crzyamerican

Long story short. I had a shop install an Aussie locker in my rear Dana 44 along with a rear gear.
I would like to go back to my original open (spider gears). I would like to do this myself and want to make sure I have all my bases covered.

My Dana 44 is (non rubi)

Would the removal of the locker and replacing it with the original spider gears consist of...

1. removal of the carrier bearing caps and carrier
2. remove the ring gear?
3. remove the carrier pin
4. remove the locker and thrust washers
5. install thrust washers & spider gears
6. Install ring gear
7. Install carrier

Would it be that simple? Anything I am missing?

Thanks

Jonathan_JK

Question? How did the Aussie locker perform on the street? I talked to my local 4x4 shop about doing one in the rear 44 and they told me it was not a good idea due to extra wear and road manners would be horrible. They told me to do E lockers on the front and rear so thats what I'm going to do.

crzyamerican

I am not a fan of the street performance. I need to power around corners to pull into traffic. I will wear my tires to nothing if I keep it in. It also causes the jeep to momentarily jerk in one direction or the other on some acceleration or deceleration. I feel like I am on a bucking bronco at times. It is not for me. If I had the money, it would be replaced with a selectable. But Because I do not and it is causing some odd shifting problems, I need to just take it out and go back to an open BLD.

Chuck-The-Ripper

I'm sorry I can't answer your question, but are you looking to sell it when you remove it?

Canvas

The only thing to remember is to keep your shins on the correct side to keep the ring gear tight on the pinion.

crzyamerican

Yes Ill be selling it when its out.


Will do. Thanks!

ShutterBug

I would add, to making sure the shims stay in the right place, EVERYTHING should go back exactly as it came out. Mark the bearing retainers to make sure the passenger side goes back on the passenger side, in the same orientation (up is up, down is down), use the same bolt in the top as came out, same for the bottom, etc.

I've been told that even the slightest change can affect the ring/pinion contact pattern to change, so why risk it.

Are you sue you have to remove the ring gear from the carrier? I could have sworn I've even seen YouTube videos where guys have installed these without even removing the carrier.

EDIT: Found it. Not a JK, but maybe the same applies?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uulvxgLoMHg

AussieLocker

Hi Folks,

Depending on how thick your ring gear is, your cross pin may be able to slide past the ring gear. In this scenario you don't have to pull the carrier. Just pull 1 axle shaft, pull the cross pin and the Aussie Locker is very easy to remove after that.

Sorry to hear you're not enjoying the lockers performance. If you ever have any questions on driving techniques, on how to improve on-street manners, you can call us anytime. 585-723- 1489. I know Auto Lockers are not for everyone, but there are ways to adjust your driving style to make daily driving closer to stock. Just a FYI, Aussie Lockers do not contribute to excessive tire wear. Also, keep in mind when talking to a shop, how much they will profit on selling you a product and the install, an Aussie has very low profit margins because we're made in the USA and that's very expensive, also the install is typically very quick, versus a full carrier replacement locker where you have to do a ring and pinion setup as well. So an Aussie should be a 1 hour job, vs. A full carrier at 3 hours.... just something to keep in mind. Granted the full carrier locker will give you a better on-road experience, and if you are looking for zero on-road changes, while gaining offroad traction, then a full carrier is for you. If the shop sees you shown up in a 50k rig, I doubt they would recommend solely a budget friendly product. So on the other hand our many of our customers would rather pay 1/6th of the cost for a full carrier + install, and throw in an Aussie in their driveway, knowing that it may take some getting used to on the road. It's always a judgement call to find the right fit for your needs, expectations and budget.

Any questions, or want to talk about what would be the right fit, feel free to call anytime.


- Cora

crzyamerican

Thanks Shutterbug,
Edit: never mind AussieLocker beat me to it.

crzyamerican

Thank you AussieLocker. I am keeping the one I have in the front. I just don't think the one in the rear is for me. It isn't the performance of the locker that I don't enjoy. It just doesn't agree with how and where I drive. The second most significant reason I want to take it out is that since it was installed I get very slight gear grinds occasionally when shifting. I was told I need to slow my shifts down due to the increased slack in the drive line. I was hesitant to believe them, and figured I had a clutch problem. Yesterday I had a new clutch kit installed and throw out bearing installed. I still have the same issues. The slave cylinder checks out fine. So, After paying for all that, I need to uninstall it myself as I am low on funds.