Powertrax no-slip installation

[Blk96XJ]

Hows everything going? I just happened upon this thread while researching about doing a No-slip on my XJ if it is a 29 spline 1996 XJ. Ive heard positive things about the No-slip but i want to know how hard it will be. So debur the c-clip and what else?

 

[jeeperjohn]

It would have been helpful to see pics of what is being discussed, just sayin.

 

[88JeepXJ]

Well I wheeled pretty hard Saturday and the No-Slip did great! It was so much easier to modulate throttle over rocks and stumps with the locker out back. Before, just as you start to apply power a tire will inevitably spin then you're screwed. Now it just climbs. You have to be careful though because I found the rear would tend to kick out when you are off camber and you have so little traction that both rear tires spin. It is the same as "drifting" in the snow but a lot slower.

 

[razor02097]

I did the exact same thing... the installation requires no hammers... I found that out the hard way.

I ordered a replacement from summit. The simple fact they sell these spacers and places have them in stock tells me that many people get impatient and break the spacer without aligning it.


When I got the replacement part, I spent more time aligning the spacers and drive teeth perfect than the rest of the installation. In fact here is my post of the installation at cherokeeforum. I did put some extra steps in but they helped me...

Wow... Summit Racing really pulled through... they got the order out the door yesterday and guess what was at my home today when I got home from work?


Needless to say... I really wanted to get it installed but wasn't 100% confident I would get it in tonight... However I stopped whining and picked up my spanner to get to work...


First getting prepped... Jack up Jeep, place stands and wheel chocks.

Wheels, calipers, rotors and diff cover off...(how lucky is it I parked it in that carrier position?) 5/16" socket gets the bolt out. and spider gears come off. Push both axles in the C clips fall out, pull axles out a little and remove main gears.

As per the instructions install ring gear side drive section, push axle in and place C clip. NOTE: THIS IS FROM RICHMOND GEAR! YOU DON'T USE THE THRUST WASHERS ON THE NO SLIP SYSTEM ONLY THE LOCK RIGHT! If you install the thrust washers you WON'T get the drive sections in. There just won't be enough room.

Load saddle springs with grease and pop them into the center drive sections like the instructions say... A few gripes with the instructions now....

The installation manual says to install the driver's side paddle so that it is facing away from you... this is all in the matter of perspective... If your head is facing the rear of the car and wheeled under the axle then this is right... However if your head is facing the front of the car and wheeled under the fuel tank then it isn't right... There is only one way to install the darn thing... Why can't they just say the paddle should face the rear bumper?

Anyway I'm rambling... You need to install it like this...

Now put the second assembly in so the paddle faces toward the pinion. There is only 1 way the stupid thing goes in... A tip... After it is installed check the alignment of the assembly by putting in the cross shaft. It should slide in easily by hand... like this.

Afterward you can install the passenger C clip by pushing the axle in and dropping it in the slot.... Yeah right... I ended up fighting the stupid thing for about 20 minutes!

I don't know why... Oh wait I do....

Because everything else went fairly smooth... Okay next is another deviation from the destructions... they tell you to install the drive springs before the cross shaft. I see no reason to because if something is wrong you will have to get them out again...

INSTEAD...

Install the cross shaft and verify the alignment of the paddles and drive sections. Make sure you use locktite on the cross shaft bolt!

After you do that you can rotate the carrier to install the springs. Then check the function. It is explained in the instructions how to do it but if you are alone it is difficult but not impossible.

1. Install the brakes and wheels.
2. On a creeper roll on your back under the car head facing the diff.
3. With your right arm rotate the driver's side tire clockwise as you look at it. (as the wheel would turn if the Jeep is going forward)
4. With your left arm rotate the passenger tire counter clockwise as you look at it. (as the wheel would turn if the Jeep was backing up)
5. The passenger wheel should unlock and start to rotate.
6. Now try to rotate the passenger tire clockwise it should lock again.
7. Keep holding the passenger tire in the clockwise position and rotate the drivers side tire counter clockwise.
8. The driver's side wheel should unlock and rotate.
9. Rotate the driver's side tire clockwise it should lock again.

