Ok, long story. Over a month ago I got 5.13's and a lockright auto locker in the frt. No noises the first day. Second day weird noises like dry bearings . Take it back to the shop that did the install. They only jacked up the rear cause that's where they thought the prob was. Nothing they could find wrong. Drive home , same noise after 30mph and up. Pulled the frt DS and no more noise. Ahh , it's the DS. Send je reel the frt ds back, they send me a new one. Same noise. Bring the dealership beer and pizza and tell them I think it's the TF case, tech drives it and agrees. They order new bearings, seals, and chain. Install and noise is still there. Tech told me he thinks it's because of the frt locker causing a stress on the chain in the TF case because of the clearence an auto locker has and it's putting a stress through the DS on the TF case chain. Note: it makes no noise in 4wd at low speeds or 2wd either. I've discussed this before with members, do yall think it may be the castor angle affecting the DS to make this noise. Seems like if it was stressing the tf case chain , it would do it all the time. I pick it up tomorrow, gonna try going from 6 degrees to 7. Also as a side note. After I pulled the frt ds and drove it around a couple weeks, I noticed a slight clunk in the rear. My rear lowers were not tourqued to 125. Tightened them, no clunk. When changing out gears, do they drop the whol axle? If so , this may have changed my frt also, have adj lower arms in frt. I did not have this noise until my second day after regear. See4ms like I woulda had the noise the first day. I welcome any and all feedback, don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight. My jk has been at the dealer for a month almost.

 

Bump, hello, anybody? I know there are some mechanics out there.

 

Dammit, 23 looks and no replies, Redneck , where are you? I need help.

 

maybe David can help you out or Mel

man that sucks so long without jeep

Good Luck

 

You've got a pretty esoteric problem that not many of us have dealt with so that's why so few responses. Vey few people put an auto locker in the front, and I think for good reason.

At any rate, what little I can contribute concerns you plan to go from 6 degrees of caster to 7. That could only make things worse. The JE Reel driveshaft, and any CV driveshaft for that matter, wants the pinion to point pretty much straight up at the upper CV U-joints. I had my caster set at 6 with the stock DS and liked the way it handled. When I put my aftermarket CV DS on it was too rough. I backed my caster dowwn to 4-4.5 degrees and that made it acceptably smooth. Most aftermarket D60's are built with about 5 degrees of caster WITH the pinion pointing up to the TC so you can have good caster and a smooth running driveshaft. In their infinite stupidity Jeep "blessed" us with the Rzeppa DS which requires a drasticlly differnt pinion angle.

 

Thanks chuck.

 

Update: Changed castor, no difference in the noise, so the cv joint is not it. Called the shop that did the gear and locker install , they're closed till Monday. AAARRGGGGH! I'm gonna pull the DS again so at least I can drive it and put my castor back to where it was. That frt auto locker is gonna have to come out. I've eliminated everything else.

 

I left both my front and rear axles in the vehicle to re-gear in my garage...and thats on jack stands ....so, no they don't have to take them out. Probably a hell of alot easier with them out though...just check with the shop that did the install when you can.
Nope...not necessarily...the noise can show up days afterwards...once things start breaking in and loosening up adjustments can get outta wack...maybe not enough carrier preload or pinion preload, loosens up and now your backlash is messed up, or pinion depth...not saying this is def what happened..but I'd be looking at everything
If you were willing, you could check this by draining her and pulling the cover...have a look at the condition of the gear teeth, how much metal shavings on the drain plug...if you've got the driveshaft off see if theres any play in the pinion bearings, try and rotate the flange...it should be stiff with some resistence...but not hard to turn....rock the ring gear back and forth with your finger, without the pinion moving you should be able to feel and hear the tooth contact but not really see the ring gear moving.
With a dial indicator and an inch pound torque wrench you could be a heck of alot more accurate checking this stuff, but quick checks like that can show major problems...
If not...then maybe they set your auto locker up wrong? I have no experience with these however....

 

Thanks BlackNorthernJK, The guys at the dealer( the tranny gut is well versed in lockers & such) Explained to me that the frt locker was causing a rocking type of tension on the TF case chain through the DS, hence the chain/bearing type noise I was getting from the TF case. He said unless I wanna be replacing chains often , to get locking hubs, get a selectable locker or take the auto locker out. Actually I'd love locking hubs, but they're mucho denero. I'm gonna just pull the DS and bring it back to the shop that installed it and go from there. If it's gonna F'up my TF case, I want it out. I know not many on here have auto lockers on the JK, now I know why.

 

Damn, I don't like auto lockers because of the way they handle. Screwing up your TC is a second major reason to avoid them.