# Popping front differential.



## wcs61 (Jun 7, 2011)

Let me try to explain this situation.
The brute is in 4wd and while riding on hard to firm ground it does fine.
Ride on loose gravel, sand or mud it pops like it's slipping gears. While on loose ground if you gas it it doesn't seem to pop. I have a manual actuator and i know it's staying locked in. Remember I just put new bearings and seals in the differential this summer so i doubt it's slipping the ring gear and pinion gears. Also let me add that when on loose soil it feels like the rear is pushing the front end meaning when I start to take off you can feel the rear end dig but not the front end. 
Knowing that a 4x4 has to be geared the same front and rear plus the tires have to be the same size or you load up the drivetrain and something will have to slip/pop. Unless you are on loose enough soil and all tires are spinning where the drivetrain will not bind.
The brute does poorly on the sand bars due to the outlaws digging so quick unless you get up to 10mph. After that it seems to ride fine. I can climb our sand hill only because I'm pulling hard and slinging sand. Again the drivetrain is in a bind with the torque load. Get to the top and the popping begins under normal load. That make since to you?


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## JLOWERY (Jan 30, 2010)

Are you running skinny wide or all skinnys I've never seen a set of skinny/ wide tires that are actually the same height. Just thinking.

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## NMKawierider (Apr 11, 2009)

Manual or electric, you are moving that coupler in and out of the dog set to engage and disengage it. When those get rounded, they won't stay in. What you are describing sounds like what's going on. Why it doesn't do it on all conditions I don't know. At least... its worth a look.


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## wcs61 (Jun 7, 2011)

27x12x12 Outlaws all the way around. Manual lever controlled actuator and it bottoms out in the shaft coupling. You can see the coupling move a bit when it bottoms out. I'm beginning to think it's the diff. lock. I did not replace the disc when I rebuilt the front end. But I did adjust it to have very little slack in the lever. I'm going to slack off a full round and try it later since I have no loose sandy soil here at home.
Considering trading the Laws for something less aggressive since I do not play in the deep mud and need something that rides sand better. Can't go over 28's at the camp.


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## Boo Boo (Jun 25, 2011)

My 2010 brute is doing the same thing what did you find out ???


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## NMKawierider (Apr 11, 2009)

wcs61 said:


> 27x12x12 Outlaws all the way around. Manual lever controlled actuator and it bottoms out in the shaft coupling. You can see the coupling move a bit when it bottoms out. I'm beginning to think it's the diff. lock. I did not replace the disc when I rebuilt the front end. But I did adjust it to have very little slack in the lever. I'm going to slack off a full round and try it later since I have no loose sandy soil here at home.
> Considering trading the Laws for something less aggressive since I do not play in the deep mud and need something that rides sand better. Can't go over 28's at the camp.


For me, after reading so many posts about people with large or wide tires breaking the lock disk cage, I decided to actualy back mine off because if there is enough traction that prevents the inside tire from skipping in a turn with the packs locked, all that force is transferred to that cage through the stationary plates and they all seem to break that cage sooner or later so even though I got rid of my 11s, I decided its better to have a strong limited-slip so if it ever did get it's self in a situation like that, it could slip the disks rather then break the cage. Even backed off I still get solid diff-lock for anything I do...ie its never slipped a disk and its about half as tight as the book recommends. So, just say'n...loosen those cables and save that diff.


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## myst3ry (Mar 5, 2011)

i have same problem without diff lever locked it goes along good , but when shes working it seems to slip ...something slipping ??
maybe a cv ?

does this make any sense ??

same thing only when under load ..on solid ground it goes great ...


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## NMKawierider (Apr 11, 2009)

myst3ry said:


> i have same problem without diff lever locked it goes along good , but when shes working it seems to slip ...something slipping ??
> maybe a cv ?
> 
> does this make any sense ??
> ...


Probably either the coupler or the cage...either way it might be good to pull it down and see before something expensive happens...jmo.


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## myst3ry (Mar 5, 2011)

dammit..i hate when that happens ......lol ...
i was in kawie dealer to get new arm arm bolts and asked if they had a used front diff ...they had one sitting there in a box..and their like yep ...we have one right here...but it just sold ..THAT DAY !!! 
700$ canadian he said ..so i told him just phone me when you find another ....

is it easy to just tear her out and rebuild her ???


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## NMKawierider (Apr 11, 2009)

myst3ry said:


> dammit..i hate when that happens ......lol ...
> i was in kawie dealer to get new arm arm bolts and asked if they had a used front diff ...they had one sitting there in a box..and their like yep ...we have one right here...but it just sold ..THAT DAY !!!
> 700$ canadian he said ..so i told him just phone me when you find another ....
> 
> is it easy to just tear her out and rebuild her ???


Its defiantly cheaper....lol


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## rmax (Nov 21, 2009)

hardest part is getting it out of the frametear down very simple


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## myst3ry (Mar 5, 2011)

everyone says tear down is easy ...i read in manual all this mumble jumble stuff and it sounds very aggravating ...backlash and all this stuff ....

so it isnt as hard as manual makes it out to be ??


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## filthyredneck (Feb 10, 2010)

Nowhere near as hard as the manual makes it out. It just comes apart in layers, start from the left side where the locker shaft sticks out and just start working your way in, its very easy.


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## myst3ry (Mar 5, 2011)

ok will do ...maybe ill take video of it ....


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