cball917

hey guys i have been workin on my first xj i bought 3 weeks ago. when i bought it the guy said the spider gears were bad and axles had been taken out . i took cover off too see damage and i did not find spider gears i found this locker. i have the axles. the gear dope looks brand new. the r&p look great. n o signs of damage anywhere. only numbers on locker are 85037 and someone has written "Good" on right side of locker. this is first jeep first teardown so i am loking for advice. what can i check. what kind of locker this is???? any help is appreciated

cball917

after looking online i am thinking its a powertrax locker???

cball917

and the guy i got it from did not do the work on it. so i basically am in the dark on what is wrong if anything is wrong. my dad seems to think that someone bought it not knowing about the locker and thought the front chunk was bad so they pulled the axles and just drove it in 2wd

Jeepability

yep looks like something im about to get

MUDRUNNER AZ

you could try to put the axles back in and see if everything works or binds up and if and how much noise it may make. i do have a question for you is there anything going through your hub bearing? the uni bearings can come apart when driving and depending on speed could be real bad. when i have either broken a front axle or for some reason had to drive in2 by (no axles) i put just the stub shaft back in to keep things together. had a freind pick up a used xj and drove it on the highway for about 20 mins. and when he stopped to turn a corner the bearing came apart and rolled into the intersection and the axle hit the ground.

SeriousOffroad

Based on the part number, that's a Detroit E-Z locker.

cball917

the numbers that i got off the ring gear are dana d 4 5 9 42701 p8L049. does that make any sense. any one know what the ratio is??

cball917

talked to a guy today that use to off road. he said that its a ez locker and they are notorious for making noise and it being normal. he did say that if i wanted to run it in my 1998 xj that i would have to install manual hubs because with factory auto hubs it would be locked anytime i was on the gas pedal??? does that sound right????

XJ4life92

no idea what he is talking about, all xjs after 90 or 91 have the hubs constantly connected to the front driveline. those front lockers will not engange unless you are in 4wd. they need power going to them to lock up. when there is no power, they will just ratchet around corners and make a clicking noise.

cball917

do you guys think that if something had failed i would see some damage inside diff?? i am thinking there is nothing wrong with it. i am starting to think that locker was installed, jeep transfered ownership. new owner did not under stand locker sounds and thought front end was damaged so they pulled axles. the guy i bougth it from said plainly the front spider gears or chunk was bad so they pulled the axles. he did not know there was a locker in it??????? man i am confused?????

JeepingDan

From the pic I do not see any damage. Put the shafts back in and drive it in 2wd and then 4wd on dirt and see what it doe's.
I have the same thing in my D30 and yes it makes noise Ratcheting Clicking. But that is normal.
If there is banging noises then I'd be worried.

JeepingDan

And thats what I'm thinking. This guy prolly did not understand how it works.