Installing powertrax soon, have a few questions.

hoss75 · **Posted:** Sun Jul 10, 2005 4:34 pm

Ok, I decided that the ARB set up is currently out of my budget and went out and bought a Powertrax from 4WD Hardware (they have price matching, so I got them to match Telico 4x4's price of $359 and on top of that they are having a 10% off sale for their Jamboree.. Total price paid was $355 after taxes). Of course, now I have to install this thing.. Is there any information outside of whats in the instructions that would be helpful to me? Thanks in advance

JacksJeep · **Posted:** Sun Jul 10, 2005 4:40 pm

Hey Adam,

Assuming you do not have a trac-loc in the rear, it's just a matter of following the directions. If you do have a trac-loc, then there are two things not covered in the instructions.

hoss75 · **Posted:** Sun Jul 10, 2005 6:47 pm

Fortunately I have an open diff.. From what I've read here, and talking with Nick (KJ04) it's pretty straight forward with the open diff.. just wanted to make sure there weren't any 'trade secrets' to know. BTW Nick, gratz, you were the deciding factor between the powertrax and ARB@

Troysterr · **Posted:** Sun Jul 10, 2005 6:52 pm

JacksJeep wrote:

Assuming you do not have a trac-loc in the rear, it's just a matter of following the directions.

That's mostly true, although I found that there were two places where the instructions were wrong. I did a write-up on the other board a while back, but, ezBoard being what it is, I can't seem to find it.

Since I can't remember exactly what the inaccuracies were, all I can say is that you should be aware that there are a couple of errors, so if you come to a point where you think the instructions just can't be right, don't be afraid to do it the way it makes the most sense to you.

My only other comment is that this is a job that takes 3 hours to do the first time, but could easily be done in an hour the second time. So, if you can find someone who has done it once and is willing to help you (or at least stand behind you while you do it), you'll be way better off.

KJ04 · **Posted:** Sun Jul 10, 2005 6:59 pm

Adam,
how was I the deciding factor? If anything, cost would be a deciding factor to me.

hoss75 · **Posted:** Sun Jul 10, 2005 8:32 pm

Nick, you let me drive your KJ the day we did my lift,.. The main reason I was considering the ARB set up was on-road performance.. When I drove your KJ I honestly could not tell the Powertrax was there, even doing figure 8s in that parking lot by my house.. so there ya have it

I have a couple of specific question after reading the directions

.. Step 8 in the directions say "push both axles inward.. Note: It may be neccesary to remove wheel and disc brake calipers" Have most people on here had to remove the disc brake calipers? And do I need 2 other people to help out by pushing the axles in?

.. Step 12 mentions applying 'wheel bearing greese' . Do I go to Autozone and actually look for something called Wheel Bearing Grease?

.. Steps 24 and 28 both mention wedging both drivers in engagement with couplers (before spinning drivers side wheel to reveal spring opening).. How are people wedging the drivers into engagement?

skrracing · **Posted:** Sun Jul 10, 2005 8:42 pm

DO NOT REMOVE THE REAR CAPS FROM THE CARRIER.
be sure that you understand which parts are which and what side they go on
be sure that you have the teeth (or gears) lined up right
there is one way all the parts are indexed together and just be sure you know how it works
you can put the parts together to see how they line up
use a marker to mark them lined up when you under stand how they need to line up... this will really help when installing them in the rear end
Keep in mind the right side ( the slotted side) will be installed 180 from the drivers side...so the mark will need to be 180 from the drivers side. have a buddy to help if possible to help move the axles in and out as needed.

BE SURE THE C-CLIPS FIT THE PARTS THEY FIT INTO... the cheap c-clips are just shear cut and they dod not fit all the parts they fit into. If they do not fit then use a hand file or small grinder to grind around the outer rim to make the dia small enough so that they fit right. Hope this helps. later...Clint

hoss75 · **Posted:** Sun Jul 10, 2005 11:30 pm

Thanks for the tips Clint.. stuff like the Marker idea is exactly what I was looking for. I've allready assembled the unit on my workbench so I could see how it all fit together.. I just need to go put the tick marks on it now.

hoss75 · **Posted:** Mon Jul 11, 2005 3:49 pm

I think I may have found the error you were talking about Troy.. in the directions, when you are first putting in the drivers and spacers, it says that the paddle should be facing toward you in the directions when inserting the ring gear side, but in order to make it match the picture it would have to be facing towards you and vice versa for the passenger side driver... if you put the paddle away from you on the drivers (ring gear) side that puts the standoffs on the coupler towards the outside of the carrier.. I'm guessing that if you put it in that way that you will not then be able to fit the other (passenger side) coupler into the carrier, as the stand-offs cannot slide into the slots on the opposite coupler.. is this what the error in the directions is?

