Ok i am very new at this never had to do any axle work before..Now i am putting in a Detriot Locker and i hav no idea what to do. i know i need new ring bolts and axle bearings i believe. Now i took the cover off and pull all the little piece of wha tis left of the old poisi. Now i am stuck on how to pull the whole unit out. Also i heard that Detriots are not really road friendly but i dont care, but if anyone has one tell me about them. Thanks for any help

 

Are you going with a lunchbox detroit locker or a full carrier replacement detroit locker? You will have to reset your pinion depth and backlash in order to put in a full detroit locker..

 

REALY take it easy in the rain if you put one on cause when they lock they really lock. But offroad, thier the best. Try not to snap an axle shaft.

 

I really have no idea what a lunch box or full carrier is i know it cost $639 i believe it is the lunch box? i really dont know

 

If its the full carrier, which it sounds like, then you pop out the 4 bolts as seen in the pics. Remove the hold downs and then when you pull the carrier out, count the shims on each side. This will b a good starting point when setting everything backup. Like mentioned before, if putting in a new ring and pinion, the first thing will be to set the pinion depth, it should be engraved on the end of the pinion gear. And then setting the backlash with the shims on each side. I think 8-10 thousands is normal but for competition and high torque and horse power numbers you can set the pattern a little tighter.

 

thanks..........

 

There is no lunch box full detroit except for the 14bolt ff 10.5

 

you will need a housing spreader to remove the carrier assembly

 

I wont be able to just pull it out when i remove the 4 bolts?

 

Not a chance, those diff's are pinched between the carrier bearings pretty tight, you can get lucky on some with a couple of big pry bars, but you'll need one to put the new locker back in. I understand your trying to save a few bucks by doing it yourself, but really, don't. I worked for Dana Corp for years, and I can't tell you how many axle assembly's I've seen go bad in just hours of operation because a rookie assembled everything. Also, I haven't worked with Detroits for our trucks, but if they don't come with the reluctor ring already installed your gonna need to find a place that can put one on for you.

I'll ask you a few simple questions, if you get them right, you have a decent shot at redoing it and it lasting more than 100 hours, if you miss one, take it somewhere, rear ends are not cheap or easy to rebuild, and you don't want to wreck that locker you just bought, Detroit won't warranty it if you did it yourself.

1. What is Backlash, and how do I measure it, what tools will I need?

2. What is Pinion Bearing Pre-Load, how do I measure it, and what tools will I need? (You might not need to do this, but its as good a time as any to replace your bearings, nut, and crush sleeve).

3. What is the proper Gear Tooth Pattern (GTP), how do I measure it, and what tools will I need?

4. What is a carrier spreader, how do I use it, and where does it go?

These are just a few questions to ask yourself. Like I said, if I were you, I'd invest my money in having someone else do it for me, but see if they'll let you watch and try to teach you some of the tricks and techniques. If you have a buddy that's done them before have him do it for you (provided you give him a case or two for it)and ask him to show you how he's doing everything. If you do attempt it yourself, find somebody locally who will be willing to put it back together after you've torn it apart, a lot of mechanics won't bother with that stuff, so get one in line before hand. Torque specs are critical, if it says 140 ft-lbs on your ring gear bolts with Loc-Tite, put on 140 ft-lbs, and don't re-use your old hardware for it. Carrier bearing bolts and what not don't really matter, but the ring gear bolts do! Also, if your re-using carrier bearings, mark which side they came from, they have to go back in the same way, but since your replacing the whole diff you should be getting new bearings anyways, don't skimp and go with Koyo's, get the NTN's or Timkens at the least, or else you'll be doing the job again in a few months. Good Luck!

 

if your just changing the carrier you dont need to change pinion depth.another good tip is to take the old bearings and file them out a little so when your checking the shims you dont have to keep pressing them on and off. i have never used a housing spreader on any of my offroad trucks either

 

**** this looks alot hard then i thought when i pull the cover off the back it looke like it would be easy but i guess not. the only problem is that there is only one person in the area that will do this work. everyone else i called said they cnat do the work. Well thank you very much i never would have gotten it right myself...

 

you do not need a housing spreader to get the carrier out. all you need is 2 pry bars 1 on top and 1 on the bottom and it will fall out. what gears are in you truck if its 3.55 the detriot locker wont work.

 

When they say "fall out" they mean it. That assembly is heavy. No matter what method is used to get it out, be ready to catch a big hunk of metal real fast before it crashes to the ground.
Never changed one before, but this what I've been warned about.

 

Why wont it work? I got one in mine and it works just fine.... Oh and I installed it myself without a spreader.