Truetrac failure

[jinxxxxx]

Had truetrac installed in both front and rear two weeds ago. The front truetrac failed in under 200 miles. Has anyone else had a truetrac fail ? It seems to have failed while I was playing in the snow with the jeep. Was fun until the failure.

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[The Last Cowboy]

Were your tires spinning and then you hit dry pavement? If so, that’s on you.

Otherwise I would chalk it up to a improper install, or install mistake.

 

[roaniecowpony]

Two weeds is pretty short.

 

[azwjowner]

Truetracs are known to be highly reliable and durable. Although possible, it's more likely that your installer messed something up.

 

[zouch]

can you please define what you mean by "fail"?

i've never heard of a Truetrack failing, and would be interested to know what exactly "failed" about one.
i've got them in the back of 2 J**ps, and one of them has spent well over 200K miles doing its thing perfectly (including much stupid running of washboards roads playing Rallye Racer in the Dez); the other has about a quarter of that, but has worked excellently spinning 37s under a diesel with 4.56s all over Moab, the Rubicon, etc.

i'd be willing to bet that if the failure is actually related to the Truetrack itself, any failure was related to improper installation. but i won't be surprised if the issue is actually a failure of the Ring/Pinion set, and related to improper installation, break-in and/or improper Lube.

please keep us updated with the detail on the failure, and how it happened.

Had truetrac installed in both front and rear two weeds ago. The front truetrac failed in under 200 miles. Has anyone else had a truetrac fail ? It seems to have failed while I was playing in the snow with the jeep. Was fun until the failure.

 

[grimmjeeper]

Had truetrac installed in both front and rear two weeds ago. The front truetrac failed in under 200 miles. Has anyone else had a truetrac fail ? It seems to have failed while I was playing in the snow with the jeep. Was fun until the failure.

Define "failed".

 

[jinxxxxx]

Was playing in the snow and the front end developed a clicking sound. This was on Sunday. On Monday took it to the installer and did not hear any clicking on the 5 mile drive. Installer drove it around and could not get it to click. At 500 mile took it back to the installer to have the diff oil changed. That is when they found shaving in the oil. So they removed the diff cover and found the failure. As far as what failed all I know at this time is the installer said the truetrac failed.

As far as break in. I was and am very careful to fallow the break in procedure on all my vehicles. After getting the jeep back I drove for about 20 to 25 miles at between 45 and 60 mph. Let the jeep sit over night and at 5:30 AM drove the jeep about 30 miles at between 45 and 60 mph. Then again at 1:30PM repeated the process. Then let the jeep sit over night. Did not try to do any jack rabbit starts or burn outs.

 

[OminousSkitter]

Was playing in the snow and the front end developed a clicking sound. This was on Sunday. On Monday took it to the installer and did not hear any clicking on the 5 mile drive. Installer drove it around and could not get it to click. At 500 mile took it back to the installer to have the diff oil changed. That is when they found shaving in the oil. So they removed the diff cover and found the failure. As far as what failed all I know at this time is the installer said the truetrac failed.

As far as break in. I was and am very careful to fallow the break in procedure on all my vehicles. After getting the jeep back I drove for about 20 to 25 miles at between 45 and 60 mph. Let the jeep sit over night and at 5:30 AM drove the jeep about 30 miles at between 45 and 60 mph. Then again at 1:30PM repeated the process. Then let the jeep sit over night. Did not try to do any jack rabbit starts or burn outs.

I probably missed it, what’s your front axle? The truetrac for the m186 (sport/sahara) is spring preloaded iirc, so a failure there might be more likely?

 

[azwjowner]

Was playing in the snow and the front end developed a clicking sound. This was on Sunday. On Monday took it to the installer and did not hear any clicking on the 5 mile drive. Installer drove it around and could not get it to click. At 500 mile took it back to the installer to have the diff oil changed. That is when they found shaving in the oil. So they removed the diff cover and found the failure. As far as what failed all I know at this time is the installer said the truetrac failed.

