Locker Position Sensor Potting - DANA 44

[zoki]

They’re not replacing axles anymore, the replacement sensors are now available.

There is no sensors anymore. Maybe they were back for super short time but they are again on national backorder.
They are listing them online as available but after 3 days they cancel the order.
Talked with a lot of them and no one knows when they will be back in stock.
So guys plan accordingly...

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[CarbonSteel]

There is no sensors anymore. Maybe they were back for super short time but they are again on national backorder.
They are listing them online as available but after 3 days they cancel the order.
Talked with a lot of them and no one knows when they will be back in stock.
So guys plan accordingly...

I would pot the sensor regardless of availability--the new ones are the same as the old. @chevymitchell had the right idea from the start.

 

[word302]

There is no sensors anymore. Maybe they were back for super short time but they are again on national backorder.
They are listing them online as available but after 3 days they cancel the order.
Talked with a lot of them and no one knows when they will be back in stock.
So guys plan accordingly...

Right but they’re not going to replace axles anymore.

 

[zoki]

Right but they’re not going to replace axles anymore.

They not going to replace anything now

 

[kah.mun.rah]

I would pot the sensor regardless of availability--the new ones are the same as the old. @chevymitchell had the right idea from the start.

Do you recommend doing that asap with a new Wrangler or wait until closer to the 60K mile warranty expiration? I imagine that if done early and the sensor still goes bad it probably won't be covered by the warranty if potted but I assume that the longer a person waits the bigger the risk of the sensor being full of oil. Thoughts?

 

[CarbonSteel]

Do you recommend doing that asap with a new Wrangler or wait until closer to the 60K mile warranty expiration? I imagine that if done early and the sensor still goes bad it probably won't be covered by the warranty if potted but I assume that the longer a person waits the bigger the risk of the sensor being full of oil. Thoughts?

My rear was 50% full of oil at around 25K when I did it so if I had waited until 60K the odds are it would have failed. If you have done anything to the axle (re-gear etc.) the warranty is toast anyway.

For me, even though it was nerve-racking to do it, I would rather pot it and be done with it. I also think that barring any electrical issue with the circuit board that may have caused a failure anyway, the likelihood of the sensor failing later is substantially reduced.

 

[chevymitchell]

Do you recommend doing that asap with a new Wrangler or wait until closer to the 60K mile warranty expiration? I imagine that if done early and the sensor still goes bad it probably won't be covered by the warranty if potted but I assume that the longer a person waits the bigger the risk of the sensor being full of oil. Thoughts?

Do it as soon as you can. I wouldn't worry about the Warranty aspect. No one is going to check the sensor for 3 small holes. Even then, the warranty now will cover a new sensor and not a new axle assembly.

The risk of them not covering a sensor is a better pill to swallow than not covering the entire axle assembly. I would mitigate the risk of the sensor failing by potting the sensors. This will remove so much headache if oil gets into the sensors.

It's not as common as it was when I first made the instructions to perform the potting, but it's still happening. I would do it regardless of mileage just to eliminate the headache of a Jeep Service Department for this issue.

 

[word302]

99.9% of Jeep techs will never know the sensor has been potted. You’re very unlikely to have a warranty issue with the axle if you pot the sensors. Just do it and never think about it again.

 

[chevymitchell]

Do you recommend doing that asap with a new Wrangler or wait until closer to the 60K mile warranty expiration? I imagine that if done early and the sensor still goes bad it probably won't be covered by the warranty if potted but I assume that the longer a person waits the bigger the risk of the sensor being full of oil. Thoughts?

Also, if you're not comfortable drilling into the sensors, you can remove them and ship them to me. I'll pot them for free + cost of potting compound and then ship back. Not everyone is comfortable drilling into an electronics housing and I get that. It's not a hard job, just don't drill too far.

 

[kah.mun.rah]

Also, if you're not comfortable drilling into the sensors, you can remove them and ship them to me. I'll pot them for free + cost of potting compound and then ship back. Not everyone is comfortable drilling into an electronics housing and I get that. It's not a hard job, just don't drill too far.

That is super nice of you. I'll be replacing my axles at 60K miles so I am trying not to invest anything into them and keep the warranty as protected as possible along the way. That said, the last thing I want is to have the Jeep sit at the dealership for 2 months waiting for parts if something does go wrong between now and the new axles so proactive/preventative maintenance like this is very tempting.

 

[grimmjeeper]

I had my front diff open last weekend for other work. Checked my potted sensors. I've probably put 10K miles on them since I potted them and they look just fine. Zero oil penetration.

 

[HungryHound]

Do you recommend doing that asap with a new Wrangler or wait until closer to the 60K mile warranty expiration? I imagine that if done early and the sensor still goes bad it probably won't be covered by the warranty if potted but I assume that the longer a person waits the bigger the risk of the sensor being full of oil. Thoughts?

I AM THE WARRANTY

 

[HungryHound]

Also, if you're not comfortable drilling into the sensors, you can remove them and ship them to me. I'll pot them for free + cost of potting compound and then ship back. Not everyone is comfortable drilling into an electronics housing and I get that. It's not a hard job, just don't drill too far.

I hope folks who you do this for have the decency to send you a $10 gift card with the sensors to cover your cost of supplies like shop towels and hand cleaner. Just a suggestion.

 

[grimmjeeper]

We were doing some upgrades to my axle and shooting some video. I did a quick segment about the potted sensor in one of the videos.

It starts at the 15:35 mark, which the link should take you to.

 

[drrags]

Add me to the list of people who successfully applied your technique to my sensors. I did it to my 2022 Xtreme Recon with only 1,800 miles on it. I wasn't taking any chances. The worst part was getting that goo all over the place.

Just an idle thought, but it's probably all the steel and iron particles floating around in the diff oil. My front oil was crystal clear, but the rear was already black with microscopic particles on the magnets.

Thank you

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