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I already have my wire harnesses plumbed in. Rocker switches mounted into the dash next to the steering wheel. My locker for the Dana 44 came from summit. I’ve been sitting on it for 6 or 8 weeks. This sucks!
OP
Should I just get some 27 spline chromoly shafts and use the good 27 spline locker I still have and call it good? What do y’all think?
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The guy I was dealing with at Eaton did not have any info on when a shipment was going to arrive. My drivetrain expert logged in to Eaton and they had zero stock. There may be a shipment soon, but I couldn't get any info.
When I inquired about ARB. There are a few Dana 30 30 splines in stock and no D44s. He called them and they have 90 units coming in within a couple of weeks and more showing up in Florida.
Since I got some info from ARB, and I have not started any install, I'm switching. If I was all wired up, I would be waiting.
OP
of course an electrical guy does that first.
I was more like. "Sweet my locker is in let's go try it out!..."oh wait...still gotta wire it up" lol
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I also wired 2 toggle switches into the firewall under the hood that deactivate the rockers in the cab. That way when my Son drives it he can’t screw up and lock them in while in motion. I’d hate to have to kill my kid over a locker.
My kids are 6 and 3 so they aren't doing it in motion, but there have been a handful of times my tires have barked at me while backing out of the driveway. It's pretty obvious to see when they turn on the a-pillar lights. The locker, not so much.
@Jerry Bransford was pro 27 spline (Ha! I should have listened to him). He said the 27 spline chromoly were more than adequate and you have your stock ones as spares. However, check with him for your application (tire size, type of wheeling, etc).
Having the 30 spline axles in hand and comparing it to the size of the Dana 30 locker, it appears that the locker will explode long before that axle breaks. And that may be my mistake, I would rather lose an axle than a locker ($).
OP
Ya. The way I understand it is that the ring gear is the weak link when you build a 30.
Screw that, couple of wires, passenger stuffing them into a Milwaukee M12 battery, we're wheeling.
Several here don't like them - and yea, you have to use their diff cover. I'm years away from a selectable locker - if ever - but I'm leaning towards OX myself.
OP
I like the idea of a cable shifter. It works great on my transfer case, I've had it work just fine on transmissions, too. And all its doing is locking two gears together, just like in the other applications.
It's just that a differential housing doesn't really lend itself to having a shift fork inside it. There's just not a great way to do it without involving the cover, and I'd have to sacrifice things like wheelbase or uptravel to use any cover that was larger profile than stock.
It's just that a differential housing doesn't really lend itself to having a shift fork inside it. There's just not a great way to do it without involving the cover, and I'd have to sacrifice things like wheelbase or uptravel to use any cover that was larger profile than stock.
You would never say you liked the idea of cables if you messed with any of the OX cables, especially in the front. My dislike of them is based on two things. We ran a few in the group early on, had some issues, asked OX for help, was told to pound sand.
Reuben and Lazlo were the inventors. They didn't want their stuff to be like anyone else's. So, in order to shift, it was like rev match shifting a manual trans. You had to hold pressure on the shift fork until the locking clutch lined up due to differential action moving one side more than the other in a turn. When they lined up, it would shift and then you could lock the shifter in place by releasing the lock collar. Everyone complained about it.
I chatted with them early in the design phase and told them to spring load the shifter, let it lock when it lined up and be done with it.
We don't want our stuff to be like anyone else. Look you pair of goobers, the reason everyone wants it that way and does it that way is because it works, now fix it. They finally did and then went on to make electric and air shift options. For a company philosophy of not wanting to be like everyone else, they jumped off that ship in a hurry.
You are correct on the shift fork. They had an issue with the Dana 60 unlocking when you went around corners one way. That was due to the shifter cable engagement spring being too light and the disengage springs would push it apart when inertia acted on the fork. All they had to do with increase the force on the shifter spring. They sent me a cover to see if I could figure out the problem.