with the exact shims you had on the open carrier. But of course, the dial indicator and pattern have final say. Worst case .... you're moving the shims around a couple of thousandths.



Joe

EndlessMtnFab

Spinning which direction tho?


If we go solely based on that description, the dog teeth inside the locker could be worn. Most common cause for that is mismatched tire sizes (left to right).


Might have to start opening up the diff.


You sure it's a grinding noise, and not a popping/skipping? That's tell-tale for a worn locker like that.



Joe

89cherokeelimited

I have 33" BFG mud terrains on both sides they both have the same miles on them. When I tried to spin the drums it would do that spinning forwards. I turned them like if I was driving forward and then grabbed one of the drums and stopped it and the other side would make a loud grinding noise and keep spinning and while it was spinning it kept making the grinding noise. It sounds like rough metal rubbing each other. It's really loud when I hit like 20 MPH it gets a little louder but when I hit about 50 MPH it's loud but the noise softens up some. When I let off the gas it's perfectly quiet but when I hit the gas again while i'm still coasting it makes a grinding noise and keeps driving... I was thinking it might be the locker. It works awesome offroad lol cause my rear stays in pos but on the road it loud and grinds a lot