ATTN: EASY ED!! Front locker installation

[HumminNBoatin']

Yo Ed,

Can you post up some scans of your book on dis assembly/reassembly of a front diff. I have some of the GM PDF's but I would also like to see what your book says. I am planning on doing my front locker install this weekend. And will most likely do a "how to" thread on this forum as well.

Thanks,
Eric

[Easy Ed]

Eric, here is what I have done. I took a pic of almost every page in the chapter of the 2003 SM that pertains to the front diff (55 total) and have them put here....

http://s220.photobucket.com/albums/d...0Front%20Diff/

If I might ask of you, is that you use the "download" option on any of the pics that you may need and want to use for your "write up" on to your computer and not use the "links" to the pictures at Photo Bucket. This way you can post the pics you want from where you want and if I delete any of them it will not be a problem.

Hope they help, good luck, Ed

P.S. Anyone else that would like to copy the pics feel free to do so, just don't use the "links" like I asked above, thank you.

[HumminNBoatin']

Thanks a bunch man. It will take me a couple hours to download all these pix but I will do for sure!

[Easy Ed]

No hurry Eric, just wanted ya to know about not using links to them in case I delete them down the road.

Later, Ed

[Easy Ed]

How did the install go ??

[HumminNBoatin']

I finsihed it up last night. I gotta tell you it was actually allot easier than expected. I got my locker used and it was missing a thrust washer so I had to wait a couple days before I was able to find another one.

I dropped the front Diff out of the H2 on Friday night and it only took me about 1 1/2 hours including cleaning up of tools while laying on my back in the drive way to get it out.

Removal is pretty simple.
1. Remove Skid plates
2. You get a floor jack and put it under the diff cross memeber.
3. unbolt your half shafts from the diff flange
4. Start the truck and turn the wheel all the way to the left. (This moves the centerlink so you can get at the bolt that hold the diff directly to the frame. and allows the bracket to clear as you drop it down).
5. Undo bolt that was discussed in step 4.
6. pull vent line off top of diff.
7. Undo Inner axle tube bolt to frame on passenger side of the truck.
8. Undo the 4 Diff crossmember bolts.
9. Slowly drop your jack to the ground.
10. unbolt U joint from yoke.

Taking apart the diff I just followed the instructions that were posted from the book (Thank you Ed!!!)

When removing the axles with a slide hammer. Odds are you are going to break the ring clips that hold the axles in the diff when you remove them. So go buy a couple before you start. The dealer stocks them and they are like $3 for a pair. Also get new Axle seals and carrier bearings.

Also the directions in the book will tell you to pull the bearing adjusters out. DO NOT DO THIS. Just let them be until you put it back together.

I wired the locker into the power supply wire for the rear locker so that the front locker will be idiot proof like the rear locker. Make sure you drill the hole toward the top of the diff!! It's really easy to make a mistake cause you will be flipping the case all over the place as you work on it. Drill the hole so that the wire runs away from the ring gear.

To do this there is an anti-rotation tab on the magnet. place it in one of the upper webs inside the case half you should have one web spacing between the anti rotation tab and where you want to drill.

Sorry I did not take any pix but it was a VERY MESSY JOB. And my wife would not let me near the camera. I went through a whole box of rubber gloves.

Setting the backlash was actually pretty simple and straight forward. One recommendation is that when you put the diff back together to measure backlash do not seal it yet.
Assemble it with axles out of it. Torque to Spec!
Check your back lash. If it is within spec move to mark your gears.
There is a 3" plastic plug on the side of the diff that you can use to view the ring gear and paint it with marking paint. My pattern showed I needed to bring the backlash tighter. Its damn near impossible to adjust the bearings while the unit is assemebled. So take it apart and make your bearing adjustment then put it together and check again. When you get your pattern right. Check the backlash again to make sure its not too tight.

Ideally you should be able to grab the yoke and hear the pinion clicking back and forth on the ring gear but not be able to actually see the yoke move. When you get the diff out of your truck grab the yoke before you take it apart and you will see what I mean.

Once you get it all set up take it back apart put your sealer on it and torque it back to speck. Then as you rotate the yoke back and forth make sure you leave just a little slack for the wire. The magnet has a little play when going from forward to reverse and you just want enough slack still inside so there is no stress on the wires.

place your inner axle tube back on the diff and seal it the same as you did the whole case. Put in your new axle seals.

Gently tap your axles into the diff with your new ring clips on them.

To be honest with you I did a ton of research before I did this job on my own. And all the directions looked really intimidating. But all in all it really was not so bad.

In fact the hardest part of the whole damn thing was getting the diff back into the truck by myself while laying in the driveway doing it. That took some real magic let me tell you.

Anyway if you are somewhat mechanically inclined and so allot of your own other stuff you can do this its not that hard.

[Easy Ed]

Glad to hear it went well but, ya really gotta get yourself a camera so not to upset the wife and we could have seen pieces parts of the change over

I take pics of everything I work on so I got something to use when putting it back together. Check out the other pics in the Photo Bucket account about the Neon I took apart and put back together again over a few months time frame, wouldn't have made it without the pics

Good job Eric, Ed

[Easy Ed]

Just a FYI, going to pull the pics tonight, Ed

[lx4life]

You still have that download of the front diff instructions?

[scottminor]

Please post pictures and what all of the parts costs.

[HumminNBoatin']

Sorry Scott I did not take any pix. A front E-locker from eaton will run you about $900. The seals and bearings are actually pretty cheap. maybe like $150 for the 4 bearings, seals and retainer clips.