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E-Locker Diff Skid

28K views 107 replies 32 participants last post by  hytenor 
#1 ·
So here is the almost finished E-Locker version of hytenors diff skid that I have lusted over for years now. It has been a 6+ month project due to working on it just when I had some dead time at the shop, plus the wifes battle with cancer has really taken all of my time/energy for the last 4 months. Here are a few pics that I snapped with it off the diff I still have 1 more piece that will go across the top of the back section that isnt on in these pics. I will try to get some more as I get this piece on and some with it bolted up to the diff.



 
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#2 ·
I was building this for my own truck but with my wheeling at an indefinite standstill due to taking care of my wife I am selling this to another member and will be making another for mine as time allows. As you can see I used hytenors for inspiration and made some changes in how it mounts to the axle and the obvious need for changes due to e-locker coverage. Let me know what you guys think. I will get more pics up as soon as possible and will reply to posts but cut me some slack cause I am not on the board a whole lot these days. If you want an in person look at the finished product the member who will be getting the skid is SADGOAT and I think he is still planning on being at takeover in Aug.
 
#4 ·
So here is the almost finished E-Locker version of hytenors diff skid that I have lusted over for years now. It has been a 6+ month project due to working on it just when I had some dead time at the shop, plus the wifes battle with cancer has really taken all of my time/energy for the last 4 months. Here are a few pics that I snapped with it off the diff I still have 1 more piece that will go across the top of the back section that isnt on in these pics. I will try to get some more as I get this piece on and some with it bolted up to the diff.
wow, looks great! better than mine.

I never thought of using axle U-bolts like that...great idea.
you might add a 2nd layer of steel around the drain hole...just need a 3" square of plate with a hole, then bent and welded over the outside.
I also like how high you made it in the back.
 
#6 ·
I had planned on putting another layer around the drain hole but SADGOAT who is buying it from me when its all done said he didnt want me too. I thought the u-bolts might work better than how you had yours chris, plus this allowed me to conform the skid to the shape of the axle better thus losing less ground clearence. The pieces that weld to the u-bolts I bent in my 20 ton shop press to match the shape of the axle, you could also use the right size round tubing. This is all 1/4" plate that I cut with my bandsaw, sure could use your plasma cutter chris.
 
#8 ·
looks good man. Its come a long way since the cardboard cutouts I saw.
I hope the wife is doing better.
Haven't heard from you in awhile give me a call sometime.
Oh smack Drew for me
 
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#9 ·
the damn 3rds aren't symmetrical :rolleyes:
other than that, trying to build these things upside down is a major pain. If I were to ever try and make another one I would want a spare axle on the ground that is inverted to work with.
 
#11 ·
if you catch those suckers just right on a rock they can actually unscrew or start to pull out...ask Dick :p we had to weld a couple of big washers over his last year on Dusy. Switching to one of Marlin's allen type is a good idea as well...as long as you still protect it from getting boogered up to the point you can't get an allen wrench in the thing :p
 
#12 ·
Man if that guy bails on buying that from you I would like to get in line. I ve read a lot about the e locker guard hiting the gas tank when flexed upwords have you had that prob?
 
#17 ·
yep, sucks right up to the diff and axle housin. I lost about 1/4-3/8" of clearance but having the ability to just slide over stuff and not even think about more than makes up for that little clearance loss. I ran this for nearly 4yrs with 33s on all the wild trails out here in Cali ;)
 
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#21 ·
Here are some more shots with it bolted up.
This shows the plate towards the front of the skid & how I matched the contour under the pinion.

Passenger side looking down on skid.

Here are some shots underneath. Having a lift eliminates hytenors problem of working upsidedown.:D




I used a 4" exhaust clamp for the front mount of the skid. All it does is suck the skid up tight to the bottom of the pinion since the other pieces wrap around the axle tube and prevent any front to rear shifting under impacts.

This is a good shot looking straight down on the elocker showing a little space between the plate and the side of the elocker so it doesnt take any direct hits. The plate that runs across the front butts up against the 3rd to transfer any stress to the diff instead of the elocker.




Here are some shots with the wheels on the ground.




