Andystoy19
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I installed the Pinlocker front diff on Aug 18, 2020 and have not put on very many miles since so instead of updating an older thread I thought I would post a new one.
Back in the foothills this fall; driving some cutlines that cross muskegs and pot holes I came to a Muskeg area that I had to cross with grass on top etc. My partners Honda quad at 1/3 the weight went across with no problem and since going back was probably as much of a challenge I decided to try and cross about 20' of untracked muskeg.
In low range and locked up on all four wheels I drove out and immediately felt the front end going down so I increased throttle from about 1/2 to 3/4 and went about 10' when the front end started to rise a bit but I was now close to full throttle. As the front end rose there was a loud pop indicating that something broke but I continued forward and drove through without stopping. I shifted to unlocked front diff and continued driving for the remainder of the trip without noticing much change. A week later I took the SxS to the lake to pull out our Seadoos and small boat etc. and found out that I had no front wheel drive.
Upon dissasembly I pulled the front axles (Demon HD 3085 and 3086) by pulling on the front axle shaft to try and free it from the diff, this resulted in me pulling both front inner splines out of the inner CV. DO NOT PULL ON THE AXLE OF THE HD DOUBLE PLUNGE AXLE. The double plunge axle has two C clips one on the inner spline and one on the CV shaft that slides into the diff. In both cases the wrong C clip released resulting in a stretched boot and no way of reindexing the spline to the CV without cutting the clamp and rotating the axle where you could see both pieces. The left side CV released from the diff when I pulled on the shaft but the right needed some additional assistance. I had to gently pry the CV off by carefully prying against the diff which is not recommended. A modified slide hammer would have worked better. After disassembling the right axle and reindexing the spline I noticed that inner CV would not move freely.
I contacted Demon Axle and they agreed to replace the right axle under warranty so I sent mine back after I received the replacement. Demon found that a ball had fallen out of place but the axle was not broken.
As soon as I started to rotate the front diff to try and take it out the side, broken bolts started falling out of the axle openings so not good news. Upon disassembly I found that the 8 bolts holding the locking ring to the crown gear were sheared, as well as 3 others for a total of 11. With all the broken pieces rotating in the diff there was some damage to the components. The shift collar was gouged pretty badly and since it rides on the recessed hub of the part with the 4 pins it had to be replaced. The 8 metric bolts were sourced at a local nut and bolt place.
I ordered the shift collar and 3 fasteners from SATV, reassembled the front diff and it appears to be working as expected. I haven't had the Defender back out to where I have stressed the front diff yet but I believe that the diff is close to 100%, There was some gouging on the diff case etc. but nothing that needed to be replaced.
The lesson learned is the front diff and HD Demon front axles are pretty close to the same max torque rating. This equates to close to full throttle in LR. No need for me to get into this situation again just to prove otherwise. The first picture shows the damage to the shift collar and the second shows the back of the crown gear where the pinlocker collar bolts to.
Back in the foothills this fall; driving some cutlines that cross muskegs and pot holes I came to a Muskeg area that I had to cross with grass on top etc. My partners Honda quad at 1/3 the weight went across with no problem and since going back was probably as much of a challenge I decided to try and cross about 20' of untracked muskeg.
In low range and locked up on all four wheels I drove out and immediately felt the front end going down so I increased throttle from about 1/2 to 3/4 and went about 10' when the front end started to rise a bit but I was now close to full throttle. As the front end rose there was a loud pop indicating that something broke but I continued forward and drove through without stopping. I shifted to unlocked front diff and continued driving for the remainder of the trip without noticing much change. A week later I took the SxS to the lake to pull out our Seadoos and small boat etc. and found out that I had no front wheel drive.
Upon dissasembly I pulled the front axles (Demon HD 3085 and 3086) by pulling on the front axle shaft to try and free it from the diff, this resulted in me pulling both front inner splines out of the inner CV. DO NOT PULL ON THE AXLE OF THE HD DOUBLE PLUNGE AXLE. The double plunge axle has two C clips one on the inner spline and one on the CV shaft that slides into the diff. In both cases the wrong C clip released resulting in a stretched boot and no way of reindexing the spline to the CV without cutting the clamp and rotating the axle where you could see both pieces. The left side CV released from the diff when I pulled on the shaft but the right needed some additional assistance. I had to gently pry the CV off by carefully prying against the diff which is not recommended. A modified slide hammer would have worked better. After disassembling the right axle and reindexing the spline I noticed that inner CV would not move freely.
I contacted Demon Axle and they agreed to replace the right axle under warranty so I sent mine back after I received the replacement. Demon found that a ball had fallen out of place but the axle was not broken.
As soon as I started to rotate the front diff to try and take it out the side, broken bolts started falling out of the axle openings so not good news. Upon disassembly I found that the 8 bolts holding the locking ring to the crown gear were sheared, as well as 3 others for a total of 11. With all the broken pieces rotating in the diff there was some damage to the components. The shift collar was gouged pretty badly and since it rides on the recessed hub of the part with the 4 pins it had to be replaced. The 8 metric bolts were sourced at a local nut and bolt place.
I ordered the shift collar and 3 fasteners from SATV, reassembled the front diff and it appears to be working as expected. I haven't had the Defender back out to where I have stressed the front diff yet but I believe that the diff is close to 100%, There was some gouging on the diff case etc. but nothing that needed to be replaced.
The lesson learned is the front diff and HD Demon front axles are pretty close to the same max torque rating. This equates to close to full throttle in LR. No need for me to get into this situation again just to prove otherwise. The first picture shows the damage to the shift collar and the second shows the back of the crown gear where the pinlocker collar bolts to.
