Detroit Ez Locker Help

[Matt2001TJ]

Well here is the problem guys. A friend put a ez locker in the back of my TJ and talk about bings, bangs and booms??? First off I also have the same locker in my dana 30 in the front and have NEVER had any problems with it for over two years now and you dont even know its there till you put it in 4wd. I dont know if he did something wrong or what but this thing binds up one side or the other or both at the same time going even straight down the road. its a dana 44 rear any help would be great. If you want my phone number to talk about this then Private Message me.

[Old Fart]

Can't compare front to rear, completely different physics. First question with any mechanical locker (EZ, Detroit) - are your tire pressures (and more importantly your tire _diameters_) equal?

Turning is an issue - going straight shouldn't be.

[Matt2001TJ]

yep, tire pressures are good tires are all 35s too. I know a guy who ran the same locker in the back of his jeep for over 5 years and no problems. he said it might "ratchet" arond corners here and there but thats it.

[Matt2001TJ]

hmmm i guess nobody knows anything about this one uh????

[TDS SD]

Lockers

If you still have the origonal set up in the front. Dana 30 with autolocking hubs (plus the locker) and not haven't modified the transmission so you have true 2WD you will encounter problems turning and changing lanes especially after you added a locker to the rear. The banging from the rear locker is from the locker unlocking as in a turn or lane change allowing the wheel to catch up. Going straight should be no problem but you will still get the banging occassionally. My Detroit does it and eventhough I've had it for years is still startles me. As the Old guy said its different physical charteristics.

This might help.
The wheels do not all spin at the same speed. When turning the inner wheels travel a shorter distance and must therefore turn slower, the rear wheels similarly turn slower. Differentials are used for applying the same torque to each wheel.
Standard 4WD sends power to the wheel that has the least traction. If for example one wheel is on ice and the other is on sturdy ground, that will be the wheel rotated! That way you might not move at all.
In order to spin all tires equally at all times it is advisable to consider installing lockers for the front and rear differentials. The most common ones are Detroit Locker, Lock Right and ARB air lockers.
When you have lockers in your front drive, steering can be affected when the lockers are active. In fact for a 100% locked front drive turning on hard surface is practically impossible since all wheels are forced to turn at the same speed.

[aston]

I have not consulted with Detroit design engineers but here's my observations after running Detroit lockers in the front and rear of my rig for a few years.

The locker locks when there is a differential in speed between the wheels and torque is applied through the drive shaft. The locker un-locks when the torque is removed.

So, on the road in 2WD, the rear axle will lock when you turn a corner and apply torque. When the axle locks it is benign: no bangs. Then if torque is removed, and you are still turning, the axle unlocks and bang!! The differential in speed between the wheels whacks the mechanism. If the torque is removed and you are heading straight there's no speed differential and no bang. The front axle OTOH is not being driven: no torque, no locking, no funky noises.

Off-road in 4WD both front and rear axles are being driven so both can lock and unlock. However, off-road there's less traction so the wheels fight each other less. You can still get a loud bang it just happens less often. Also, as both axles are being driven, both have the same potential to bang.

Each locker is different, based on manufacturing tolerances, and it's impossible to tell exactly what's going on between the tires and the ground but more often than not I think these conditions apply.

I am happy to have my hypothesis confirmed or denied, by someone more knowledgeable of the design intent.

Time for a :beer: :yay:

[king4wd2]

Tom's jeep has a Detroit EZ locker in the rear and there for awhile it did bing, bang and boom. We eventually changed out the shaft to a hardened shaft and that took care of it. Now it just engages slightly when the tire pressure is off.

[RAT]

I have yet to hear anyone (except Aston) mention clearances. I just took the Aussie Locker out the the rear D44 in my 02 TJ. Not because it was noisy but because I finally could afford the ARB. The Auto lockers will bang when engaging/disengaging, nothing to be done about that. The severity is minimized with proper tire pressures/sizes (Old Fart), proper axles (not worn at the splines) the right viscosity lube for the temperature range, and clearances, set at the time it is installed. The most common clutch plate clearance settings are in the range of .140-.159 in. If this clearance is too large or too small the locker will acitvate/deactivate erratically. Do you notice the locker banging more when you turn to one side? Were the axle bearings replaced as well? What type of gear oil is being used?
Rat