ECTED in a D44

I need to replace the 8.25 that now has symptoms of old age. I have a D44 to put under the XJ but need to re-gear and add a traction aid before commiting her to rear duty.

My question is, Who has the best price on those units? I think the ECTED will be a good choice with 4.10 gears and 30/31 tires for 95% highway driving.

I can't remember what brand e locker it was, but we had one in a 44 and the splines on one spider gear were only about 3/4" or so wide, and it stripped the splines off the end of the axle. I guess they needed more room for the "E" part of the locker so they made the splines thinner. The other side had plenty of spline. We replaced it with a detroit and all is good.
Just something to look out for.

auburn ECTED here. love it. i think we got it from 4wheelerssupply, but i'm not sure.

ECTED is not a true locker.
I'm running an Eaton E-locker in my D44's. Fully locked at the push of a button.

Frank Z said:

ECTED is not a true locker.
I'm running an Eaton E-locker in my D44's. Fully locked at the push of a button.

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I like the LSD option in this unit. A full locker will be nice but I really need the LSD for highway use. I will try a full selectable locker for the front. I do not do hard core wheeling only lite to moderate trails on 30 or 31 tires.

the ected is a full locker. we have had this discussion before. the reason there seems to be some controversy over whether or not it's a true locker is because it has ball bearings and other parts that become activated by the electric current to essentialy LOCK the clutches. as far as wheeling goes, when it's engaged it does fully lock up.......BUT....there is a point where the locker can be overcome (rare with the average drivetrains that you see on the trail) so it allows it to slip instead of breaking teeth. i have personally seen and have witnesses of my locker being engaged so tight that it spun the wheel inside the tire when it was caught on a undercut, and have also put the jeep up on 2 wheels while stuck on a ledge. so far we have not been able to overcome that max range where it overcomes the locking feature.

it may not be teeth in teeth type gear engagement, but the mechanism that it uses it VERY WELL up to the task of keeping the axle locked. i have personally seen it in action on my rig with others driving it and me watching, and have no reason to say otherwise. those rear tires have never spun independent of each other when the locker is engaged.

would i buy another one??? IN A HEARTBEAT.

No it's not a locker. The manufacturer does not call it a locker. The name is ECTED and it's an accronym for Electronically Controlled Traction Enhancing Differential. It does not lock the axles together mechanically. Clutches do not lock and they will slip as they wear.

Read the manufacturers website:

http://www.auburngear.com/oemdifferentials/ected/

http://www.auburngear.com/oemdifferentials/common/literature/ECTED_Literature.pdf

The manufacturer does not claim that this is a locking differential. You can argue until your blue in the face, you'll still be wrong.

ARB Air Locker
Eaton E-Locker
Detroit Locker
Loc-rite Locker
PowertraxNo-Slip Locker
Aussie Locker

They all mechanically lock the axles together. ECTED does not and it is not a locker.

You say your happy with yours, good for you. Hope it's trouble free and works flawlessly for you...but there will come a day when the clutches simply won't have the holding power they had when they were brand new.

Short of a mechanical failure, a locker will always lock.

techno1154 said:

I need to replace the 8.25 that now has symptoms of old age. I have a D44 to put under the XJ but need to re-gear and add a traction aid before commiting her to rear duty.

My question is, Who has the best price on those units? I think the ECTED will be a good choice with 4.10 gears and 30/31 tires for 95% highway driving.

Click to expand...

Seriously considered the ECTED for the D44 I had built. About half the people who installed them regretted the decision. Very few have regretted installing a Detroit. I went with the Detroit for reliability - I really don't want to take it off the road for axle problems. . . Sure the Detroit is a little harder on tires but with an automatic drivability isn't an issue.

Frank Z said:

You say your happy with yours, good for you. Hope it's trouble free and works flawlessly for you...but there will come a day when the clutches simply won't have the holding power they had when they were brand new.

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When that happens, and it takes -years-, if you call Auburn Gear, they more than take care of you - a full rebuild very cheaply. They get an A+ for customer service.

3XJFamily said:

Seriously considered the ECTED for the D44 I had built. About half the people who installed them regretted the decision.

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I've followed this very closely, while I don't run an ected (they dont offer them in larger than normal spline counts) I'm a big fan of them. In nearly every instance, you will find the person who is unhappy did not run the proper friction modifiers AS STATED IN THE MANUAL and damaged the clutches.

You'll also find auburn replaced the units under warrantee.

cal said:

I've followed this very closely, while I don't run an ected (they dont offer them in larger than normal spline counts) I'm a big fan of them. In nearly every instance, you will find the person who is unhappy did not run the proper friction modifiers AS STATED IN THE MANUAL and damaged the clutches.

You'll also find auburn replaced the units under warrantee.

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x1,000,000

i had a leaking diff cover for a while. and while i was waiting for the new one to come in, i didn't want to keep wasting money on the OEM friction modifier. so i stopped adding it. the ECTED did NOT like that at all. within minutes of adding the proper mixture of friction modifier, it was all happy again.

PS: Frank Z. i won't argue till i'm blue in the face, because i see and understand your logic. the clutches themselves won't "lock", that's what the electrical current and the ball bearing locking mechanism is for. I have called Auburn on 2 occasions after discussions like this and asked them, and they told me over the phone that they do consider it a full locker WITH the capability to slip before it breaks.

And like i said. i'm not going from "a friends friend saw......". I actually run it. and have seen it with my own eyes hold both tires locked with no give to the point that i was waiting for a snap. My ected when turned on allows as much slip between the tires as my welded D44 on my XJ. which is NONE.

I just found the box for the locker with the puny splines and it was indeed a ECTED. Very little spline on the ring gear side. It does lock hard enough to twist the splines off a stock rubicon axle with 33's. I'll take a detroit.

JXPEEJ said:

Variable Torque Transfer Capability – The ECTED’s torque transfer is electronically controlled and is infinitely variable from essentially an open differential to that of 100% torque transfer. This allows the transfer of torque to be modulated to give the vehicle maximum traction without compromising vehicle stability.

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Frank Z- This was taken directly from the link you provided. I would call that a locker. If the clutches are slipping because they are worn, that WOULD be a mechanical failure. It's not locking solid because a component is worn out. Is it capable of taking as much force as, say...a Detroit before something gives? It doesn't sound like it, but 100% torque transfer is still 100% torque transfer.

I've seen these units out at The Hammers several times in front and rear apps, d30's, d44's and ford 8.8's.

I've never seen one slip.

I've got the Ected in a D35 with the Super 35 kit and I love it. I accidentally left it switched on on pavement and it feels as locked as my Detroit in my mud rig.

For mild use I really like the limited slip. Its easier to set up than an ARB. I say use it.:clap:

Im curious as to the spline issue, as for the clutch thing, yes they do wear, but this makes them less prone to breakage and i like that. Also the newer ones can be programmed i believe. Does anyone have anything to say about the splines stripping? That sounds pretty unsettling