Detroit not unlocking

Was hoping someone could help me out with an issue I have been having with my Jeep. Last spring I shortened and installed a Ford 9" under my 97 XJ. I completely re-built the center section and installed a Detroit Locker. I purchased the locker from e-bay from a reputable dealer and it has been performing flawlessly ever since. Unfortunately it's not a soft locker but I became accustomed to the "clicking" sound whenever I made a sharp turn.

Today I drove my Jeep to work and had an unusually quiet ride. After a few turns I realized that the locker was not unlocking but functioning like a spool. I came home and checked on this site and saw that bad diff fluid or a difference in tire pressure could cause a detroit locker to function erratically. I just checked my tire pressure and both rear tires are within 0.5 psi of one another. The gear lube (standard not synthetic) was recently changed (about 2 months ago after a wheeling trip.)

My question is where do I go from here? I know that I will inevitably need to disassemble the locker and look for broken/worn parts. When I do find out what parts I need where can I source them from? Do they sell a rebuild kit so I can minimize down time? Is it even worth rebuilding? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Now I am totally confused. I had some time this morning to take the rear apart to investigate the cause of the problem. I tore the detroit apart only to find nothing visibly wrong. The side gears and the main center gear were in good condition - none of the teeth were gnarled up or missing. The only thing I noticed was a small build up of metal filings - with the consistency of antiseze but it seemed like what you would expect with normal wear and tear. I disassembled everything and cleaned it thoroughly with brake cleaner and then re-assembled and pre-oiled all moving parts. After completely cleaning out the housing I assembled the rear and everything was spinning smoothly. I attempted to do the test in the manual but both tires seemed locked together pretty tightly. I took it for a ride and the tires were still dragging and barking around turns.

Anyone have any suggestions?

how does it perform when you have the rear jacked up?, you should be able to get one side to free wheel by spinning it and having the other one held in place. mine takes some doing, but i can always get it to unlock. i sometimes have to go back and forth, but it will go

the detroit wants to stay locked when it has torque going through the pinion, mine always chirps and chatters the rear wheels, but performs correctly on the trail, so i just am used to it

there is a test section in the installation manual, don't have time to dig that up now, but it has about 8 images of how to spin the wheels to test operation.

What is the test in the manual?

Did you spin each tire seperately with the rear end off the ground to check if the Detroit is unlocking? You should be able to spin each tire forward with the other side not moving. You can't spin them backward, just forward.

excerpts from the manual, including the tests:
http://4x4icon.com/offroad/detroit/detroit_noslip.htm

and the tests do say you can test for reverse disengagement

Thanks for the replies,

I did try the test from the manual last week when I discovered the problem and it failed. Both tires were positively locked together there was no differential action regardless of which way the wheels were spun.

I know that of all the ways the locker could have failed, to fail locked isn't all that bad. I just am not a big fan of dragging the wheels through parking lots. It's annoying but moreover it is going to kill my tire life and mud terrains aren't cheap!

I have one possible solution that I will investigate. The passenger side axle bearing isn't seated properly on the axle, it wasn't pressed on far enough upon initial installation. I was dealing with the oil leak - the seal wasn't properly seated on the back of the axle flange - and truthfully it's only off by maybe an 1/8th of an inch. I have the bearing and seal sitting in the truck just never got motivated to do the work. I know that I'm really reaching but I'm trying whatever I can before I replace the locker.

Any other suggestions would be appreciated.