Auburn ECTED

[Bent Bolt]

Has anyone had any experience or opinions on the Auburn ECTED diff ??? I am considering it for the front D35.




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[Hahnsb2]

No personal experience but I've heard from several people they will slip/unlock under enough load. I think of the of them was PatoV6.

[patov6]

Simple: Stay away from ECTED. Go ARB.
Nothing more to say... ;)
Regards,
PatoV6

[Bent Bolt]

What happened ?? Did it fail or just didn't meet your expectations??

[metalmacguyver]

What happened ?? Did it fail or just didn't meet your expectations??

X2

i am also interested in Ected.

what happened patov6?

[4x4junkie]

The ECTED is NOT a true locker, it lacks any sort of positive engagement to lock the spider gears from turning.

When you "engage" it, a ball-ramp system simply tightens up the preload on the limited-slip clutch stack. It will still slip given the right conditions.

[metalmacguyver]

The ECTED is NOT a true locker, it lacks any sort of positive engagement to lock the spider gears from turning.

When you "engage" it, a ball-ramp system simply tightens up the preload on the limited-slip clutch stack. It will still slip given the right conditions.

i know this. perhaps i should have rephrased my question. what are the right conditions that will cause it to slip? if the conditions are extreme enough then it might be fine for what i will be doing. the question is, how much can it take before slipping. ----> will it stand up to what i will be doing. sorry about that confusion.

[Bent Bolt]

i know this. perhaps i should have rephrased my question. what are the right conditions that will cause it to slip? if the conditions are extreme enough then it might be fine for what i will be doing. the question is, how much can it take before slipping. ----> will it stand up to what i will be doing. sorry about that confusion.

I am looking at the situation the same as you. My thoughts are if the diff is allowed to slip under extreme conditions, then won't it act somewhat as a fuse for the axleshaft/u-joint?? Personally, I'd rather the have that ECTED slip than break an axleshaft. There's always the winch to get you through whatever it is that made the diff "slip".

[Totalled]

Waste of money. Get a real locker.

I don't think you'll ever have to worry about breaking an axle shaft with a 2.9 and 31s... It's not a Jeep D35 you know...

[4x4junkie]

I was just out wheeling with a guy over the weekend that had one on the front of his vehicle. His wouldn't seem to lock hardly at all while trying to climb stuff. I'd bet having one tire on hard dry dirt, the other on pavement, would be enough to make it slip. Plus, it's ability to tighten will probably become even less as the clutch stack wears.

I s'pose it might give you some forward push if you had a tire in mud or on ice however.

I agree with the others, go with the ARB or something else.

[metalmacguyver]

I was just out wheeling with a guy over the weekend that had one on the front of his vehicle. His wouldn't seem to lock hardly at all while trying to climb stuff. I'd bet having one tire on hard dry dirt, the other on pavement, would be enough to make it slip. Plus, it's ability to tighten will probably become even less as the clutch stack wears.

I s'pose it might give you some forward push if you had a tire in mud or on ice however.

I agree with the others, go with the ARB or something else.

ok so that is the first real example that has been reported so far. minus one for the ected.

everything else that has been said so far has been theory and peoples opinions.

i like the idea of still having the L/S for street operation so i want to give these lockers a fair chance. we cant just let them get shot down with opinions.

any other real experiance with these lockers out there?

[Bent Bolt]

Waste of money. Get a real locker.

I don't think you'll ever have to worry about breaking an axle shaft with a 2.9 and 31s... It's not a Jeep D35 you know...

I have plans for a 302/347 and 33's or 35's.:woot::woot:

[JFA_Spyderman]

Anyone know the differences between the Auburn and Detroit's E-locker?

[Ranger44]

E-locker locks with pins, and ected, just tightens its clutch packs. I'd rather have the e-locker.

[Bent Bolt]

Anyone know the differences between the Auburn and Detroit's E-locker?

But there's no E-locker for a D35.

[JFA_Spyderman]

ahh yes, i see now...

