Keep up with all our scheduled events here

What You Need
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
• Aussie Locker - Part#XD-13027
• 2 - Bottles of 80W-90 Gear Oil
• Axle Grease
• 1/2" (12 Point), 5/8" and 11/16" Sockets
• Ratchet
• Torque Wrench
• Breaker Bar
• Standard and 3 lb. Hammer
• Flat Chisel
• Pry Bar
• Punch
• Bench Vice
• Vice-Grips
• Floor Jack
• Jack Stands
• Wheel Chocks
• Zip Ties
• PB Blaster
• Oil Drain Pan
• Gasket Scraper
• Hi-Temp RTV
• 1 Gallon Milk Jug

Installation
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Open your Aussie Locker box and verify that you have all the parts indicated on the parts list. Also make sure that you have all the supplies listed above before you start anything. Then, park your Jeep on a level surface, engage your parking brake, chock your wheels, crack loose your lug nuts (but do not remove at this time), jack up your front axle one side at a time and then rest it on jack stands so that your tires are clear of the ground.

2. Remove your front wheels and place them underneath your frame rails for added protection should your Jeep fall off the jack stands.

3. Place an oil catch pan underneath your differential and then remove the fill bolt on the differential cover using the square drive head of a 3/8" ratchet. Next, remove all but one (top one - just leave loose) of the bolts securing your differential cover using a 1/2" socket.

4. Place a flat chisel between the differential and cover and then carefully tap it with a hammer until the cover separates just a bit. Slowly pry open the cover and let your gear oil drain into the catch pan. Remove the last bolt on top and set your differential cover aside for now.

5. Thoroughly clean out the internal components of your differential using brake cleaner and a clean rag or paper towels. Pour your gear oil into a 1-Gallon Milk Jug and be sure to take it to your local auto parts store for recycling.

6. Remove the 2 bolts securing your disc brake calipers using a 1/2" socket. Then, pull off the entire caliper and zip tie it on top of your control arm so that it doesn't fall.

7. Now, if you look at the back of the spindle, you should see a total of 3 bolts (1 up front and 2 behind) that have a 12 pointed head. Remove these bolts using a 12 point 1/2" socket. Some PB Blaster and a breaker bar may be required to do this.

8. Carefully pull your axles out about 6". You do not need to completely remove them for this installation.

9. Okay, back to your differential. Remove the bearing caps securing your carrier in the differential using a 5/8" socket. Please pay attention and make note as to where each of the bearing caps goes and in what orientation they need to be in.

10. Using the differential housing as leverage, place a pry bar between it and the carrier inside and then carefully tap it loose using a 3 lb. hammer. You just want it out enough that you can remove it by hand and not let it drop to the ground.

11. Clean up your carrier the best you can of gear oil using brake cleaner and a clean rag or paper towels. Place the carrier on a clean work bench and mark it and the ring gear so that you know where to put things back.

12. Place the carrier into a bench vice with the ring gear bolts facing up and proceed to remove these bolts using an 11/16" socket. Remove the carrier from the bench vice and remove the ring gear from it. Some effort may be required but you should be able to do this by hand.

13. Set your carrier back on your work bench with the larger disc end up. If you look carefully, you should see a small hole that has a rolling pin inside securing the pinion shaft in place. Take hammer and punch and tap out this pin.

14. With the rolling pin out, you should be able to remove the pinion shaft and subsequent spider gears with ease. If the pinion shaft sticks, a couple of light taps of a hammer and punch should knock it free.

15. The pinion shaft and thrust washers will need to be reused so be sure to clean them up and check them for wear or damage. Set aside all the other spider gears, you will not be needing them.

16. Gather up all the Aussie Locker components, the pinion shaft and thrust washers and apply axle grease to them. The grease will help to keep everything together like glue as you assemble them together and into your carrier.

NOTE: Please refer to the diagram above before continuing so that you have an understanding of what is what.

17. With all your components greased, slip a thrust washer onto each of the Aussie Locker axle gear and insert them into the appropriate location of your carrier. Driver side thrust washer on the driver side and passenger side on the passenger side.

18. Now, if you look at your Aussie Locker cam gears, you should see 4 holes on the smooth side of each. 2 will be shallow and fully enclosed and the other 2 will be deep and partially open on the side of the gear. Insert a pin (with the stepped end facing into the holes) into each of the deeper and partially open holes on both cam gears. Once in, the pins should sit relatively flush to the surface of the cam gear.

19. Insert the Aussie Locker spacers into each of the cam gears (make sure that the flat sides will be facing each other once assembled) and then install them onto the axle gears (teeth to teeth) one at a time inside your carrier.

20. Once inside your carrier, rotate the Aussie Locker components so that the pinion shaft hole lines up. Then, slip the pins you installed earlier down into the holes on the opposite side cam gear. Using a small screwdriver, install a spring onto each of the pins as shown in the pic to the left. The step on the top of the pin and the recessed hole on the cam gear will hold the springs securely in place.

21. Slide your pinion shaft back through the carrier and Aussie Locker and secure it into place with the rolling pin you removed earlier.

22. Reinstall your ring gear onto the carrier being mindful that the marks you drew on it earlier line up. Then, place your carrier back into your bench vice and reinstall the ring gear bolts in a star pattern. Torque these bolts to 80 ft. lbs., again in a star pattern.

23. Clean up your carrier and Aussie Locker one last time using brake cleaner making sure it is free of debris or metal pieces and then carefully reinstall it back into your differential housing. Make sure your bearing caps go back on the way they came out and torque the bolts to 45 ft. lbs.

24. Carefully slide your axle shafts back in, bolt them into place and then torque the 3 bolts down to 75 ft. lbs. Just to make sure everything has been installed correctly, go to one side of your axle and rotate your hub by hand. You should see that the opposite side is now rotating too.

25. Cut the zip ties holding your disc brake calipers, reinstall them and torque the caliper bolts to 11 ft. lbs.

26. Back to your differential, cover up your carrier and newly installed Aussie Locker with some paper towels and then proceed to thoroughly clean the RTV off your differential housing and cover using a gasket scraper. Do a good job here or else you will end up doing it again.

27. Once cleaned, remove the paper towels out of your differential, clean up any gasket debris and then prep the mating surface of it and the cover by spraying and then wiping them down thoroughly with brake or carb cleaner.

28. Apply a continuous 1/4" bead of RTV along the mating surface of the differential cover as shown in the diagram to the right and then, carefully place it onto your differential making sure not to move it around too much. Fasten the bolts in a criss cross pattern to 30 ft. lbs. of torque. It is very important that you do NOT over torque your bolts and installation of the cover should be done within a 5 minute after applying the RTV.

29. Now, fill up your differential with the appropriate gear oil recommended for your axle. I have a Dana44 rear end with a Trac-Loc which requires a special friction modifier to work properly. Most synthetic gear oils like Valvoline make already have it mixed in. Using a cheap bottle pump ($2 at PepBoys) will make it a lot easier to do this task. Keep filling your differential until gear oil starts to ooze out of the fill hole and then re-install the fill bolt to 25 ft. lbs. of torque.

30. Reinstall your wheels, jack up one side of your jeep and remove one jack stand so that one wheel is still up in the air. Go to this wheel and rotate it by hand. If you installed everything correctly, it should rotate freely. Do not be alarmed if you here a ratcheting or clicking while the tire rotates. This is normal for an autolocker and will be virtually transparent on the road.

31. Remove your last jack stand, torque your lug nuts to 95 ft. lbs., remove your wheel chocks and then take your Jeep out for a spin.

That should be it! You are now locked up and ready to take trails you would have never dreamed of and on your own power. Don't forget to take your gear oil into your local auto parts store be recycled and not dump it in the trash or worse. Please let me know if you have any questions.