WHAT DIFFERENTIAL ARE YOU RUNNING DO YOU HAVE ANY ISSUES !

[Darcy]

Just wanted to start a thread on lockers wether its e-lockers , air lockers , or mechanical

- curious on past issues , how your supplier dealt with warranty issues , performance and durability !!!



- I had recently bought 2 electric lockers auburn ected e-lockers for my hummer H1

ar first I thougth it was a great idea but regretting it now

I am a licensed mechanic so its a no brainer how to install a differential my first expereience was the front stayed on and did not release with no power even to the locker causing my truck to jump around , me being cautious I removed the diff and sent it back so thats 5 hrs of labour down the toilet LOL!!



So made my trip to indianna with only one locker and a diff from a newer hummer to get by till the locker under warranty returned to me

since then I have a couple trips offroad one to swift falls and farting around cambridge maybe 5000km on the rear locker was in perterborough not even wheeling

than BOOOOOOOOOM !!! on the highway doing 110kmh almost sent in the ditch after another inconvinience and a 500$ dollar tow bill , now Im pissed

so another 2 hrs removing differential it also got sent back I scoped it out first and noticed it exploded inside



I guess Im doing this thread not just because im bitter about this situation but to give some awareness on the quality of some products

It doesnt matter what you have under the hood these trucks are hummers !!!! parts should last rigth !! there built with a range of power plants 350 gas , 6.5 td and the alpha has the most JAM with a duramax !!



-BOTTOM LINE I dont recomend auburn e lockers im going with a detroit rear now and since they wont let me return the other diff and get my money back its probly just gonna blow up again and i will send it in once again for warranty



- Im gonna end up putting the T1's back in after that anyways

Everybody take care HEAVY DE !!!

heres some pics

[Darcy]

HERES A LINK FROM FLASH OFFROAD SAME ISSUE I HAD WITH PIN BREAKING !!!!





The long story.

Left home late Thursday morning going west to IA to visit the relatives. I was on Highway 34 between Galesburg and Monmouth about 150 miles into the trip. Everything was running well. The tires seems to be running smooth and the engine was purring like the 400 CI engine it is. It was a smooth 4 lane road. I heard a thump that didn't sound good and I asked my daughter if I ran over something. She said, we hit a bump... About a minute later I heard it again and this time I knew it wasn't a bump. I tapped the brakes to disable the cruise control and let is slow down but things just didn't sound right. I could hear something unusual so I pulled onto the shoulder.

I got out and looked under the truck to make sure the drive shafts were there and connected since I have had drive shaft problems before. Both drive shafts were there and connected and all 4 half shafts looked ok. I got back in the truck and put it in drive. Truck would not move and I heard a whirling noise. I thought oh shit, the tranny is out again... I pulled the E brake and put the truck back in drive. I looked under the truck and the front drive shaft was spinning but the front wheels were not. This implied that the front diff was not working. I put the transfer case in High Lock and low and behold, the truck would move. (now being powered by the rear diff only). I got back on the road and only to hear more noises which concerned me greatly that I was going to leave pieces of my drive train all over the road. Now I figure the front diff is toast already but I really don't want it to lock up and take out the transfer case.

I am about 7 miles from the next town. I turned on the emergency flashers and drove the shoulder for into Monmouth and found a parking lot. I got on the phone and made come calls. I managed to contact scot who installed the locker in the diff. He told me that it sounded like the auburn locker came apart inside the diff housing. He told me to pull the cover off and clean out the loose parts and remove the front drive shaft. He also told me that he had a batch of defective auburn lockers about a year ago that were not assembled well that did exactly what mine did. Well guess what, mine was put together about a year ago and sat under the workbench waiting for me to install it. I think there is a lesson in there!

I talked to some locals and they tell me there are two car dealers in town. One is right across the street. I figure I might be able to get some help so I drive over there. The guys are sympathetic but say they cannot help. I manage to persuade them to let me work on the truck in the parking lot but they really don't want me there for liability reasons.

I borrowed a oil drain pan and drained the front diff and I started removing the inspection cover only to discovered the bolts are very tight. A couple were so tight that I broke a socket removing them. I tried borrowing some tools from the garage and that helped and I managed to get all the bolts out except one. I am about 50 miles from my brothers house so I called him up and asked him to bring me a propane torch and some specific tools. While I was waiting for him, I dropped the under carriage protection and removed the front drive shaft. A can of WD40 would have been very useful about now. I lubed the rusty bolts with oil I drained from the diff and reinstalled the under carriage protection. By now my brother had arrived so I tossed the drive shaft and some other parts in the back of his truck. Sadly he did not bring the torch and I was tired and frustrated so I drove a screw driver between the diff cover and the diff housing and pried the cover open enough to get my hand inside. I pulled out 2 gears, some funny washers and a broken shaft. I managed to run my finger into the broken shaft and impale it and draw some blood. I rotated the input shaft and things seemed to turn without making too many odd noises so I bolted the diff cover down.

