Just recently bought a '17 rubicon recon. 3.5" lift and 35s is all that has been done to it. Had it on the trails over the weekend and the front locker would not disengage. Trailered it home, got the front diff cover off and was able to manually unlock it. I took everything apart and have the locker on my workbench. I can manually pull the ring all the way over and can see that it is fully engaged and then the spring pushes it back disengaged. It does all that with no resistance other than the spring pushing against it.


Here is the part that I can't figure out. Hit it with 12v and it engages but sticks engaged. I can pull it back to disengaged and again can freely push it in and out but as soon as it is energized again it sticks.


I don't know if it something in the locker that is sticking or if it is the actuator that is sticking once voltage is put to it


Any insight is appreciated, thanks.

 

Y, this is a pretty common thing with the rubi lockers. The most common thing back in the day was the locker NOT locking and needing the actuator replaced, which they finally started selling as a separate part. I've had a rear rubi locker do exactly what you are seeing, it would engage but not disengage. It got worse progressively over time. started out by having to drive a few feet before it would disengage. that then turned into 50 feet, which then turned into further distance and having to back up, forward, back up, forward again and it would disengage. It finally just stuck on me during a trip in Moab. What a pain in the rear end. When I got home from that trip I pulled it out and had it working flawlessly on the bench. 12v to it would engage, kill the power and it would disengage just fine....over and over and over. reinstalled it and nope, stuck engaged. idk if the wave spring just wore to the point conditions had to be completely ideal or what, but I was tired of jacking with it and I had a friend who gave me his old locker which I installed.

The wave spring is not replaceable, and replacing the actuator itself on a lark, which is the only replaceable part, just isn't worthwhile IMO. Those rubi lockers were just good enough for a factory rubi. Others may or may not agree with that, but the factory lockers have a lot of issues over the years.

 

With the actuator off the locker the ring that pushes out and gets stuck out when energized. I don't know if it relies on the wave spring to push it back in or not but it does take a little bit of force to push it back in. When pushing it back in you can feel it give from what seems to be it sticking. Hopefully replacing the actuator fixes it because a new one will be here tomorrow, lol.

 

The actuator only pushes the ring over when magnetized. when the power is cut, the wave spring pushes the ring back to the right.

if you have not seen it, ronjenx did a great right up on how these worked years ago and dissected one.

https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/stoc...-study-263666/

I do not think replacing the actuator is gonna do anything personally. IMO, at the point of dealing with it or replacing a locker. At least you're dealing with the front. In the rear the dilemma is there are no aftermarket 32-spline lockers out there....and most people are already running upgraded axle shafts....so that means new locker AND new shafts. either that, or put the same replacement junk locker in that has failed plenty over the life of the JK. I hope you're able to get it ironed out, but I am skeptical.