I know there is a bunch of E locker install guides for front axles, but since I just did mine a few days ago. I thought I would post a little walk thru for the heck of it and maybe it will help others do it.
At first it seems daunting but given the right tools and a few hours it can be done fairly easy.
I did put 5.29 gears in my E locker prior to this.
The 1st thing to do is pull the front axle and strip it down and clean it well. Nothing like working on an axle covered in grease.
Once the axle is apart its easiest to place it on a bench or like I did a part of saw horses. Your going to want to clamp it down. Some parts of this install require putting some force on it.
Ok Now that the axle is secured and your ready. Take the 3 studs out on the very right hand side. Use double nuts to do this so you don't damage the threads as your going to use 2 of these 3 studs later.
Since the holes which the 3 studs came out of are not going to be used your going to want to fill these holes. I used our Miller 200 and did a rose bud weld. Try and fill as deep as you can.
With the holes filled in use a flap disk/pearling disk to get it as flat and smooth as you can. I found a grinding wheel to abrasive.
You will notice the white paint marking new hole locations and places where it either needs to be removed or drilled.
My buddy made a aluminum template using a stock gasket. It works VERY well for the next few steps.
Here is a pic of it ground down and using our template to make the locations.
You will notice there is some work ahead of you. Dont worry its easy.
Now I started off by using a cut off wheel to make the slot out where the E locker engaging gear is going to sit. I chose to use a cut off wheel versus our plasma cutter since the plasma tends to make a huge mess and would require a lot more cleaning.
(Tip: Put towels inside the axle tubes to keep metal out of them. Will save you a ton of time on clean up.)
With the notch cut out its time to start on where the E locker 3rd is going sit. You will notice the white paint showing that we need to expand the flange surface. I used our welder to do this. It takes a few minutes to build up the surface. I had to grind onit then weld again to try and make it flat and square. The main thing is to make sure its level. I just used a level to ensure flatness. You can see I had it a tad bit hot but I can lay flatter and wider beads.
Time to drill out the 4 holes where the new studs are going to sit. The thread is 8x1.25 so use the correct drill bit otherwise your going to be filling it back in. Using the white dot which the template left me. I grabbed a center punch and made sure I was center of the dot. Then I went on to drilled out the 4 holes. I later discovered a better way to drill the 2 long stud holes since they are most difficult to get perfectly straight and center. So learn from me and just drill out the 2 small stud holes and tap them. Then place the studs in them.
To make the next 2 holes grab your E locker and remove the motor. This will leave the 2 holes where the long studs would go. With the motor removed you can get a drill bit down thru the holes enough to start drilling. Place the 3rd on the housing. This step also makes sure the 2 small studs you drilled tapped are correct. I used a small bit to start the holes. Then I removed the 3rd and made sure I didnt get any metal in the 3rd. The metal was the reason I didn't drill the hole all the way out.
Now with the 3rd removed I finished drilling and tapping the 2 holes. (Tip: The 2 long studs that are factory make it very difficult to seat the 3rd onto the studs. I grabbed some 4" x 8x1.25 bolts from Ace hardware. Since they are bolts instead of studs seating the 3rd is MUCH easier and you don't risk bending or break the long factory studs.)
So all the holes are drilled and tapped and the slot cut out I grabbed my template and made sure everything was within clearance. The 2 notches where the ring gear fits needs to be widened. It doesn't take much and even if they aren't widened the 3rd will go in just not as easy.
The last real mod to the housing is to dent the bottom of the pumpkin since the carrier bolts on the ring gear side will hit. I used a brass punch and a big hammer to whack it. It does take some force so don't be afraid to hit it. Then seat the 3rd and make sure it seats flat all the way around.
With the 3rd seating perfect. I went back and cleaned everything up with a flap disk and a wire wheel.
Now its time to primer and paint. At this point your done.
(Tip: When seating the 3rd make sure the engagement gear is all the way out. Its best do before you reinstall the motor. )
Dont use the stock E locker gasket. Just use RTV and add extra to where you expanded the flange.
If there is anything I missed or didn't explain it well enough let me know.
I managed to get a full factory wiring harness so wiring was fairly simple. Tho the factory harness requires removing the abs and fuel sending unit wires from harness and splicing it back together.
