Locker Position Sensor Potting - DANA 44

[Jay Gatsby]

...it is just a big waste of perfectly good axles and a lot of steel.

They're being reused. Most likely rebuilt and put back in Jeeps for warranty work.

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[DanW]

They're being reused. Most likely rebuilt and put back in Jeeps for warranty work.

I sure hope so. Seems like a big ass waste, to me. Even if this is so, the labor is a big ass waste and cost for FCA. I'm really surprised the bean counters haven't picked up on this. It is low hanging fruit for them.

 

[redsyphon]

The only metal I remember seeing was on the drain plug magnet. Then again I did flush the diff out with brake cleaner to get rid on dirt that fell in there when I took the cover off.

Had metal on my rear diff at around 17k miles. I didn't see any damage, but then again I was only looking at one side of the gears.

I'll be curious to see if there are any further chunks in another 15k.

 

[DanW]

Had metal on my rear diff at around 17k miles. I didn't see any damage, but then again I was only looking at one side of the gears.

I'll be curious to see if there are any further chunks in another 15k.

I'd get that looked at right away. I've never in 36 years of maintaining my vehicles seen that kind of metal come out of a differential. Even when I damaged one with water in it.

 

[chevymitchell]

Had metal on my rear diff at around 17k miles. I didn't see any damage, but then again I was only looking at one side of the gears.

I'll be curious to see if there are any further chunks in another 15k.

This is normal. It's from the original machining process when the housing was cut. This is the reason for the magnetic drain plug. The housings aren't getting washed completely when they're built, but you can take the whole thing apart and you won't find anything wrong in there. It's just left over pieces from machining. Nothing to worry about.

 

[neil]

My rear had a couple larger chunks on the lower mag (front only one medium size). I just presumed it leftovers from the milling process. The smaller lighter stuff was all stuck on the upper locker magnets.

If I see this every time I refill, then I might look into things.

Others have posted oil samples with declining iron at various milages.

Might be a good idea for newer jeep owners to get on the rear asap like less than 5K and get some of the crap outta there before it's ground and on the lockers.

 

[redsyphon]

Yeah, it didn't look extreme to me so I wasn't about to loose sleep over it, but my 2018 JLUR was bought used with 8.5k on it March 2020. So, I do keep an eye out for any gremlins I haven't taken care of yet.

I do try and keep track of the *norm* for each of my vehicles, so if I see a change between services I can address it, etc.

 

[CarbonSteel]

So I performed this little nerve racking task today. I had been wanting a small drill press and so this need was the catalyst for buying it. I just did not trust my self to drill it free-hand--especially with these modules being "unobtainium".

The good news that with the information provided by @chevymitchell and @neil the task was not over the top, but it did take me about 5 minutes per hole because I kept repeatedly checking progress and so there were no "oh crap" moments.

The bad news is the rear module was about 50% full of gear oil and it was a b!tch getting it out. I used a can of CRC QD Electronic Cleaner and I can only hope that I got all of it out of the module. I think that I did and now fingers and toes crossed the cleaner did not cause any other issues.

It is my hope that since I have not used the lockers in since sometime in 2019 and that I have not had any errors appear in the system that the rear module will be ok. I have about 24 hours to wait before I will know for sure.

Despite me dumping the oil at 20K in the rear axle and thoroughly cleaning the drain plug , it was completely packed with iron goop again. I am at a loss as to WTF is going on with these Dana 44 Advantek axles and the iron generation levels they have.

I will soon be re-gearing to 4.88 and before @rustyshakelford does it, I will be sending the new gears to Detroit Speed as @chevymitchell recommended. I have never seen an axle shed iron like these axles do--it is a serious mystery, but hopefully the polishing will help.

A before and after photo:

 

[chevymitchell]

So I performed this little nerve racking task today. I had been wanting a small drill press and so this need was the catalyst for buying it. I just did not trust my self to drill it free-hand--especially with these modules being "unobtainium".

The good news that with the information provided by @chevymitchell and @neil the task was not over the top, but it did take me about 5 minutes per hole because repeatedly kept checking progress and so there were no "oh crap" moments.

The bad news is the rear module was about 50% full of gear oil and it was a b!tch getting it out. I used a can of CRC QD Electronic Cleaner and I can only hope that I got all of it out of the module. I think that I did and now fingers and toes crossed the cleaner did not cause any other issues.

It is my hope that since I have not used the lockers in since sometime in 2019 and that I have not had any errors appear in the system that the rear module will be ok. I have about 24 hours to wait before I will know for sure.

Despite me dumping the oil at 20K in the rear axle and thoroughly cleaning the drain plug , it was completely packed with iron goop again. I am at a loss as to WTF is going on with these Dana 44 Advantek axles and the iron generation levels they have.

I will soon be re-gearing to 4.88 and before @rustyshakelford does it, I will be sending the new gears to Detroit Speed as @chevymitchell recommended. I have never seen an axle shed iron like these axles do--it is a serious mystery, but hopefully the polishing will help.

A before and after photo:

Nice work, man. Glad you were able to get it cleaned out.

The place Detroit Speed uses is GearFx.

 

[CarbonSteel]

Nice work, man. Glad you were able to get it cleaned out.

The place Detroit Speed uses is GearFx.

@chevymitchell - Should I go straight to GearFX for the work?

 

[chevymitchell]

@chevymitchell - Should I go straight to GearFX for the work?

Yeah. If you call Detroit Speed, they'll just send you over there, anyway. GearFx does most of the NASCAR work around here, as well. They're set up nicely, which is probably why Detroit Speed has them doing all of their 9" work.

 

[CarbonSteel]

So all done and ready to be re-installed, but I won't be able to do it until tomorrow some time. No worries there, it gives the epoxy a little more time to cure.

For those who are wondering, the back side was the part where I was most worried since it is "boxed in" and is black. The PCB sits about a bit further away on the back than the front side, so as long as you take your time, it will be fine.

Front on the left and rear on the right. Rear cover is a bit more yellowed because it has had oil inside and out

 

[chevymitchell]

So all done and ready to be re-installed, but I won't be able to do it until tomorrow some time. No worries there, it gives the epoxy a little more time to cure.

For those who are wondering, the back side was the part where I was most worried since it is "boxed in" and is black. The PCB sits about a bit further away on the back than the front side, so as long as you take your time, it will be fine.

Front on the left and rear on the right. Rear cover is a bit more yellowed because it has had oil inside and out

Looks perfect. Nice work.

 

[CarbonSteel]

@chevymitchell - very happy indeed to see this image! Thanks again for the hard work you did to bring this information to the Jeep community.

@neil - working like a champ!

 

[chevymitchell]

@chevymitchell - very happy indeed to see this image! Thanks again for the hard work you did to bring this information to the Jeep community.

@neil - working like a champ!

Excellent! Happy to see it.

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