Since the front brakes mount on the diff I needed to leave the half shafts and the output shafts on the diff to support the rotors. We put in 2 quarts of gear lube and decided it was the best we could do.

We cleaned up our mess and got on the road. I drove to my mom's house without incident. The next day I drove to my bothers house to collect the parts we put in his truck. After leaving there the clutch's in the diff started chattering really bad on turns. I figured this was because I didn't install friction modifier. I stopped at auto zone and picked up some friction modifier and put it in in the parking lot. It helped some but not totally. I managed to drive the truck friday and saturday with out too much problem.

Next day I drove home non-stop. I cruised at 58 MPH all the way back and I didn't want to subject the front diff to faster speeds for fear that it would puke up some more parts. We made it home without incident but the diff was extremely unhappy in corners again.

The diff is being covered by warranty but it will take 2 months for that to come through once I send the diff back Now I have to reinstall my old diff.

When I sent the diff back I found out that when the auburn comes apart, there is no connection between the input and output shafts. What I thought was clutch chattering in the the corners was actually the brake rotors rubbing and heating up in some irregular fashion.

Both brake rotors turned blue and warped pretty bad so I am scraping them. I figure that since the center of the locker and the spider gears fell out, the output shafts are allowed to move in and out which allows the brake rotors to rub the pads.

From what I observed, there is no need to remove the broken parts inside the diff as long as you remove the drive shaft. Once the drive shaft is removed the ring and pinion do not rotate and the parts will sit in the bottom of the diff

[dwaxman1]

Holy crap Darcy.....this is why I love Brake Throttle modulation! Just buy extra brake pads....



seriously.. sorry to hear this Darcy..this really sucks...I hope the vendor will look after you



and where are those photos??

[T.C.]

OUCHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH <img src='http://www.canadianhummerclub.com/forum ... /blink.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':blink:' />



ARB LOCKER FRONT AND EATON BACK...NO ISSUE AT THIS TIME

[dwaxman1]

what did you have installed in the back before Tony??

[normsadler]

Eww that sucks Darcy, sorry to hear that. In our H2 we are running the stock elocker in the rear, and TC hooked us up with an ARB air locker up front. So far everything is working great ... but I have been taking things pretty easy so far. Hoping it keeps on working for years to come.

[dwaxman1]

[quote name='Tanky' timestamp='1315010584' post='29972']

Eww that sucks Darcy, sorry to hear that. In our H2 we are running the stock elocker in the rear, and TC hooked us up with an ARB air locker up front. So far everything is working great ... but I have been taking things pretty easy so far. Hoping it keeps on working for years to come.

[/quote]



I believe the stock H2 E-locker is a solid, strong one, I have never heard of any issues with it.. but maybe some of the other guys could comment, I know ours is solid!

[Hesh]

The options suck, especially if you daily. ARB does make an excellent locker, but unfortunately, when not engaged, is an open diff, which sucks.



The detroit, is/can be way too aggressive for winter/ice driving, and will engage sometimes while lane changing on ice making for ditch-avoidance maneuvers at sometimes high speeds.



The Eatons are beyond ridiculously expensive, and not worth it in my opinion.





Auburn is nice, but if youve had reliability issues, then I can understand your problems in using one again, but Ive had one in my truck (in the rear) and LOVE it thus far, and its very streetable. I also like their exchange program if you do have warranty issues. Sure you'll have down time, but one has to expect that our trucks will, at times, cost us some down time given how unique they are. Its par for the course when driving a vehicle that stands out as much as it does, and is hand assembled. Considering what I can throw at my truck, and what it is capable of, the downtime doesnt really bother me outside of me missing the enjoyment of being behind the wheel. I dont know if I would exclusively own one of these trucks as my one and only daily driver with no backup plan vehicle.





Good luck in your search for a new locker dude!

[3dinnovations]

I currently have to really on the TT4 in my 99 H1 and lately the ABS and TT4 light come on intermittently. So basically, I'm looking into buying ARB front and back. Does anyone think this is a bad idea? If yes, why?



Thanks for your help guys!



Cheers,

Scott

[Hesh]

Like I said, the ARB, while engaged, is an excellent unit, however for most, if not 99.9% who daily or dont own a trail-only H1, theyre more-often-than-not unlocked, and thus dealing with open diffs, which isnt something Id wanna be doing, personally. That was another thing about the Auburns that sold me, was that they were limited slip when unlocked, as opposed to open, and being selectable, they were more road-tame.