Front rubicon locker

I recently bought and swapped in a used dana 44. I had it regeared and when I went to install the shafts I found that it was engaged without being hooked up. After searching I found how to manually unlock it and tried that but it is still locked. I thought if it wasn't wired up that it couldn't lock? I'm going to wire it to a switch on Monday to see if I can get it to unlock that way. Does anyone have any suggestions? If the locker is bad do they make a 32 spline arb?


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jcslax17 said:

I recently bought and swapped in a used dana 44. I had it regeared and when I went to install the shafts I found that it was engaged without being hooked up. After searching I found how to manually unlock it and tried that but it is still locked. I thought if it wasn't wired up that it couldn't lock? I'm going to wire it to a switch on Monday to see if I can get it to unlock that way. Does anyone have any suggestions? If the locker is bad do they make a 32 spline arb?


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Click to expand...

Locker is likely fine. What is most likely happening is the shop that did the regear installed the plunger incorrectly.
This causes the locking ring to be stuck in the locked position.
The picture below is how the plunger should be installed. A lot of shops install the plunger after the carrier - which causes it to be pressing against the ring.

JKDream said:

Locker is likely fine. What is most likely happening is the shop that did the regear installed the plunger incorrectly.
This causes the locking ring to be stuck in the locked position.
The picture below is how the plunger should be installed. A lot of shops install the plunger after the carrier - which causes it to be pressing against the ring.
View attachment 258615

Click to expand...

I pried the lock ring around the plunger and it is still locked


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jcslax17 said:

I pried the lock ring around the plunger and it is still locked


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Click to expand...

Did you have any issues getting the unit bearings to line up?

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JKDream said:

Did you have any issues getting the unit bearings to line up?

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Click to expand...

Nope everything went together easily. Is there something else that the shop could have done incorrectly to cause it to be locked? What exactly does the plunger do?


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When I regeared mine, and added tires I thought mine was lock too.

It's not, or it wasn't, for example if you jack it up and both tires are off ground and you turn one side both tires will turn in the same direction !

if you place one tire on the ground and locker is unlock you should be able to turn it by hand. ( it will be tough or hard to do , but it should turn)

now if it is lock and you see the switch is in unlock position and you have one tire on the ground and it impossible to turn then yes it lock . and you have a problem ..

The other or another way to tell if it's lock is when you driving on pavement and your steering is stiff, and hard to control then yes is lock ..

My experience - - if you had it work on and it stuck there is a few things you could try .. find a parking lot and make sure switch is off and turn in a sharp circle. once time right and then left sharp hard turns .. if it doesn't pop out then you have problems ..


I good shop or mechanic will or should test drive it and make sure it all works.

My guy did ... and we had no problem .. it was week down the road I had problem .. I spent a day in the swamps in 4 wheel low everything lock . when I came out .. the front was still lock .. I went forward slow then reverse. no go . still lock ..

My friend told me to hit the pavement and turn sharp right and left ,and sure enough it pop out .. then we retested the locker . and it work and disengage ..
Some time they are tight .. I know mine is . and scared me .. we pulled the covers and drain gear oil .inspected for chips and medal flakes .

It was all good, refilled and drove on my property a bit with locker on .. they engage and dis engage fine ..

Good luck hope you get it right ..

~WINGNUT~ said:

When I regeared mine, and added tires I thought mine was lock too.

It's not, or it wasn't, for example if you jack it up and both tires are off ground and you turn one side both tires will turn in the same direction !

if you place one tire on the ground and locker is unlock you should be able to turn it by hand. ( it will be tough or hard to do , but it should turn)

Click to expand...

This isn't correct. The rubicon elocker doesn't act as a limited slip when disengaged - it acts as an open differential.
If both tires are spinning the same direction while it isn't getting power than something is wrong.
From my experience, the only issue besides the plunger that would cause this is a bent axle tube.

JKDream said:

This isn't correct. The rubicon elocker doesn't act as a limited slip when disengaged - it acts as an open differential.
If both tires are spinning the same direction while it isn't getting power than something is wrong.
From my experience, the only issue besides the plunger that would cause this is a bent axle tube.

Click to expand...

I knew when it was unlocked that the wheels should spin opposite. I'm pretty sure the axle tubes aren't bent. I had no issues with alignment and the jeep drove great around town and highway speeds for the weekend I drove it before dropping it off for gears ( It was an empty housing with no axle shafts though)I'm going to try and wire up the locker tomorrow to a switch temporarily. Maybe switching it on and off will help? I saw the locker work before I bought the axle so maybe it was reassembled incorrectly by the shop?


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jcslax17 said:

I knew when it was unlocked that the wheels should spin opposite. I'm pretty sure the axle tubes aren't bent. I had no issues with alignment and the jeep drove great around town and highway speeds for the weekend I drove it before dropping it off for gears ( It was an empty housing with no axle shafts though)I'm going to try and wire up the locker tomorrow to a switch temporarily. Maybe switching it on and off will help? I saw the locker work before I bought the axle so maybe it was reassembled incorrectly by the shop?


