• NAXJA is having its 18th annual March Membership Drive!!!
    Everyone who joins or renews during March will be entered into a drawing!
    More Information - Join/Renew
  • Welcome to the new NAXJA Forum! If your password does not work, please use "Forgot your password?" link on the log-in page. Please feel free to reach out to [email protected] if we can provide any assistance.

All my ring gear bolts fell out

Desert4x4

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Phoenix
I have a 1999 Cherokee Sport 4x4 NP231 8.25/D30HP 35x12.5R15s 4.0.


In the summer of 2018 I had 4 wheels parts install an Ox Locker. I had a re-gear done the previous summer to 5.13. I had been hearing some odd noises from the rear of the Jeep that suddenly became more intense. I removed the rear differential cover and found all the ring gear bolts were loose, many were destroyed and some were wedged between the ring gear and the locker. The ring gear bolts and holes appear to be stripped out and wallowed out. I could not reinstall any bolt into any hole. My best guess is that the tech did not know that the bolts were left-hand threaded. Also, there was no thread-locker installed on the bolts. I contacted 4 wheel parts and am I awaiting their reply.


Has anyone had any experience similar to mine? Any thoughts?



Thank you!


Mike
 
damn,

any chance the lockers bolt holes were larger than the ring gear bolts?


That is a very good question! They don't look bigger but I haven't used a micrometer on them yet. The fact that the entire length of all recovered bolts and bolt holes look stripped out would suggest that they over tightened the bolts.
 
I would ask why you went to 4WP vs a good shop like 4Wheelers or Absolute Off-road?
 
What size head are the ring gear bolts? I’ve fought ring gear bolts coming loose for longer than i care to admit after my regear. I removed and cleaned/ re-loctited/torqued only for them to come loose again. Found out some of the install kits come with 9/16 head 3/8-24 bolts. Since i have spicer front/rear i discovered factory spicer ring gear bolts are 11/16 head with serrations under them. Haven’t re-installed to confirm a difference but fyi.
 
What size head are the ring gear bolts? I’ve fought ring gear bolts coming loose for longer than i care to admit after my regear. I removed and cleaned/ re-loctited/torqued only for them to come loose again. Found out some of the install kits come with 9/16 head 3/8-24 bolts. Since i have spicer front/rear i discovered factory spicer ring gear bolts are 11/16 head with serrations under them. Haven’t re-installed to confirm a difference but fyi.


Interesting. The bolts that I recovered in the differential had 9/16" heads on them, but do have the serrations under the heads. 4 wheel parts didn't bother to use ANY loctite.


Sorry to hear about your issues with the ring bolts.
 
My jeeps prior owner had all the work done for him, much by 4 wheel Parts. They are a joke of installers. I have the receipts, this was done in California.
Swing out tire carrier bumper attached to sheet metal only, ready to fall off, sheet metal all torn.

Hacked up front bumper to mount winch, horrible job. Front bumper mounted with stacks of washers, lock washers wedged into slotted holes, junky hardware used, steering brace installed wrong. gas skid plate only installed with two bolts, wrong pitman arm, control arms upside down so that grease nipples get sheared off with ground contact, no heat shielding, or any effort to cover big hole in floor other than by carpet for the Atlas Transfercase install, water and heat just pour on in thru it. horrible arb instal they mounted the compressor in the middle almost of the cargo floor, inside the jeep! (who needs cargo space, lets put the compressor there) did not bother to fuse it either! Winch control box mounted on the front of the front bumper with zero impact protection, winch wires ran under the bumper into wheel well and thru a hole that they punched with a sharp object thru the body, no grommets with one wire actually being nicked by the cooling fan, YIKES!



Just plain really bad workmanship on a lot of stuff they did, some outright dangerous.

Select your shop carefully, you have been warned

Remember just because they are professionals means nothing. By definition a professional does the work as a profession, ie to make money. There is no quality requirement for a professional. Some make money by taking short cuts, doing jobs they are not qualified for, use of inferior cheap parts. It is all about making money to some "pros".

It is hard to find a good professional.
 
That sucks overall, I hope they have something good to report because that's going to be a expensive repair. Unfortunately I see 4Wheelers is shutdown, to bad they've been here over 50yrs with a excellent reputation.
 
That is a very good question! They don't look bigger but I haven't used a micrometer on them yet. The fact that the entire length of all recovered bolts and bolt holes look stripped out would suggest that they over tightened the bolts.


Ive read that some ox lockers are double drilled for different bolt sizes. My thought was maybe numbnut that installed your gears, may have threaded these in on a size that would require these type deals: https://www.yukongear.com/productdetails.aspx?ProdID=8508

though as you say, this quality service technician very well could've over torqued or who knows what.

sure hope they get you fixed up and on their dime.
 
Ive read that some ox lockers are double drilled for different bolt sizes. My thought was maybe numbnut that installed your gears, may have threaded these in on a size that would require these type deals: https://www.yukongear.com/productdetails.aspx?ProdID=8508

though as you say, this quality service technician very well could've over torqued or who knows what.

sure hope they get you fixed up and on their dime.


That is VERY interesting, I had no idea.



I just measured the holes on the locker, and they are approximately 0.39". So I don't think I would've need those.


Thank you.
 
Remember just because they are professionals means nothing. By definition a professional does the work as a profession, ie to make money. There is no quality requirement for a professional. Some make money by taking short cuts, doing jobs they are not qualified for, use of inferior cheap parts. It is all about making money to some "pros".

It is hard to find a good professional.


QFT!!!


I have battled this all my life.


Reality is an amateur may do the absolute best work. An amateur does it for the love of it (note those first three letters and compare them to the word "amor").


Then see the relationship between professional and profit.


Far better to depend on the guy who does it for the love of it rather than the guy who just wants to separate you from as much of your money as possible.
 
QFT!!!


I have battled this all my life.


Reality is an amateur may do the absolute best work. An amateur does it for the love of it (note those first three letters and compare them to the word "amor").


Then see the relationship between professional and profit.


Far better to depend on the guy who does it for the love of it rather than the guy who just wants to separate you from as much of your money as possible.


I agree with you sir. I will update with 4WP's response.
 
Does the ring gear have a set of metric and standard threaded holes?

Ran into a ring gear like that doing one of my friends 8.25s, the standard bolts will go in the metric holes and will torque close to spec, luckily we had a few strip before they were up to full torque or we wouldn't have noticed.
 
Having done a number of gear sets I can say I have seen this before. 2 things come to mind here. Bolts need to be the correct length and shouldered for shear strength. Many aftermarket carriers have different dimensions on the gear shelf . I had an ARB once where we measured the bolt (which came in the master install kit) to actually only bed into the gear a bit less than a quarter inch (not enough bite!). Second thing is don't use the kit supplied loctite. Go buy the real deal.
 
I had a local shop install used 4:10s out of the junk yard in my dana35. I didnt have a lot of money. Didbt see the point of a install kit. They did the work, told me I was being short sided. Tolded me what likely happen. Well, a few weeks later, a bolt back out and poked a hole in the diff cover.


I went to the the next day. Bough new ring bolts...
..I got the look. I went home, replaced the bolts. Fixed the dif cover.

I know I was wrong and it was not there fault.



What am I getting at? They more then likely reused the factory bolts or installed the bolts wrong
 
This is as simple as the installer didn't use Loctite and likely didn't properly torque the bolts.
I have been a gear installer since 1996 and have never had this happen. Literally thousands of setups under my belt. I have repaired the resulting damage from previous installers not using threadlocker. Happens a lot unfortuneately.
 
Back
Top