I called the Richmond Gear tech support this morning and told them my problem he explained that if I got new thrust washers then that should solve the problem, he then said that if the new thrust washers didn't fix the problem that I could just add another one to the side that's off. He said that as long as I could slide the cross shaft in and it was snug then there would be no problems. I then explained that I had got some feedback that it was the flats that were machined into the cross shaft that lined up with exactly with the spacer in the driver causing the clearance issues and the tech guys' reply was "yeah apparently this is a pretty common problem with the Dana 30..." I don't know, but if there is a possibility that there could have a pretty common problem with your product that would cause it to malfuntion you would think that they would add their cross shaft to the locker and charge $20 more bucks for it instead of having customers install their product, find out it doesn't work like it should, buy their upgraded shaft, un-install the unit, and re-install with the upgraded unit. Either way I ordered the upgraded cross shaft from 4wd.com (only side that had it instock and not 10+ days to ship) and it is completely solid with no machined spots for $33 bucks shipped to CA and it should be here by Tuesday. I called the dealer for new thrust washers and they wanted $25 bucks each... needless to say I'm going to the local diff shop and see if I can pick some up, probably for significantly less $$$$. I'll keep you updated with how this ordeal pans out.

Thanks again,
Fred R.

Thanks for the update. It's always nice to get the whole story however long it takes. Good luck! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

Well I had the day off from work so I decided to go ahead and put in the new pinion shaft, thrust washers and springs today in the front locker. I was trying to figure out what exact component was causing this erratic behavior so first I replaced the pinion shaft and left the weak springs and the old trust washer on the locker. That made a bit of a differance but it was still clunking. So I went ahead and removed the locker replaced the old trust washers and replaced the springs with the longer stronger ones I had and drove it on 4wd full time (I have a 242) up and down the driveway (the nearest wheeling spot is about 50-60 miles away), and it was way better than before BUT I was still getting some intermittent clunking. I tried putting one of the old thrust washers on top of the new thrust washer (the tech guy at richmond said I could do that) but then I couldn't get the pinion shaft in, I hammered hard enough but I didn't want to damage anything. The teeth on the locker aren't damaged in any way so I know it wasn't that. Frustrated I then called the gearshop that I got the thrust washers from and asked about getting a new carrier since that is the only thing that hasn't been replaced out front and the guy said that all he needed to do was to swap over the ring gear to the new carrier and that that was it. I asked if he needed to reset the ring and pinion and he said no, he said that as long as I kept the original bearing cups & caps and kept them on their original sides that I was going to be ok. What the heck??? Is this guy for real? He has done a rear re-gear for me on my other truck about a year ago and the truck is still running fine so he does good work but is this true about the front dana 30? By the way he wants $65 for a new carrier and bearings and to swap over the ring-gear. I'm very close to just calling it quits on this thing and just putting the spider gears back in. Tearing down a D30 three times now is NO fun.

Fred R.

On a part time front end I would be willing to take a chance although I would check the back lash before deciding to close up the diff and drive it much. On a full time diff I would be prepared to have to make some adjustments and get it right. You might end up with a bad front end AND a noisy locker. On the other hand, I wouldn't have put a lunchbox locker in the front of a Jeep with no axle disconnects and a 242 to begin with. I think even the locker makers advise against automatic lockers in a full time 4wd vehicle. But when you go straight down the road(even in a full time /part time 4wd Jeep) the locker does nothing and can't make any noise unless one axle is turning faster than the other. Are you sure the clunking is coming from the front diff and not the T-case? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

Yeah I figured if I were to swap out the carrier without getting it adjusted that it might mess up my front end. I wonder why he would say that it would be no problem... The NP242 case in my jeep has the options of 2wd full time, 4wd part time, 4wd full time, neutral & 4wd Low part time. I think it's the NP249 case found in V8 Grand Cherokees that you are referring to that are 4WD/All Wheel Drive. I have used 4wd full time 1 time on the street back when I first bought the truck to make sure it worked, and always run it in 2wd full time when I'm on the steet so it would be like running a locker in the front with a NP231 case set on 2wd out of say a YJ, TJ or XJ. The locker doesn't make any noise when I'm running in 2WD full time and I don't even notice that it's there, it is only when torque is applied from the t-case when I put it in any 4wd mode that the popping and clunking start. I run all my tires at 30PSI and check them at least once a week, and my t-case has been working fine. I have a friend that his NP242 died on him after he locked the rear only, but when it did the case made grinding noises and he had no forward or backwards movement, it was like the case was in neutral and would grind when he gave it gas in any of the case's selections. I think it ended up being that his range fork broke in the case.

Fred R.

Howdy Fred
It is entirely possible to take a R&P and carrier out and put new bearings or whatever and reinstall zackly as taken out. I have had to do this several times without problems.
One just has to make sure to reinstall everything like it came out.
If it doesn't make gear noise when you take it out it should not when back together. Even the squeeze thingy on the pinion can be reinstalled with not quite enough torque to squeeze it more than it was. Though this is not advised by many. I have never had any problems from reinstalling them.
I'm wondering just what could be a problem with your carrier... I have seen them toasted but not noisy with no obvious failures.
Big Jim <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/pfft.gif" alt="" />

Yeah Fred, I'm familiar with the 242 and the 248/249. I may be putting a 242 in my Cherokee if I can find a front end with the right gear ratio for cheap. Anyway, I agree with BJ, if you were just changing bearings, no problem, I've done it with good results. I've even changed gears, added new bearings and used the same shims with good results but I used the same carrier. I also made sure the customer understood it was a no guarantee job. Three years later he remains satisfied with the results. You may well have no problems if you let the guy change the carrier. Good luck! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />