Dana 30 Eaton E-Locker Question

I am preparing for my E-Locker install in a hp30.
I have purchased the requried special bearings. It just occurred to me that I did
not think about shims. If the bearings aren't stock then I am assuming I need special shims as well. The instructions do not mention this at all, only the need for different bearings.
I am getting a buddy to do the gear and locker install for me but I need to have everything ready for him.

2 basic questions

I bought a plain hp30 master install kit, do I need to buy special shims, if so which ones?

Do I need to put the shims between the bearings and the carrier?
Can you shim the outside instead on a hp 30?

Unless the bearing mount surface on the locker is of larger diameter than the stock carrier you should be good with the standard shims. I believe they go on just like normal (between the bearing and carrier) although if you prefer to shim the outside of the bearing cups you could but it's much more difficult than on the carrier. It's been a while since I set one up but I remember using standard setup bearings to do the setup then installing the special bearings for final assembly.

Found the answer. Ended up having to call Eaton. They need to update their instructions.
They told me to use shims from a GM 8.5, 7.5 or ford 7.5 axle.
The E-Locker journal on the carrier is larger than stock thus different bearings and shims. I should have thought about shims when I went out to buy the different bearings.

They also recommended to shim outside the bearing. I am pretty sure every dana 30 I have seen has the shims between the bearings and the carrier.
It would seem shimming the outside would be far easier as I wouldn't have to press off the bearings. Is their an advantage to one way or the other?
It looks like I will be doing the locker/gear install with a friend.

jonzer12 said:

They also recommended to shim outside the bearing. I am pretty sure every dana 30 I have seen has the shims between the bearings and the carrier.
It would seem shimming the outside would be far easier as I wouldn't have to press off the bearings. Is their an advantage to one way or the other?
It looks like I will be doing the locker/gear install with a friend.

Click to expand...

that sounds really goofy. I have seen it once (on a detroit equipped 30 I was considering buying) and they were sliding out. It seems it would be really easy to damage the shims while putting the carrier in the housing.

I ended up not buying the axle because the carrier was all sorts of loose, the pinion bearings were trash, and the pinion had like a quarter inch of backlash. Figured I'd be better off gearing an axle myself than starting with a known-bad setup, fixing it, and having no idea how the gears were broken in. I have no idea why the shims were put on the outside of the bearings.

Not sure why Eaton makes that locker so damn complicated. Didn't know you needed special bearings and shims, but I remember the instructions talking about trimming the axle shafts. I would have much bought an E-locker instead of the complicated ARB, but didn't buy it because of the complicated install and I didnt want to cut a set of $800 RCV shafts.

ARB has different carrier bearings than stock, but uses the same shims and all that. Odd.

Looks to me like they made it so you have to cut the axleshafts down because of the 4-spider-gear design. They use a 1-piece cross shaft, a block at the center, and 2 half-shafts for the other two pinions, all of them bolt into the block at the center. Problem is, the added thickness from the block means you have to shorten the axleshafts.

The different size bearings is what I don't get.

What I'm pulling this info from: http://image.fourwheeler.com/f/29273430/129_0909_04_z+4x4_lockers_traction+eaton_elocker.jpg (courtesy of fourwheeler mag)

*NOTE* I just did this instal last week, (well the shop did), the parts were an Eaton selectable, 4.88's, & 30spl chromos going in a hp-d30 so same as u,, well the bearings, shims, & seals were all WRONG, even Eatons directions were wrong too!!

-Do urself a favor & go check the bearing sizes up to the locker, check ur shim diameter, & try to check the bearing races against stock hp-d30 races cauz even those didnt fit!! This all happened to me while the dam jeep was on the lift too, turning a 2 day job into a 7 day job waitin for the right parts to come in!! Even the shop had difficulties dealing with both Motive & Eaton gettin the right parts cauz they insisted to go thru a distributor & wouldnt help the shop out directly which means if this happens to u, be prepared to be down for a week, & ofcourse the vendor i used was unreachable!!!! Luckily a fellow Jeep member of our local club had the helpfull answers & where to get the right parts fast!!!

