8.8 LOCKER PROBLEM

to start off for the past couple times i have drove the jeep i noticed the locker would lock and unlock going in a straight line on the road. the 8.8 is a 97 and it is a detroit ez locker in the carrier. so i took it apart to see what was wrong and found one of the side gear thrust washers had a chip in it. so i replaced both of them i also replaced the springs and pins in the ez locker. i checked the bearings and axle shafts for damage but there was none. so i put it together and took it for a drive and it still locks and unlocks even under hard throttle. anyone have any ideas or dealt with this before i'm getting close to putting the stock spider gears back in.

What makes you believe the locker is "locking and unlocking" going straight?
I ask because if you are going straight, you wouldn't be able to tell if the locker was locked. A spool drives just like an open until you turn. A description of the symptom would help us give you some useful advice.:lecture:

it is definitely the locker when it locks and unlocks it puls left hard and sounds like a hammer hitting the rear end. also the tires have less than 100 miles on them so there is no tread size difference

The lockright in my 8.8 acted wierd for awhile as well. I put 75/140 synthetic in it and its worked awsome ever since. Might be worth a shot.

anyone else have any ideas?

sgtmack said:

What makes you believe the locker is "locking and unlocking" going straight?
I ask because if you are going straight, you wouldn't be able to tell if the locker was locked. A spool drives just like an open until you turn. A description of the symptom would help us give you some useful advice.:lecture:

Click to expand...

A spool will never unlock during a turn, it's a solid chunk of steel with no moving parts...

When you installed it, did you check all the clearence's in the carrier and the unit itself? The cogged teeth weren't dammaged were they? (rounded off)

Justin

my full detroit did that often. usually it was one tire slightly underinflated.
2 pounds was enough to do it.
Definitly a weird quirk, and enough to be scary occasionally when it would jerk the rear end to one side.

75-140 weight syn did help it from banging around like that, but the root cause was tire pressures.

87manche said:

my full detroit did that often. usually it was one tire slightly underinflated.
2 pounds was enough to do it.
Definitly a weird quirk, and enough to be scary occasionally when it would jerk the rear end to one side.

75-140 weight syn did help it from banging around like that, but the root cause was tire pressures.

Click to expand...

X2 It only takes a slight difference in tire pressure to make it act wierd, especially when new. Also, if there was way too much of a gap between the center plates of the locker it might do that. Or a spring that popped out and got hung up inside the locker.

the tires are brand new and up to psi. i will try and change the fluid and see what happens.