Powertrax no slip failure

Hey everyone,

Just wanted to share an experience I recently had with a powertrax no slip locker for my 8.25.

Installed the locker about a month ago. Install was very simple. Street manors were great. Only time I ever heard the locker was at low speed while turning. Used it for a few weeks on highway and road no problems.

Took a trip up to rubicon and the locker worked great. Good traction and seemed to always hook up.


On the last day going up Cadillac hill which has quite a nice drop on the side, my locker made a loud pop on a steep granite boat ramp feature causing me to lose traction and make my Jeep go backwards, almost sending me off the edge of the hill. Luckily my e-brake had enough grab to stop my truck from going down. It was truly a hairy moment. Definitely had a legitimate fear of having the hill renamed to cherokee hill from another vehicle going off the edge.

Got the truck to a safe spot to work where people can pass, thanks to fellow with a very well built tj. There I swapped my spider gears back in and continued onward with an open rear axle.

Had some damage to my brand new 4.88 g2 gears. Chipped ring gear teeth and pinion teeth with a spot that binds and knocks on deceleration. Locker is obliterated




Been over a week and haven’t had a response on coverage from powertrax. Starting to worry a bit about their customer service. I have only read great things about their product and was very surprised to have this happen. My heep is my daily driver and I just paid a fortune for the gears. Hopefully this doesn’t become more of a head ache.

Have any of you experienced or seen anything similar?


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Possibly a installation problem, I've had mine(8.25) for 20 years now!

RCP Phx said:

Possibly a installation problem, I've had mine(8.25) for 20 years now!

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This is why I think it’s defective. Checked spacing on all sides of the locker between the drivers, double checked springs properly seated and tested the disengagement with rotating wheels back and forth. Everything checked out. And even then I think it should have been locked all the time if something was wrong. It worked perfectly up until climbing that hill. locker had this pitting all over it. Contacted powertrax before install and they said it was normal. But maybe it could be some sort of defect?


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I think i remeber reading a while back they may have had a heat treating issue on a small number of units. But im not 100 percent on that

Are you waiting on an email or phone call response? Give them a call if you havent. Ive had excellent customer service from Powertrax over the years including just as recently as 2 months ago.

FWIW i went from using lockrights on previous Jeeps to a NO Slip on my current XJ in a Dana30 and will never go back to a lockright again. So much quieter and smoother.

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devildog0 said:

I think i remeber reading a while back they may have had a heat treating issue on a small number of units. But im not 100 percent on that

Are you waiting on an email or phone call response? Give them a call if you havent. Ive had excellent customer service from Powertrax over the years including just as recently as 2 months ago.

FWIW i went from using lockrights on previous Jeeps to a NO Slip on my current XJ in a Dana30 and will never go back to a lockright again. So much quieter and smoother.

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Thanks for the response.

Maybe I got one of those if that was an issue. I bough the locker from amazon.

I spoke with them last week and they said they were looking into what they can cover. Haven’t heard back, tried calling Friday and the person working my case was out and said I’d hear back on Monday. Nothing yet. I’ll try again today.


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Good news.

Erik at motive gear gave me a call today and said they will be taking care of my damaged parts. Incredible customer service and I will continue to purchase their products knowing that my investments will be backed.

I did a lottt if research before purchasing this locker and I’ve only read good things. Which is why I was so surprised to have this happen.

They are with out a doubt, living up to their hype. Hopefully I get as many miles out of my replacement as the rest of those running them.


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That's good to hear. I'll be getting a front locker hopefully by spring. Might go with them

Pretty sure Erik was the one i dealt with on my last issue that turned out not to be their locker at all but my tcase chain jumping teeth. Dude spent no less than an hour on the phone helping me troubleshoot.

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This is great to hear!! I've had getting/installing the Powertrax in my '01 XJ for a couple years now so this is good to hear for when I finally get around to doing it.