Im still having issues with the vendor trying to radicate this issue!! Hope that helps & good luck!!

Are you telling that the bearings listed in the instructions are wrong?
I had to special order those and they were not cheap. Let me know what part numbers you used.
The journal on the carrier is oversize, same as ARB, OX, etc. No dana 30 parts work.

jonzer12 said:

Are you telling that the bearings listed in the instructions are wrong?
I had to special order those and they were not cheap. Let me know what part numbers you used.
The journal on the carrier is oversize, same as ARB, OX, etc. No dana 30 parts work.

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-My bearings were special ordered as well for the Eaton & were the wrong ones. I will have to double check which were the correct bearings actually used with the shop tomorrow as there gonna be callin me anyways to send copys of the invoices so i can get my money back from National Drivetrain!! I had bearings #LM102910, & #LM102949, of which one is wrong from the directions, #LM102911 is on the directions & not #LM102910, & thats Nat Drivetrains mistake & im gonna have to double check the second one for ya. The directions list bearings #LM102911 & #LM102949.

-The outter races diameter has to be the same size as ur hp-d30 housing but the inner diameter will be different. Im saying that one of the bearings didnt even fit that correctly nor did anything that Nat Drive gave me!!

jonzer12 said:

Found the answer. Ended up having to call Eaton. They need to update their instructions.
They told me to use shims from a GM 8.5, 7.5 or ford 7.5 axle.
The E-Locker journal on the carrier is larger than stock thus different bearings and shims. I should have thought about shims when I went out to buy the different bearings.

They also recommended to shim outside the bearing. I am pretty sure every dana 30 I have seen has the shims between the bearings and the carrier.
It would seem shimming the outside would be far easier as I wouldn't have to press off the bearings. Is their an advantage to one way or the other?
It looks like I will be doing the locker/gear install with a friend.

Click to expand...

It's very difficult to install the carrier with the shims outside the bearing races unless you get custom thickness shims made so they are one piece. This is how an 8.8 is done and it is quite a pain. I would do as the manufacturer recommends though.

It is my understanding that the only time you will have to trim shafts on an
E-locker install is if you have a CAD axle. The vacuum disconnect shafts need to be trimmed 1/8 to 1/16th as they are a tad longer than 1 piece axle shafts.

Ok, bringing this up from the dead because I am getting ready to have an Elocker installed. So the deal is that Eaton has the wrong part number on their instructions and I actually need:

Bearing LM102949 and race LM102910 and also need shims from a GM 8.5, 7.5 or ford 7.5 axle?

Did I get that right?

I believe you need:

SK 30214 D30 FRONT W/ EATON E-LOCKER
LM102949 TIMKEN BEARING - D30 FOR EATON E-LOCKER SAME AS D35-30 SPL, GM8.5-8HD
LM102911 TIMKEN RACE - D30 FOR EATON E-LOCKER SAME AS D35-30 SPL, GM8.5-8HD

This is what ECGS sold me and I think they know what they are doing. I haven't installed it yet to confirm.

I include the option to order the correct bearings (shims included too) with the locker so there's no guess work involved.

I installed one a couple years ago and went through this too. The only shims that work are D44 (unless someone is now making custom diameter thin shims). The problem with the GM is that they are externally shimmed, and so the shims are intended to be driven in, where the D30 is internally shimmed and doesn't have room for and external shim setup. The D44 shims are a little loose but it doesn't hurt anything. I had a long e-mail back and forth with Eaton, eventually with one of their engineers and he admitted it. He also admitted that the instructions needed to be updated... as I said, several years ago. Sad that they still haven't gotten around to it.

As I recall, the bearings they call for are correct (LM102911, LM102949). I didn't have to shorten my shafts. Again, if I remember correctly, that's only required for cad axles.

jabinco said:

As I recall, the bearings they call for are correct (LM102911, LM102949). I didn't have to shorten my shafts. Again, if I remember correctly, that's only required for cad axles.

Click to expand...