[yyc_tbird_sc]

An FYI....I talked with one of the Eaton Rep's a while ago. He said that the D35 E-Locker should be out december or beginning of 2008. I'll be looking for it when it hits the market....

[whitetrash96]

Has anyone had any experience or opinions on the Auburn ECTED diff ??? I am considering it for the front D35.




.

I have two, no problems.

[metalmacguyver]

how big are your tires?

[whitetrash96]

how big are your tires?


I'm assuming you're asking me. 34" LTB's

[patov6]

ok so that is the first real example that has been reported so far. minus one for the ected.

everything else that has been said so far has been theory and peoples opinions.

i like the idea of still having the L/S for street operation so i want to give these lockers a fair chance. we cant just let them get shot down with opinions.

any other real experiance with these lockers out there?

I can tell you 8 o 10 opportunities that my ECTED didn`t work. The last time, It helped me to brake a front shaft...why? because, It didn`t work in a very rock hard obstacle, and I had to used my front ARB in a real xtreme position, breaking shaft and u-joints..With a true locker rear...maybe this could be not happened...
BTW, I changed my ECTED for a No Slip and works perfect! Is not selectable...ok, but is a real 100% locker. In fact, It helped me a lot, in a trail where my ARB didn`t worked ok, because of a problem in a o-ring (is it well written?).
That is my experience..and I agree, that you must stay away from LSD`s, maybe...front, but for light aplications,
Regards,
Pato

[Broaner]

An FYI....I talked with one of the Eaton Rep's a while ago. He said that the D35 E-Locker should be out december or beginning of 2008. I'll be looking for it when it hits the market....

Any news on this? I'm very interested in one. Is the Eaton a LS when off but a true locker when on?

[bogusdill]

hey guys i know im jumping this thread supper late but i just wanted to say i put one in my 05 ranger 2wd with an 8.8 and spinning 31s and about 400 pounds worth of sand bags i can climb almost anything and its never unlocked even when i start throwing dust.

[JimJa1943]

I recently installed an Eaton E-locker in my '05 Ranger. I originally considered a ECTED locker because it seemed the best of both worlds, locked when needed and L/S.

After talking to my "gear guy" (Pro Gears in San Diego - they do nothing but gears for everything from racing to extreme off-road) he said no, don't do it. I didn't want it for extreme application as I don't do "extreme." Just wanted more traction for my truck.

Although the idea of the ECTED is great, in practice they don't hold up. The reason is the "engagement mechanism" is conical (see #1 here: http://www.auburngear.com/aftermarket/product_listing.aspx?category=8946f7ff-e4b5-4b07-b738-c6f9d7f93179). As the unit wears the cone has to move further and further down into its receiver in order to engage. This results in less and less L/S function until you end up with an open diff.

The unit has to be sent in to the mfgr to be rebuilt. Pro Gear is big enough the owner has interaction with the CEO of most locker mfgrs. They have complained to Auburn directly about this and so far a better unit has not been forth coming. He said he's seen units in normal use rebuilt in as little as six months.

It's why I went with the e-locker. Flip a switch and it ramps up and locks. It's the best for my application. Pro Gear says they have not seen one fail except when the owner of a truck they installed one in broke it after a week. When asked how it came out the guy and his buddy were drinking and jacked up one side of the rear axle, ran it wide open and then engaged the rear diff, knocking it off the jack and slamming it down on concrete. They did this several times before it fractured the carrier. Hello, McFly.

[RacinNdrummin]

Ill say this... Its seems that a lot of the bad feedback is from people who propagate the same crap through the internet. I know that my friend has 2 ected's, One in a dana 30 front and the other in an 8.8 rear, both in an XJ with 31's. He has had the ected in the 30 for a year, and the 8.8 for a couple of months. Not one problem to speak of and they lock solid.

I wouldnt hesistate to put one in my rig. You have problems with any sort of lockers, its give and take. ARB's are good lockers, but the whole air system that comes with it sucks. Non-selectable lockers work great in the mud and rocks, but suck on the street. Ecteds arent "true" lockers, but they are great for dual purpose rigs and lock more than enough for most situations.