If all is well in never never land, put the diff cover back on with some sealant and/or gasket and fill with gear oil. (painting cover is optional but recommended)

NOTE: I never said anything about using a hammer... when installing the locker a hammer WILL break parts... I learned that the hard way... please learn from my mistake if you ever have to install a powertrax no slip. Don't get impatient and hammer the cross shaft. You will be buying 1 or 2 new paddle spacers at $60 each!

Finally! The locker is in! I went to test it a little. I definitely feel it back there... Very different from the open carrier. Although it is VERY quiet! Almost silent unless you mash the gas right out of a corner. Then you get a firm "clank" but not much more drama.

It tells you to break it in for like 50 miles or something like that... as in drive it normally and not beat the **** out of it.

It will get plenty broken in when I drive it to work the rest of the week!

 

[Rod Knee]

Man, that is a timely write up. Thanks. I just ordered a replacement spacer. I actually started thinking considering some of the installation modifications you suggest while doing a mock assembly today. I especially like the idea of running the cener pin through the assembly to check for fitment. I wonder if you couldn't just leave the center/roll pin in after checking for fitment, then pull your axle shafts out, then install your side springs and be done.

 

[dgrigorenko]

i take my no-slip in and out about twice a year, and the key is patience in making sure all the teeth are able to sit tightly together... sometimes just getting the second half in takes 45 min because it will slip off one tooth or turn to where i'm not quite sure if its still good. i will only put the pin in if i am more than confident its all kosher. i will also use small screwdrivers like wedges to maintain pressure on the side "gears" while turning them and whatnot. i like the previously mentioned idea of scribing a line on things, i will do that the next time its apart. all that said, i have dealt with a broken spacer as well... don't give up on it yet, it is worth it.

 

[Rod Knee]

i like the previously mentioned idea of scribing a line on things

me too.

 

[Rod Knee]

What color/grade loctite are people using on the cross shaft bolt? Medium strength?

 

[wall04]

X2 on that writeup above. I installed it my in the 8.25 29 two years ago and its amazing off road. In 2WD the powertrax will out perform most open diff vehicles in 4WD. I also drive 26 miles one way to work on the interstate and the power trax is smooth! It will kick out though if you ram on the gas or if it's a snow day so you have to be careful. Took me about 6 hours to install because I was super careful and still lost teeth alignment about half way through. I ended up taking the entire thing out and starting over and got it right the second time. But, it's been maintenance free ever since. Good Luck.

 

[RCP Phx]

A good stiff grease is the key,my girlfriend did hers(by herself) in under a hour.The directions do suck,but the concept is simple.

 

[Rod Knee]

Well, the replacement for the spacer I broke came last week and I successfully installed the locker into my C8.25 on Memorial Day. It is really quiet in town, almost invisible, but I can peel out identical parallel lines on a gravel road and I can climb a grade on a dirt “road”in 2wd that was impossible to negotiate open/open.

Several suggestions in this thread really helped, but the idea for scribing a line on adjacent parts of the properly assembled drivers and couplers stands out. I used one color on the paddle side and another color on the opposite side of both coupler, spacer, driver assemblages. Doing a mock assemblage as part of thoroughly understanding how everything fits together really helps.

The center shaft slid into the locker so easily its tempting to make up a sexual metaphor for that part of the install. The tire rotation test was successful, and it was interesting watching the locker engage and disengage with a change of tire rotation synchronization. Thanks to everyone for the encouragement, especially Frank Z.

