Trac-Loc Help ?

My Trac-loc in my 8.25 is dying i hear cluking ( bang) each time i start moving or engage reverse or turn.
how can this harm my diff ? do I really need to change the friction clutches ? Can this just be the U Joints ?

The TracLoc should not make noises when it gets worn or old. It just doesn't work as well or does not work at all. You can drive it like that for as long as you like. My 1984 CJ-7 TracLoc has 136,000 miles and has never been serviced. It still works, but not very well. Check and make sure all the axle U-bolts are tight, the shock absorbers are not loose or broken, and nothing else is loose or touching the rear axle or frame.

New ujoints are inexpensive and not very hard to install. They can and do wear out from age and use and need to be replaced at some point in time.

Change the gear oil in the rear differential and make sure you add the proper friction modifier additive for the TracLoc. If you still have noises it can be the backlash in the ring and pinion gears inside the differential. Some slight clunking is normal with age and mileage. You might just have to have a repair shop inspect the axle and check for worn or damaged parts.

its definitely not your tracloc. Just as Tim mentioned worn clutch plates dont cause a clunk normally.

i thought my 8.25 clunked a lot too but its normal given the possible slack between the tranny, tcase, and diffs. Now if its SUPER loud and hard, then you might have something going on with ujoints

Replace the rear cross joint and straps, maybe $15-30 bucks for a spicer. All you need is small set of wrenches, couple of sockets and a big C clamp.
Unbolt the straps at the back of the driveshaft, using ice pick or similar get the spring clips out of the ends of the cross joint.
Take two sockets, one smaller than the cross joint cap and one larger, put them on the drive shaft and put the C clamp on, tighten the C clamp and the smaller socket will push the cross joint out into the larger socket.
Put the new cross joint in using the reverse and use new straps and bolts. Done.
30 minute job once you are under there with the jeep on JACKSTANDS.
Me, I park mine on a slight bank along the driveway, nose up, which gives me tons of room underneath but I also put 2 big blocks behind the back tires and leave it in 4 wheel drive with the tranny in 1st.

Couple of days ago I checked the rear DS for play using my hands it seemed OK. Is there another way to know that the Ujoints are worn out ?

All the XJs here are fitted with a 8.25 and TracLocs I heared that after the friction plates get worn out they create some sort of clearance somewhere in the diff dont know exactly where.

Its very annoying sound each time I apply gas from a stop and even when I am on 60 and hit a small bump .

I think you are barking up the wrong tree. Broken/bad shock, bad bushings, universals. Inside the pumpkin is the last place I would look. Though it would not hurt to pop the cover and drain the lube, run it thru a filter and look for pieces, clean it out, you could even put some dye or prussian blue on the gears and see what kind of pattern you are getting. If it spends alot of time in a sandy environment [just looked at your location and am assuming it's not Egypt New Jersey].

When was the last time you did an oil change for the diff? Drop the cover and see what you have. My old trakloc made similar noises to the ones you describe. Turns out my trakloc had desintegrated.....

If nothing seems wrong, it's a good excuse to change the oil and the limit slip additive.

Ivan said:

When was the last time you did an oil change for the diff? Drop the cover and see what you have. My old trakloc made similar noises to the ones you describe. Turns out my trakloc had desintegrated.....

If nothing seems wrong, it's a good excuse to change the oil and the limit slip additive.

Click to expand...

last time was 18 k miles ago. What do yo mean by desintegrated ?

Disintegrated, as in plates of clutch pack fell apart. I had taken it in to get it regeared, when the mess was found.

I couldn't really tell that there was much wrong with it. To me it sound almost like when the effectiveness of the limit slip wears off, and the diff begins to clank and clatter....

Here's the $6 million dollar question. Is servicing/replacing the clutch packs something the average joe can do? I prefer not to take mine into a shop. My Trac-Lok used to work fine, but last winter I started suspecting it's doing its job as well anymore.

Just a curve ball...have you checked your crossmember mount??? I was having problems going from D to R, making clunking noises, turns out my mount had failed...easy way to tell, get underneath with someone you trust in the driving seat, engine running and get them to go D to R quickly.

Hope this helps...then again I could be completley wrong!..It solved my noises.