CarNutCertifies · **Posted:** Mon Jul 11, 2005 6:29 pm

how do i find out if i have trac loc?

02LIBRT · **Posted:** Mon Jul 11, 2005 6:47 pm

Adam,
You are correct. That is an error in the instructions.

:!:

When you remve the cover from the diff, you will see 2 bolts on either side of the carrier. These are the bolts for the caps - DO NOT REMOVE THEM, as Clint said, well unless you have a couple hundred bucks laying around and feel like calling a flatbed to tow it to the local rearend place to have them set the lash... :!:

If you have problems, take a break and post here. It will save you time in the long run. If you have a camera you could also post a photo or two to allow us to 'see' what you mean. Of course this applies to anyone installing a locker.

Later,
J

02LIBRT · **Posted:** Mon Jul 11, 2005 6:50 pm

CarNutCertifies wrote:

how do i find out if i have trac loc?

'

Good question. There is a green tag around the right side of the rear axle. It indicates the gearing and diff configuration - If you have Track-Loc it will be indicated there.

Later,
J

skrracing · **Posted:** Mon Jul 11, 2005 7:10 pm

hey man how soon before you do the install of the porwetrac. Steve (camper) is working on a detailed install of the Powertrac but it will take him just a bit before that is done. Maybe Steve can post and let us know who long it might take to do that. Or you might also drop him an email. He is a great guy to do this write up and he is very detailed with his write ups so I know it will be good. He is going to post pictures with it as well. Hope this might help. Later...Clint

Troysterr · **Posted:** Mon Jul 11, 2005 7:27 pm

hoss75 wrote:

I think I may have found the error you were talking about Troy...

Yes, like "J" said, I believe that's one of the two errors. The other one is similar, a few pages later. (Basically they say something should be toward you when it should be away from you, or vice versa.)

hoss75 · **Posted:** Mon Jul 11, 2005 7:59 pm

skrracing wrote:

hey man how soon before you do the install of the porwetrac. Steve (camper) is working on a detailed install of the Powertrac but it will take him just a bit before that is done. Maybe Steve can post and let us know who long it might take to do that. Or you might also drop him an email. He is a great guy to do this write up and he is very detailed with his write ups so I know it will be good. He is going to post pictures with it as well. Hope this might help. Later...Clint

To late, everything's all torne apart as we speak.. was just checking in to see if my questions had been answered.. the main one I'm still wondering is how people are wedging the two halves together toward the end.... wasn't Steve's diff a trac-loc? I'll take pics for the open diff version.. I'm not all that good at doing write-ups, though I can give it a whirl if the club would like.

skrracing · **Posted:** Mon Jul 11, 2005 8:03 pm

Thanks man but just FYI we have it in process at this time. If you would still like to do it but Camper is getting it done as we speak. Later...Clint

Troysterr · **Posted:** Mon Jul 11, 2005 9:21 pm

hoss75 wrote:

the main one I'm still wondering is how people are wedging the two halves together toward the end....

I used a big screwdriver and gently pried them apart.

hoss75 · **Posted:** Mon Jul 11, 2005 10:46 pm

Woohoo.. success! I'm soo glad I didn't pay someone to do that for me, it was as easy as everyone says.. Ya just have to follow the instructions word for word (except for the parts that are wrong LOL) Only thing I'm worried about is that liquid gasket leaking.. do they make an actual gasket for the 8.25?

I took it for a spin and did some figure 8's.. when first starting a turn in the opposite direction there is a clank.. however the directions do say there is about a 50 mile break-in period, so I'm hoping it will go away.

It's definetely locking the rear.. I have yet to poor a skirt for my garage entrance, so there's about a 2 inch lip going into it.. before the powertrax was in, we had to get a bit of momentum going to get into the garage, or we'd get stuck on the lip and spin the rear wheel.. when I was coming back from my little driving test I purposely stopped right on the lip and then proceded forward with no slipping at all! How's that for scientific testing? LOL

skrracing · **Posted:** Mon Jul 11, 2005 11:01 pm

Cool beans man. later...clint

hoss75 · **Posted:** Tue Jul 12, 2005 3:35 pm

I just thought of a question... When we talk about gear ratios (4.10, etc) which gears are the ones in question? Seeing as how I changed all but two of them in the axle, I'm guessing it's the ratio between those two (Ring gear and spindle [I think that's what it was called] gear).. is that correct?

Installing powertrax soon, have a few questions.

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