Bonedoc

Hey guys got my rear axle all rebuilt with the Grizzly locker, been driving for about a week now and have to say I'm very happy with it. No poor handling characteristics that are worth complaining about.

A few things though, I'll start with some history that might help other jeepers. A few months ago I was changing my oil and rotating my tires when I noticed I could get a little wobble from my rear tires. This took me by surprise so I asked some forum members about rear axle bearing/seal failure, etc. Most said, no biggie, if they aren't making noise or leaking don't sweat it. I wasn't getting any noise or leaks so I just drove it. About 4-5 weeks ago I was changing all my JK's fluids, oil, trans, transfer case and rears. All went smooth till the rear axle. Pulled the drain plug and it was covered with a huge mass of shavings. Pulled the diff cover to find that, my ring and pinion were fine but my spider gears were chewing themselves up. So I called Northridge and ordered a new set of spider gears. About a week later pulled the diff and opened it up to find the real cause of the problem. My limited slip diff was toast!! The clutches were....gone. But a few questions were now answered. With the clutches so worn out the spider gears that mount to the axle shafts were able to spread apart hence the reason why the gears chewed themselves up. The reason for the clutches chewing themselves up? Most likely a mixture of not enough friction modifier in the gear oil, I run royal purple which states it is formulated for L/S diffs and added no extra, and I'll quote Dave from Northridge "they are just garbage" in his description of the factory L/S diff. So at Dave's recommendation I went with a Yukon Grizzly rear locker. Ordered that as well as a master install kit and a new lube locker gasket for my ARB cover.

Installed the new locker with new bearings, shims, etc. Also when I pulled the axle shafts found the seals were starting to seep so put new axle bearings and seals in as well. The only thing that was left from the original setup was my ring gear, pinion and pinion bearing and seal.
First thing I found was after I installed the axle shafts, and put the tires back on there was ABSOLUTELY no wobble to my rears tires. So for anyone with that...or who replaced their axle bearings and still have play/wobble. Pull that diff cover and take a peek inside if you haven't lately.

All and all I've been driving the diff for about a week. It handles fine, biggest thing I noticed is acceleration, it sometimes has a slight pull or tug to one side but you very quickly learn to accomodate that. It is relatively quiet...some clunks here and there. The most noise is in tight parking lots, you get a bit of chirping when on the gas. Now I have a 6sp, not an auto so some of my behaviors may be different for an auto. An auto trans always has tension in the drivetrain so the diff may not dissengage, hence I'd assume an auto would be noisier and have more handling changes. With my manual I can coast into a tight parking spot and not have any binding or chirping. The other thing I noticed is as I drive through tight corners in the road, I can coast into the corner nice and smooth but as I apply throttle you will feel the jeep want to pull straight instead of turn, again not a big deal just a feeling or sensation to get used to and adjust for. I drove it in the rain on wet roads and had no issues in corners or on the highway.

Overall I'm very happy with it and I also have to say that feel that I was very lucky. If I hadn't been changing my fluids when I did, I may of grenaded my rear and ended up with a much more expensive of a repair.

ricksjeep10

Good info. Thanks for sharing!

c17loadmaster

Nice. I have the grizzly locker in my front axle and it is invisible in 2wd, but when I go into 4wd it is game on! I love it. I know some people are nuts about selectable lockers, but for my style of wheeling it works great. Just watch the lines and the throttle. Selectable in the rear is my choice just because I have the auto. I am def a Yukon fan. I also have their 4:88 gears front and rear. No whining, no grinding, no binding.

JE8154

I can't decide what I want to do. I'm definitely going trutrac in the rear but I'm not sure if I should go Detroit soft locker/grizzly locker up front or just another trutrac.

c17loadmaster

Go grizzly man! They at least warranty their stuff for 1 yr, plus cover an additional 2,000 dollars in damage if their component fails. Detroit does not.

The grizzly is an improved upon design. Detroit has been basicaly unchanged for a long time. They are solid too!

JE8154

I'm more worried about the locker in my d30 than anything else. I'm also debating skipping everything and saving for a decked out prorock 44. But that seems a little ridiculous at the moment. I'll have to see how much I can put away before tax refunds and go from there.

JurassicJeep

Just installed a Grizzly in the rear and getting ready to change the oil after the break in period for the gears that were installed with the locker.

What type of oil are you guys running with your grizzly lockers?



I can't find anything from Yukon. I know the grizzly is a similar design to the Detroit and you're not suppose to run synthetic with detroit's.

2013 Wrangler Sport; 35x12.5R15 Goodyear MTR's; 18/60 Rubicon springs & shocks; Lots of trimming

jeepwave

Bump

Did you end up figuring out what oil to use?

JurassicJeep

Everything I found said to go with conventional oil which I ended up using. Especially since I'll be changing it annually for the amount of wheeling we do. Running all summer with no issues. The clicking from the locker did calm down a little (or I'm just getting more use to it)

2013 Wrangler Sport; 35x12.5R15 Goodyear MTR's; 18/60 Rubicon springs & shocks; Lots of trimming