Yeah, that was my main question because earlier in this thread because Senior XJ mentioned that he needed different parts than what the instructions called for. I think to be safe I am going to get all of them just in case and hand those to the shop installing mine. They are cheap and better to be safe than sorry.

md21722 said:

I believe you need:

SK 30214 D30 FRONT W/ EATON E-LOCKER
LM102949 TIMKEN BEARING - D30 FOR EATON E-LOCKER SAME AS D35-30 SPL, GM8.5-8HD
LM102911 TIMKEN RACE - D30 FOR EATON E-LOCKER SAME AS D35-30 SPL, GM8.5-8HD

This is what ECGS sold me and I think they know what they are doing. I haven't installed it yet to confirm.

Click to expand...

I finally got around to installing my locker. I can confirm these parts work.

jabinco said:

I installed one a couple years ago and went through this too. The only shims that work are D44 (unless someone is now making custom diameter thin shims). The problem with the GM is that they are externally shimmed, and so the shims are intended to be driven in, where the D30 is internally shimmed and doesn't have room for and external shim setup. The D44 shims are a little loose but it doesn't hurt anything. I had a long e-mail back and forth with Eaton, eventually with one of their engineers and he admitted it. He also admitted that the instructions needed to be updated... as I said, several years ago. Sad that they still haven't gotten around to it.

As I recall, the bearings they call for are correct (LM102911, LM102949). I didn't have to shorten my shafts. Again, if I remember correctly, that's only required for cad axles.

Click to expand...

^^ this too. SK 30214 is a D44 shim kit. These are the same shims used on XJ D44's. I have an XJ D44 apart and matched them up.

Well, this definitely confirms me not going with an Eaton Elocker...I'll go with a Zip Locker instead for the D30.

There is NO ****ing reason why you should have to spend additional money on an already expensive locker (yes not as expensive as an ARB)

Not only that, but now I've read of several people being denied any warranty what so ever for having tires larger than stock...

freerider15 said:

Well, this definitely confirms me not going with an Eaton Elocker...I'll go with a Zip Locker instead for the D30.

There is NO ****ing reason why you should have to spend additional money on an already expensive locker (yes not as expensive as an ARB)

Not only that, but now I've read of several people being denied any warranty what so ever for having tires larger than stock...

Click to expand...

Huh? All you need is the proper carrier bearings & shims? Lots of folks with ARB will happily tell you to buy an e-locker next time around. No fun not being able to back out of your driveway because of some o-ring or crap like that. What are these extra parts you speak of? The only changes are the carrier bearings & shims. Everything else is direct fit.

md21722 said:

Huh? All you need is the proper carrier bearings & shims? Lots of folks with ARB will happily tell you to buy an e-locker next time around. No fun not being able to back out of your driveway because of some o-ring or crap like that. What are these extra parts you speak of? The only changes are the carrier bearings & shims. Everything else is direct fit.

Click to expand...

I would ask why the carrier bearings and shims aren't supplied, with the unit, for install from the get go.

I'm sorry, but If I'm spending $800 on a locker, I should not have to expect to spend an additional ~$70 for the correct carrier bearings and shims.

To me, that would akin to buying a lift kit, and needing to change out an end of the arms or something along those lines for correct application on my axle. If I'm buying a locker for: Dana 30 27 Spline 3.73 and up...why are the correct carrier bearings and shims NOT included?

I've known quite a few that moved away from ARB, but it wasn't to an ELocker. Most of them moved to Zip Locker (Jesse Haines to name one), or something like a Grizzly Locker.

And, there's a thread going on Pirate asking about the ELocker. Between other experiences I've read from individuals, and threads like that, I don't care to go to one any more.

Yes, I do realize the ELocker has worked for many just fine, but it seems there are still some design issues that as far as I can tell from all the research and reading I've done, have only been resolved on the D60/70 models (the ball and ramp).

The fact that I've also read of ~half a dozen people getting denied warranty due to running tire size over stock is ridiculous.

Hey, maybe it's just me. Maybe my expectations for spending $800 on a locker are a little high...