As far as break in. I was and am very careful to fallow the break in procedure on all my vehicles. After getting the jeep back I drove for about 20 to 25 miles at between 45 and 60 mph. Let the jeep sit over night and at 5:30 AM drove the jeep about 30 miles at between 45 and 60 mph. Then again at 1:30PM repeated the process. Then let the jeep sit over night. Did not try to do any jack rabbit starts or burn outs.

Possible, or the installer screwed up. Also, your break-in procedure was possibly too fast and too far for the first drive. First drive should be city driving with traffic lights that you stop at, 15-20 miles, no more than 40 MPH. That said, if your installer exactly matched the existing backlash with the Truetrac -- which he should have done -- you can get away with not being as careful, because then you aren't changing the wear pattern on the ring and pinion. But if your installer was sloppy, driving at 60 MPH on a different backlash could cause problems.

I usually follow the Revolution gear procedure:

• Drive 15 to 20 miles under normal driving conditions (no highway speeds), stop and let differential cool before proceeding, repeat this process 2-3 times
• - Avoid heavy accelerating during the break in process
• - Keep the vehicle under 60 MPH for the first 100 miles
• - Highway driving also requires proper break-in due to the higher heat temperatures produced, drive 15-20 minutes at max 65MPH, stop and let differential cool before proceeding, repeat this process 2-3 times
• - Driving on a new ring and pinion before the initial 500 mile oil change should be under normal driving conditions: no hard starts, racing, off-roading, towing, and should not be flat towed.

 

[jinxxxxx]

The break in was per the installers written instructions. Can't answer about the axles. I was told they upgraded to stronger ones and replaced the two piece one , FAD, with a solid one.

 

[azwjowner]

To answer your original question, no one else has had a Truetrac fail. I've personally installed two of them (one in a JL, one in a WJ) and had no issues, plus they are fairly simple units (just a bunch of helical gears). It's an unusual situation for sure. So I suppose you should put another one in and see if you have better luck. If that breaks too then it's your installer.

 

[OminousSkitter]

To answer your original question, no one else has had a Truetrac fail. I've personally installed two of them (one in a JL, one in a WJ) and had no issues, plus they are fairly simple units (just a bunch of helical gears). It's an unusual situation for sure. So I suppose you should put another one in and see if you have better luck. If that breaks too then it's your installer.

I'm with you; it's unusual for a truetrac to fail.

I understand the general principle behind truetracs, but does that hold true for the versions that are preloaded? The 912A585 (the one for the m186/dana 30 axles) is supposedly* spring preloaded to ~100lb/ft. Would that mean there is a central spring (or springs) and something not quite as robust as a bunch of helical gears? Genuinely curious because this is out of my area of knowledge.

I also wonder if the shop knows it is preloaded. Perhaps they saw that it wasn't freewheeling and said "See that, the truetrac failed"?

* With a quick search, I was able to find several forum posts saying this but nothing from Eaton.

 

[jinxxxxx]

From Enton
"
What kind of break-in is required with the Detroit Truetrac?
Answer
While Truetrac units do not require a break-in for operation, the gears do “lap” together. While the time required to fully lap the gears will vary depending on driving style and loads, the units will operate smoother with age.
"
So it would seem that whether the break-in procedure was right or wrong for the ring and pinion it shouldn't have had a baring on the truetrac failure.

 

[Grey24Rubi]

Kind of surprising to hear of one of these failing. Back in the late 90's used Gleason's in our super latemodel 650hp 2950lb circle track cars though heavy they were built proof. The Detroit TrueTrac is supposed to be an improved version of the Gleason so I'd probably be looking for specific answers as to, why, your unit failed.

Also, I've always found these "break in" periods sort of strange because whenever I've talked to the different gear or rearend suppliers about break in periods they just kind of laughed.

 

[AlgUSF]

Were your tires spinning and then you hit dry pavement? If so, that’s on you.

Otherwise I would chalk it up to a improper install, or install mistake.

I'm trying to figure out how spinning tires and hitting dry pavement would break one? Shouldn't it be designed to handle that?

I have 4000 miles on mine after a self-install and no problems as of yet and I've beat it pretty good after the customary 500 mile ring and pinion break in period.

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