Locker Position Sensor Potting - DANA 44

[swampflyer]

I did not. A friend of mine that builds high horse power diesel trucks is doing if for me. He is trussing the axle and doing the ARB install.

It is always fun to stop and see what he is working on. People will buy brand new trucks and drop them off at his house with less than 500 miles on the truck and give him 20k to 50k and just say make the truck cool.

Nice. ? life is good. Have fun. looking forward to seeing the finished product.

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[MatthewAMEL]

Question for those that have done this...the TQ spec document linked to on 1st post says the rear diff cover bolts must be discarded and new ones used. Is anyone actually doing this?

 

[chevymitchell]

Question for those that have done this...the TQ spec document linked to on 1st post says the rear diff cover bolts must be discarded and new ones used. Is anyone actually doing this?

Very few people do this.

If you're careful putting the bolts back in and don't over-torque them, they can be re-used many times. I recommend re-using them a couple times and then replacing.

 

[JLeco2022]

step one rip out shitty elocker, step two install air locker, fixed

 

[word302]

step one rip out shitty elocker, step two install air locker, fixed

I’m not sure I’d go through the expense of installing ARBs in these things if I already have lockers. At that point I’d just upgrade to tons and be done.

 

[MatthewAMEL]

Took the plunge this afternoon and potted mine. They are curing now.

Thanks for the exceptionally well done write up @chevymitchell

The drilling was the most nerve wracking part. Guess I'll find out tomorrow how I did. :D

Couple of notes on my experience:

1. I had to slightly jack up the driver side of the Jeep to make clearance to reach the top diff bolts on the front cover. No biggie, but I didn't see it mentioned.
2. My sensors were bone dry with 30k miles on my JLURD.
3. Front diff fluid was almost new looking. Rear diff was a mess and I just did a diff fluid swap about 10k ago.
4. I noticed while taking the sensors out they were attached to a ring that seemed to rotate. Does the position of that ring need to match when I took the sensors out?

 

[Spencer]

If I'm doing the Z Locker OEM on both axles is there any benefit of potting the sensors as well?

 

[chevymitchell]

If I'm doing the Z Locker OEM on both axles is there any benefit of potting the sensors as well?

You lose the in-transit function of the factory system if you use that a harness.

If you don’t mind the dash indicating locked or unlocked when the locker could be in the opposite state, then you don’t need to pot them.

 

[DLW]

You lose the in-transit function of the factory system if you use that a harness.

If you don’t mind the dash indicating locked or unlocked when the locker could be in the opposite state, then you don’t need to pot them.

If I understand your answer correctly, is that there is no need to pot them if using the Z Locker OEM harness. The sort of downside is your locker may not match what the dash indicator says? For example, you engage your locker, the dash indicator shows it's locked, but the locker has not actually engaged yet since it can take a few seconds to do so?

 

[chevymitchell]

If I understand your answer correctly, is that there is no need to pot them if using the Z Locker OEM harness. The sort of downside is your locker may not match what the dash indicator says? For example, you engage your locker, the dash indicator shows it's locked, but the locker has not actually engaged yet since it can take a few seconds to do so?

Yes. The real down side is the dash will indicate it’s unlocked and it’s actually locked. This could be really bad if the locker isn’t fully disengaged and you go into 2H/4H. The risk of breaking something is much higher. @mgroeger experienced something similar in a drive thru when his sensor was failing and there was inadvertent locking of the diff. The factory system may seem over-engineered, but it does have an in-transit feature that’s really handy.

 

[Spencer]

Knowing this information now, I’m tempted to pot the sensors since they haven’t completely failed. Then keep the Z locker OEM in the glove box in case they fail on the trail sometime.

Thanks for the helpful information

 

[chevymitchell]

Knowing this information now, I’m tempted to pot the sensors since they haven’t completely failed. Then keep the Z locker OEM in the glove box in case they fail on the trail sometime.

Thanks for the helpful information

That’s a smart plan, for sure.

 

[DLW]

Knowing this information now, I’m tempted to pot the sensors since they haven’t completely failed. Then keep the Z locker OEM in the glove box in case they fail on the trail sometime.

Thanks for the helpful information

That is a good idea.

I have a dilemma though, I put in UD60's now, but I noticed when I unhooked the external stock locker harness from my stock D44 rear end when I pulled it out, that there was oil on that external plug. I had no dash lights and the locker worked fine. Not sure I want fork out for a new position sensor to sell my D44's or not, or just sell with the Z locker OEM harness. What do you guys think?

 

[chevymitchell]

That is a good idea.

I have a dilemma though, I put in UD60's now, but I noticed when I unhooked the external stock locker harness from my stock D44 rear end when I pulled it out, that there was oil on that external plug. I had no dash lights and the locker worked fine. Not sure I want fork out for a new position sensor to sell my D44's or not, or just sell with the Z locker OEM harness. What do you guys think?

If the lockers were working alright, I would just pot them and reinstall. Sell them like that. The plug having oil on it is a different issue, so the sensors could be dry still.

 

[MatthewAMEL]

Whelp...got mine back together today and everything worked!

Huge peace of mind since we are driving from Orlando to Denver in two weeks to spend two months in Colorado wheelin, including Ouray Jeep Jamboree.

Thanks for an awesome thread.

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