 
#22 ·
thing looks awesome and ready for punishment.

But you still are working upside down just don't have to crawl under the truck:D
 
#25 ·
i like it. i may make one...one of these days....


i do see a problem though. with the elocker skid i was testing for all pro it was tucked in more than this one is and it still hit the gas tank. how much clearance do you guys have? can i get and above the diff in between the actuator and tank shot????
 
#27 ·
Yes, it would be nice to know if this will share the same problems as the other elocker skids. But if it doesn't, this will be a great addition to my truck.

Nice work!
 
#28 ·
We did a test fit on SADGOATS truck who will be getting this and we bounced up and down on the suspension till it bottomed on the bumpstops and it just barely the tank skid. If you look at some of the elocker side under the skid you can see some sharpie lines I drew marking a much larger area than needed to clear where it hit. The other thing we can do is take a small sledge and clearence the tank skid some since there is 1/2" or so btween it and the tank.
 
#29 ·
BFH:xrocker: :xrocker: :xrocker:
 
#31 ·
Dang, Blair and Justin, you guys are up at 4 am!!! Mabey it's all in the wash since baby duty can run into the early am hrs....
 
#32 ·
I ain't up at 4 am change the clock in your user cp:rolleyes:
 
#34 ·
huh??
 
#35 ·
sweet work man, I like it. Im sorry about the wife, is she doing any better? And aaron, how are the 4.88s working for you?

And lets go to windrock in about 2 months when my junk is done.
 
#39 ·
Thanks. Aaron has promised to drag it over every rock he can find and give me some feedback for my next one which will be for my truck. Wife isnt doing to great now but 4 months of chemo and radiation really fucks your body up. Hopefully things will improve in the weeks to come, she still has about 3 more months of planned chemo to go through so time will tell. What are you doing to yours now Brad? Are you finally linking it front and rear?
 
#36 ·
do you really need all that vertical side steel? I would cut it all way down. The plates around the elocker will most likely tag the gas tank when the axle is articulated, not when just fully compressed. The actuator really only needs protection from underneath, not much to the side so those can be cut way down. How much clearance do you have between the nose of the skid and the pinion/DS? If the truck has bad axle wrap the plate will tag the DL there. and I assume you'll cut the U-bolts down :p Add some drain holes to the lowest point.

looks great! Now, go bash it up :D
 
#38 ·
The vertical steel on the sides ties the lower part of the skid to the plates that sandwich the diff tubes and should transfer the upward/rearward hits to the diff tubes. The part that was just barely touching the tank skid is the lower flat plate and this can be trimmed some if needed. We still need to flex it on the rack for the final adjustments. Sadgoat has deaver springs & I have chevy springs with the hangers 8" forward from stock so there are some clearence differences from that alone. I have 1 3/4" between the front of the skid and where it will hit the driveshaft and my pinion angle is close to perfect. To see if there were some axle wrap issues I backed up in my paved parking lot and while rolling backwards with the diff locked dumped the clutch and did a nice burnout with nothing hitting but time will tell. When I get it totally done and mounted on SADGOATS truck we will flex it out and see where we need to trim and get some pics of the clearence there before and after any adjustments.
 
#37 ·
skid upgrades

I made a few upgrades:

larger ID recess for a 3/4" socket (didn't have any pipe/tube to use)


1/2" U-bolt. I really wanted one with threads further down but this was all McMaster had :( I may look for a big truck axle U-bolt...needs to be in the 5" range. ...or...I'll just re-thread this to 7/16" like I did the front one. Just lengthening the 1/2" threads doesn't really work.


added gussets and changed the rear section to 1/4" plate up from the original 3/16". It had an argument with a rock a while back :p
 
#67 ·
Update: the Knoxtaco dif-skid has been wheeled hard for a year + now; flat out badass. I have taken full advantage of this beast EVERY run (prob 10 or so). Only problem is that with total disregard for my dif hitting or dragging the driveshaft has seen some damage :eek:(not due to the skid).
 
#45 ·
We flexed the truck out till the pass tire was just off the ground

Then took a few shots showing the clearence between the tank and elocker skid


 
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