[legoms013]

I can only say good things about my 8.8 No-Slip (even on the street) and D35 lock-rite in the front....and they aren't as expensive as full carrier replacements. I also don't wheel what some folks would say "hard" and I have 31" tires so I'm not really straining the drivetrain or lockers that much per se.. Thing is I like the ruggedness and durability of said lunch box lockers over anything electric, air, or clutch operated, even if they are full carrier replacements. I wouldn't get an Ected, if I had money I'd maybe go with an electric or possibly ARB.

[JimJa1943]

Ill say this... Its seems that a lot of the bad feedback is from people who propagate the same crap through the internet. I know that my friend has 2 ected's, One in a dana 30 front and the other in an 8.8 rear, both in an XJ with 31's. He has had the ected in the 30 for a year, and the 8.8 for a couple of months. Not one problem to speak of and they lock solid.

I would offer having an Ected in the front for a year is not a good long-term test - unless your friend "lives" off-road in 4x4. And 2 months in the rear certainly is not a valid test for long-term function.

I'm not trying to down-play the life-span of an Ected or your friend's decision to install the unit, but I'd like to hear some real life experience from your friend in a year, and then two, IOT see how it's still preforming ATT. As you said about bad feedback, a long term test of the Ected would lay to rest anecdotal information about what others are saying about these units. Personally, I hope the unit preforms as well in two year as it does now.

Before deciding for myself, I had an in-depth conversation with Pro Gear about the Ected, the unit I really wanted. We talked about expectations and the need for a set-and-forget unit. I don't want to ever have to take the unit out for repair. Also talked about the fact I didn't expect to ever abuse the unit as I wasn't going to do hard-core wheeling. It always came back to his experience with the unit as a professional installer, including rear end installation in Baja racing machines. I have not talked directly to anyone with personal experience with the Ected, so for the benefit of everyone, your friend's experience would be more than worthwhile - both positive and negative after a year or two living with the Ected.

[Mazda Matt]

Little over a year ago I installed a USED Auburn Ected in the rear axle (8.8" 28spline 3.73) of my B4000. Over that period of time I've pulled out trucks weighing far more than my little Mazda, hauled firewood stacked 18" above the cab and plowed through snow up to the headlights with chains on all four wheels. Granted I only run 31" tires, but after the 15,000 miles I've put on it my Ected hasn't slipped yet. I'm not saying these differentials won't slip, but my experience has been very positive.

[Grunizzle]

Non-selectable lockers work great in the mud and rocks, but suck on the street.

Do you have any experience driving automatic lockers on the street? Lunchbox lockers and automatic lockers are easily streetable. Most people never knew I had a powertrax no slip, and the detroit seems just as smooth and definitely quieter.

Sure it is somewhat different at first going through turns under throttle and the occasional chirp in the parking lot. However if my 50 year old mom can drive my ranger cross country w/o any complaints of locker related incidents, I would say they are awesome for street use...

[Hahnsb2]

Do you have any experience driving automatic lockers on the street? Lunchbox lockers and automatic lockers are easily streetable. Most people never knew I had a powertrax no slip, and the detroit seems just as smooth and definitely quieter.

Sure it is somewhat different at first going through turns under throttle and the occasional chirp in the parking lot. However if my 50 year old mom can drive my ranger cross country w/o any complaints of locker related incidents, I would say they are awesome for street use...
Exactly, if Caity, who is still a complete newb with clutches, can drive my locked truck around, lockers aren't that bad on the street.

[Yellowsplash]

I'll agree with the others....my no-slip is very smooth. Much more than what some people claim. Im not sure what type of lunchbox locker theyre using, but the no-slip is absolutely fine with daily drivers and city street driving. The obvious applies of course, as with a locker if you try to accelerate too much in a turn you'll bark the tires, or depending on speed, experience understeer...but there isnt much racheting action or clunking at all.