Rubicon front locker

Get an estimate from another dealer. Some charge a lot more than others, esp. on bodywork, transmission and drivetrain repair.

I'm surprised that the actuator is not covered. If you think it should be, set up a face-to-face meeting with the dealer's General Manager and the District Rep. to discuss the problem and see if they will pick up part of the tab. The worst they can do is say no.

I'm surprised too... I'd push a little harder and see what happens.

Kate

That takes the word 'stealership' to a whole new dimension.

I would try to go with a choke cable or an indexed bicycle shifter for the control like they can do on the YJ's...

Mike

Hold on now, I read that again.....

It would appear that your $tealership wants over a grand to fix a dirty connection?????

I would pull the plug on the connection and clean it with contact cleaner and then fill it with dielectric grease and put it back and see what happens. If the pins are too corroded to work with, then I would replace the plug and socket with a generic one.

You could even use WD40 for a cleaner, but real electronic contact cleaner is best.

Mike

Mike Roma>

There is no wiring inside the diff - it is a simple plunger switch that threads into the diff housing from outside.

The actuator is a different story altogether. You need to pull the axles and remove the carrier to replace it.

Before I let them mess with it, I would get a simple hand vacuum device (any parts store) and test the actuator with it. Disconnect the smaller hose attached to the diff - the big one is the vent. Attach the hand vacuum's OUTPUT port and give it a squeeze. Make sure you have air pressure coming out of the hand vacuum. Check to see if it holds pressure. You can raise one tire off the ground, then turn it to see if the locker locks and unlocks when applying air pressure. These lockers are low pressure, so you should only need 5-10 lbs.

If the locker actuates while you turn the tire, your problem is in the pump mounted on the skid plate - not inside the diff.

If you hear a lot of popping and grinding noise, but the locker does not lock the tire, OR the tire continues to spin freely, the problem is inside the diff. Try pushing on the actuator plate with a screwdriver by removing the actuator switch. Pushing in with a small amount of force should lock the axle.

I think the labor hours are high, because the repair does not require removal of the pinion. Removing the pinion is a job that requires extra time and skill. Removing the axles on both sides should take about 45 minutes. The diff needs to be drained. You need to remove the brake calipers, caliper mounting plate, wheel bearing assembly. Sometimes a torch is needed to remove the caliper mounting plate, but none of this is rocket science. You need to remove the tie rod at the driver side steering yoke.

Once the axles are removed, the carrier needs to be removed. A dealership should be able to pop this out in 30 minutes or less. They should have a case spreader to make this go smoothly. The carrier needs to be repaired. This should also take an hour or less.

Carrier needs to be put back in the diff. Bearings need to be checked for proper shims - this should not really change. Care taken to make sure the hole in the actuator plate lines up with the actuator switch so you don't have to do the job twice.

An entire diff carrier with actuator lists for $645. This does not include a ring gear. I don't know if the actuator has a separate part number. It seems impossible that this part would not be covered by the drive train warranty. It is a vital part of the drive train, and it has failed.

In any case I doubt that the labor should take more than four hours with an experienced mechanic that knows what the inside of a diff looks like.

I'd say that the dealership is estimating high by 200 to 300 dollars. This is a big job. If the parts are only $400, that is not bad. If you can find a local axle shop that thinks they can repair your actuator, you might save some money, but you may be looking at $400 in labor plus parts.

Paul Nelson

in article snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com, Don Hamilton at snipped-for-privacy@excite.com wrote on 11/2/06 8:10 PM:

Thanks for the reply!! I got some good news today the dealer I purchased the Rubi from is going to turn it into a warranty they provide for used vehicles and even pay the $100 deductible since it was a pre-sale problem. This dealership is actually a Ford dealership that is going to pay a Jeep dealer for the repairs. The Jeep dealer spent about 2 hours making sure it was the actuator and not the pump. The word they give me is my parts are ordered and repairs will be made on Wed. It will be cool to see what the Rubi can do with all 4 locking. Thanks for all! Don

Hay Mike! Does that bike cable work for shifting the front axel on a YJ? My vac. lines are nasty and will not shift the axel fork. I've heard about i think i here. I'll have to try it. Buy the way it's been in the low 30's here in Mi. And i have yet put the hard top on. Feel to restrictive with it on. Thanks. 87YJ33 46Willy's 50Will's

Later Mike

Yes, the YJ and older Cherokee.

I don't have the link, I think Bill H does.

You should start a fresh thread about it or I will ping Bill in the header on this post.

Mike

I met a fellow with a Rubicon at Camp Jeep this year whose front locker would not engage when if the vehicle was warm. The Jeep enginering team correctly diagnosed it as a bad switch. The switch is not a simple rocker switch. It is on the computer's bus and there are electronics inside the swith itself.

Don's problem sounds different, but I wanted to add a second data point about Rubicon lockers failing to engage.

"L.W.(Bill) Hughes III" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@cox.net:

Sounds like you found an unusually good Ford dealership.

tw