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Click to expand...

I still have a suspicion the plunger is causing the issue.
You mentioned that you swapped the axle in so I'm assuming you don't have a rubicon.
You can actually pull the plunger out of the housing and scrap it unless you are going to run the dash light harness.
If you're just running it to a switch then there's no need for it - just the top actuator plug.

I hope you don't have a bent housing, unfortunately it's really hard to see without taking measurements.
In my case - I ended up swapping in a housing that was bent, and caused the same issues because of the off center axle shafts.
Once I straightened it out, the locker started acting as an open differential again.
However you mentioned you didn't have any issues with the unit bearings, which is typically a tell tale sign of a bent housing.

I'd pull the plunger and if that doesn't resolve it, bring it back to the shop!

JKDream said:

I still have a suspicion the plunger is causing the issue.
You mentioned that you swapped the axle in so I'm assuming you don't have a rubicon.
You can actually pull the plunger out of the housing and scrap it unless you are going to run the dash light harness.
If you're just running it to a switch then there's no need for it - just the top actuator plug.

I hope you don't have a bent housing, unfortunately it's really hard to see without taking measurements.
In my case - I ended up swapping in a housing that was bent, and caused the same issues because of the off center axle shafts.
Once I straightened it out, the locker started acting as an open differential again.
However you mentioned you didn't have any issues with the unit bearings, which is typically a tell tale sign of a bent housing.

I'd pull the plunger and if that doesn't resolve it, bring it back to the shop!

Click to expand...

Do they make a plug to cover the hole from the plunger? Do you know what measurements I'd need to take to double check that the housing isn't bent? I'm pretty sure it's not but never hurts to check again. Once I pull the plunger out is there anything else I might need to do? I'm going to be operating the locker with a switch-pro system.


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jcslax17 said:

Do they make a plug to cover the hole from the plunger? Do you know what measurements I'd need to take to double check that the housing isn't bent? I'm pretty sure it's not but never hurts to check again. Once I pull the plunger out is there anything else I might need to do? I'm going to be operating the locker with a switch-pro system.


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Nothing needed after pulling the sensor, just plug the hole with some kind of bolt.
A couple different brands make one for a couple bucks, or you could just get something from a hardware store.
I can't remember the size unfortunately, but you should be able to match it up with the threads on the sensor.

There's a couple different ways to measure depending on where it could have bent.
A straight edge placed on tube will show if it's bent anywhere outside of the differential.
If it's bent where the tubes press into the differential then it's a bit trickier.
You'll need to measure from the center section outwards, and keep the straight edge perfectly level.
If the tube is measuring closer to the straight edge the further you move outwards (or further away depending on which way the tube is bent) then it's bent.
The tube should be the same distance away from the straight edge at the cast to the C.

JKDream said:

Locker is likely fine. What is most likely happening is the shop that did the regear installed the plunger incorrectly.
This causes the locking ring to be stuck in the locked position.
The picture below is how the plunger should be installed. A lot of shops install the plunger after the carrier - which causes it to be pressing against the ring.
View attachment 258615

Click to expand...

Ran into this same problem had a shop install my new gears then I installed the axles and found that front and rear lockers were engaged did research found that the plunger was on the wrong side so I had to pull both front and rear axles back apart cut a small metal pin that I could use to pull the plunger all the way out tied a piece of fishing line to it shoved my gears back in pulled the string releasing the plunger and worked great too bad my dumb ass mechanic couldn't do research I pretty much had to do his whole work all over again for something that could have taken him 5 minutes.....anyway don't know if this is what's up with yours but that's what happened with mine


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I just did the same thing on mine. Installed the plunger after the carrier and locked both axles. If you pryed the ring past the plunger, you more than likely bent the plunger. If that is the case, remove the plunger, cut the end (plunger side off) and wiring then use it as the plug. If it isn't bent, slide the axles out, loosen the bearing caps and slide out the carrier about .25". Then take a tooth pick and cut to fit with the plunger extended. Tie a piece of fishing line around the tooth pick and install the plunger. Slide the carrier back in, then pull the fishing line to remove the toothpick tool.

Those are the steps I used to get mine working, still running strong after 1000 miles. I will run the plunger til it gives, seems to be the main problem with stock lockers. Then I will cut it and use it as the plug. They are fairly expensive so if it isn't broke I would use it. Remove it and pull it out, it should spring back to the retracted position on its own, if not then it is bad.

Little off topic, but do you know if that switch just completes a circuit or does it give or remove a ground to the computer when locker is engaged? Is the circuit normally open or closed?

rockwell said:

Little off topic, but do you know if that switch just completes a circuit or does it give or remove a ground to the computer when locker is engaged? Is the circuit normally open or closed?

Click to expand...

The switch turns the light on or off to give you the indication that the locker is engaged.(FYI that's all switches do like a light switch on a wall) It is not needed for the correct operation of the locker if you are not running the stock wiring harness. I'm not 100%, but I would say that it opens or closes a circuit to give you the light.