 

[Rod Knee]

1. Install the brakes and wheels.
2. On a creeper roll on your back under the car head facing the diff.
3. With your right arm rotate the driver's side tire clockwise as you look at it. (as the wheel would turn if the Jeep is going forward)
4. With your left arm rotate the passenger tire counter clockwise as you look at it. (as the wheel would turn if the Jeep was backing up)
5. The passenger wheel should unlock and start to rotate.
6. Now try to rotate the passenger tire clockwise it should lock again.
7. Keep holding the passenger tire in the clockwise position and rotate the drivers side tire counter clockwise.
8. The driver's side wheel should unlock and rotate.
9. Rotate the driver's side tire clockwise it should lock again.

These are razor's instructions for the tire rotate test. I think in step 4 you should rotate the passengers tire clockwise, not counter. Bottom line, rotate one tire in the forward direction, the other tire should "lock" and rotate with the first tire, but you should be able to "unlock" second tire and reverse its rotation direction. Then reverse the procedure by starting with the second tire.

The powertrax directions are particularly incomprehensible for this test.

 

[Frank Z]

Told ya so!
Told ya so!
Told ya so!:lecture:

Glad ya got it in and working. arty:

 

[Rod Knee]

I think the directions were written for a locker going into a front axle. That would explain why its necessary to install the paddle facing away or toward you on either side of the assembly the opposite of how the directions tell you.

 

[Norsk62]

I just installed one of these on my 93 Cherokee this weekend front and rear. It took my brother and I about 6 hours to install in the rear. We pulled the pumpkin out ti install the front. It's a lot easier out of the rig and on a bench. Trust me.

All of you are right. Who ever wrote these instructions either never installed one, or was smoking crack.

We read the directions several times and finally got the thing installed in the read. Did the test to verify it was working correctly.

But I have a question for you guys. When I took my rig out for a test drive, the rear diff was popping real loud and the lock/unlock action was very rough? And I do mean loud. I was not even going 5 mph backing out of my driveway and it was popping hard driving it around the block.

My rig has been parked since then. I am alomost afraid to drive it fearing that something it wrong with the locker. I called local shops around where I live and they all said that the first time driving it is the worst and it should quiet down after about 50 miles or so?

Does this sound right, or is this thing FUBAR?

 

[Frank Z]

Doesn't sound right either. The no-Slip doesn't require any sort of break-in. Time to pull it and look at the paddles.....

 

[Hoooper]

you pulled the rear out or just the front? I am not sure about the d35 but the 8.25 youve got to reset the preload and backlash if you loosen or remove the carrier bearing bolts. If you did mess with those bolts and didnt properly reset the preload and backlash, the popping and crap might be a result of the diff being out of spec. If it was just the 30 that you pulled out then ignore what I just said.

The no-slip doesnt need break in, like Frankz said. My first trip on mine was completely silent, I was pretty much just trusting that it was there since there was no telling.

 

[Rod Knee]

Does this sound right, or is this thing FUBAR?

Sounds like its time to get out the floor jack and repeat the tire rotation test. If your center pin went in easily, I suppose it could be something as simple as unseated side springs. But something is wrong. Wrong locker for your axle(?).

Let us know what you find out.

 

[XGarfX]

Curious if I'm getting the complete assembly from someone selling a used one to me, I have read the instructions and found a diagram online - http://jeepinoutfitters.com/images/powertrax_noslip.jpg

The seller says the 8.25 doesnt have those small "rings" between the splined outside piece and the smaller piece with the paddles everyone breaks. After reading this I asked him if the paddles are broken off but he said they are still there, I plan on buying all new springs for it regardless. If any of you can let me know if this is correct or not that would be great, I wana know how many pieces were part of your no slip.

Hooper let us know what you find out in your situation, this thread was a big help in my understanding the no slip thanks ROD KNEE.

 

[Rod Knee]

The PTNS for the c8.25 does NOT have those four rings. It has:
2 couplers
2 spacers (the washer-like parts that have the infamous paddle)
2 drivers
1 center pin
8 springs that compress against the center pin
2 side spring assemblages each of which includes a relatively long narrow spring which fits inside the shorther, wider spring