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jeepingib

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Is there any way to accelerate this problem? I ask because if it’s likely to happen to us all sooner or later, I’d rather have it happen and have the axle replaced sooner rather than later and immediately have the gears swapped and sensor potted right after. I presume that after a gear swap they wouldn’t be covered by warranty.
Apparently, just let me drive it and it will fail in a short amount of time. Lol
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Is there any way to accelerate this problem? I ask because if it’s likely to happen to us all sooner or later, I’d rather have it happen and have the axle replaced sooner rather than later and immediately have the gears swapped and sensor potted right after. I presume that after a gear swap they wouldn’t be covered by warranty.
Just pot them. It’sa quick and easy job and then you don’t have to stress about it.
 

CaJLMetalHead

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Just pot them. It’sa quick and easy job and then you don’t have to stress about it.
Agreed... don't wait until the sensor fails.. with so many Wranglers still under warranty the potential for having to wait a long time to get your rig fixed is not a good outlook.. sure.. you could get the Z Automotive harness or wire the lockers to a switch to circumvent the issue with the sensor .. but it defeats the purpose of having it to begin with... and it is going to cost you A LOT more than the epoxy..
 

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Good afternoon everyone.

As all of you know, there is a known factory defect with the Locker Sensor housings. These housings are allowing gear oil into them and shortly thereafter they fail. This failure, at this time, requires the entire axle assembly to be replaced.

Today marks my 16th set of gears I've done for people since Thanksgiving. 12 of those have been JL's and 9 of those have been Rubicons.

Out of the 18 Rubicon differentials, all but 5 of those sensors had oil in them. NONE had failed yet, but failure was imminent before potting.

Last weekend I did @GhostDivers gears and his was the worst I had seen yet without a failure. One of his sensors was completely full with only a tiny air bubble visible. I drilled larger holes in the cap than I normally would for just potting and used a high quality contact cleaner to rinse it out and then potted it. His would be the first full sensor to be cleaned and potted, (That I've done) so we'll see if it holds up.

His wife, Carrie, has her Jeep here with me today and the rear sensor in hers has oil in it, as well. Again, no failure yet.

The point to this post is: Do NOT wait to take care of this issue as a preventative maintenance item. Please take a moment to pot your sensors and save yourself a ton of heartache and let's hope FCA releases a replaceable line item soon.

Here are the steps to pot the sensors: https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/locker-position-sensor-potting-dana-44.59581/

Thank you.
Thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge with the rest of us. I just received my order of gear lube and potting epoxy. If my sensors contain oil, it is my understanding that before potting them, I should drain the oil and flush them out with an electronic contact cleaner (I have a can of CRC QD electronic cleaner). Is this correct? Is there any danger of damaging the sensors during the flushing process? I assume that it is not the oil that is ruining the sensors, but the tiny metal particles that are suspended in the oil as a result of normal gear wear. Thanks.
 
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Thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge with the rest of us. I just received my order of gear lube and potting epoxy. If my sensors contain oil, it is my understanding that before potting them, I should drain the oil and flush them out with an electronic contact cleaner (I have a can of CRC QD electronic cleaner). Is this correct? Is there any danger of damaging the sensors during the flushing process? I assume that it is not the oil that is ruining the sensors, but the tiny metal particles that are suspended in the oil as a result of normal gear wear. Thanks.
No problem at all.

You are correct. Flush them out really well, let them dry, and then pot them as normal.

Right. Once the oil is saturated enough with metal particles, it will short the capacitor(s). Depending on how long that process takes from the factory determines the length of time before failure. (If the sensor is leaking.)
 

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DavidArmen

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As always, thank you for your work OP. Your axle videos are spot on.
I’m very surprised there isn’t a global situation of hundreds of thousands of rubicon lockers all over the globe failing since almost all of the sensors seem to be taking in oil and are going to inevitably fail.

EDIT: have you, by any chance, worked on any 2021 JLUR axles/lockers?
 
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@chevymitchell any drying process after flushing or just wait?
The drying process for the Contact Cleaner is just a few minutes. Make sure to shake the sensor to get any puddling out. It will dry very fast after that.
 
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As always, thank you for your work OP. Your axle videos are spot on.
I’m very surprised there isn’t a global situation of hundreds of thousands of rubicon lockers all over the globe failing since almost all of the sensors seem to be taking in oil and are going to inevitably fail.

EDIT: have you, by any chance, worked on any 2021 JLUR axles/lockers?
I appreciate it. I haven't worked on any 2021's yet, but they will be the same, I'm sure. If there's going to be any large changes to the axles themselves, we might see a change during the mid-year refresh. I would expect the 2022's and onward would have addressed this problem and then once the majority are out of warranty, we might see a line item come available to purchase the sensor itself or possibly a revised version of it with better sealing. It's all a guess though as MOPAR's logistics have never been predictable.
 

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Not sure if I have seen it mentioned, but why does the whole axel have to be replaced and not just the sensor?
 

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Not sure if I have seen it mentioned, but why does the whole axel have to be replaced and not just the sensor?
no parts availability of the sensor. Someone has ID'ed supplier and is working to back engineer I believe...dunno status.

but like all jeep things in the past....problems usually get solved after a few years...someone will figure it out at some point.
 

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no parts availability of the sensor. Someone has ID'ed supplier and is working to back engineer I believe...dunno status.

but like all jeep things in the past....problems usually get solved after a few years...someone will figure it out at some point.
Thanks! I didn't know if it was hardwired in or something, so good to know there is the possibility of a replacement. I'll still put this on my todo list though ;)
 

CaJLMetalHead

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Thanks! I didn't know if it was hardwired in or something, so good to know there is the possibility of a replacement. I'll still put this on my todo list though ;)
The way the new sensor works is more complicated than on the JK (JK uses an electromechanical switch.. JL uses a non-contact Hall Effect sensor)

There are a couple of threads discussing the issue, here:

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/locker-sensor-failing.64774/

and here:

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...arranty-part-not-available-for-puchase.54531/

A few of us has done some reverse engineering of the sensor.. although it is a simple design the electronic components are not labeled on the circuit.. so at this point, we are guessing what they are.. here is my thread about it:

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...ailable-for-puchase.54531/page-4#post-1256842

I am willing to play with the circuitry to find the correct components.. unfortunately my JL is a Sport model... so there is no way for me to test if the solution works.. unless somebody with a Rubicon or a JL with Dana 44s with lockers is willing to join forces with me.. I don't see how I can progress on finding a solution... I live in Vallejo, California in case anybody is interested in joining forces.. :)
 

redsyphon

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Any recommendation/favorite on gear oils to use?

It's my understanding that I'll need sae 75w85 api gl 5 for front/rear in my Rubi.
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