I am happy for you, StarrFlight! I hope that this repair does the trick. I would hate tosee you go to Toyota, or Nissan, or Mitsubishi, or etc. Good luck!

 

Well,

The last fix lasted about 3 weeks. The lockers due not work again and it would seem that the posi is out as well. Yikes! This makes trip number 3 to the dealer and 10 weeks in the shop. The truck is only 10 months old so that averages 1 week/month of ownership.

Are your guys lockers still working??

I was so pissed off I decided to look at other trucks. I did not find anything I would rather have for my needs other than building one myself.

I need some encouragement that PW lockers due work after 10,000 or so miles. Please post! It looks like I will be pulling the lemon law and hope I do not have to get a lawyer! But I will need to decide to get a new PW or my money back. If I get some feedback that I just musthave got a lemon I would be inclined to ask for a new PW. But if you guys are having trouble also, I think I will just get my money back and build my own.

Thanks

 

I have an 05 Power Wagon with 22,000 miles. My lockers work fine. I have never had an issue with them. My problem is I want them to work in high range. I was able to find out how to do that with the Rubicon and I have a guy working on a solution for the PW.

 

Sorry for the trouble. Jimmy1 posted the invoice for the work Dodge did to correct his locker problems, try sending him a PM. I recall the invoice stated the lockers have a mechanical switch inside that needed adjustment and cleaning due to metal shavings. They also replaced the control unit for the front sway bar.

As for the limited slip not working, this seems odd, as the unit use worm gears etc versus the older friction system with clutch plates. How did you determine the LS is not working?

 

I agree with M14, something must be seriously broken inside the carrier for the helical gear driven LSD to not work. That should be straightforwardtotroubleshoot the problem.

Regarding the electronic locking mechanism. I recentlydrained my front and rear gear lubes at the recommended 15K interval, and found quite a bit of ultra-fine metal particles in the rear end.
There were no large metal pieces, or any chipped gear teeth seen. Wear pattern looked perfect. The Lube was very dark and there was a small amount of water suspended (I guess abouta teaspoon/ 2.5qts.) that probably entered from somewhere around the electronic locker connector, in the housing, I guess. I found there was a lot of metal particle buildup on the magnetic contactor thingy. I can see that this could cause inteference with the locker activation, as others have reported.

The front differential lube was virginal in comparason. Minimal wear particles and near-new color. I estimate I haveoperated in 4WDless than 50 miles total since I bought it.

I used synthentic Mobil 1 75W-90 as the replacement lube since it doesn't contain the friction modifier for plate type LSD's, not needed in the Power Wagon Tru-Lok helical-gear type.

I will definitely keep to 15K change intervals in the future, and I would recommend any new Power Wagon owner to make theirfirst change of the REAR diff at 7500miles to get most of the particles out sooner. I would keep the first change of the front diff at 15,000 miles.

 

Changing the fluid yourself saved you quite a bit. I had Dodge perform my first oil change Saturday so I could get the truck in the system. While there I check their service prices. At my local dealer, they want $400 to change the diff fluids, $250 for auto trans service, and $99 to service the T case. [:@]

 

Not to brag or anything... but my lockers are still working fine at over 16,000 miles.

Good Luck!

 

Starrflight,

Sorry to hear of your troubles. I had an '06 Power Wagon that had the "Service 4wd" light come on but I had no problems locking the diffs. Dodge Tech support told them to replace the rear locker after which I could no longer lock the diffs. They then replaced the front sway bar assembly which didn't work and then proceeded to troubleshoot the electronics on multiple attempts without success. I pulled the truck from the dealer and filed a Lemon Law claim. If your considering this route realize you must continue to let Dodge work on your vehicle to their hearts content while the Lemon Law case proceeds. Chances are they will eventually fix your problem no matter what the inconvenience is to you in time and loss of your vehicle. Dodge will then want to settle your case for cash since less than 5% of Lemon Law cases end with a replacement vehicle. Forget what the law says, what will happen is Chrysler will drag the case out FOREVER if you insist on a replacement, but will settle rather quickly for cash. Your truck will be fixed and you will likely decide that several thousand dollars cash in your pocket now beats waiting 2 years and sitting through multiple court hearings for a replacement you still might not get in the end. Sorry, but that's the reality. To make matters worse, you will be Enemy Number One at your dealer because Chrysler will tell them they can't deal with you at all and everything must go through the regional Chrysler Reps. So now if you get money or a replacement vehicle you have went from having your dealer as an ally, to having them as an adversary.

As to my situation, I brought the truck to another dealer after I filed a Lemon Law claim and they discovered the Locker sensor in the rear diff was incorrectly set by the initial dealer and the problem was solved. Unfortunately, soon thereafter I decided to put one of those "kick-***" K&N filters in so I could re-use the filter andsave money on replacement paper filters. VERY BAD IDEA - DO NOT DO THIS!!! The first significant mud hole I entered with my Spanky new K&N air filter and my motor hydrolocked with a healthy dose of mud (Insert major "Holy SH*T" here). Do not change from the paper filter since it is your only protection from water ingestion - trust me on this one! So to make an already way too long story just somewhat long, because I had a Lemon Law case pending the dealer and Chrysler were VERY quick to stick it to me and deny warranty coverage on the motor. My auto insurance company totaled the truck rather than replace the motor and I settled with Chrysler for cash on my Lemon Law claim.

After 5 mos. I just bought an'07 PW since I really did love that truck. Inow must travel to dealersoutside my area since I do not trust the localsto treat me fairly. In hindsight I think I should have just worked with them rather than going the Lemon Law route, but you must decide that for yourself. Don't hesitate to take it to another dealer for a look, but burning bridges can be a pain in the *ss. There simply is no reasonable alternative to the PW if you want a stock, highly capable pick-up truck.

My lockers are working fine on the '07 but I only have 280 miles on it .I do believe they have some kind of problem with the '06 electronics, hopefully they will straighten your situation out.

Good luck!

Gooddoc

 

How exactly does the stock paper element prevent hydrolock (with mud?) over a K&N in the stock airbox?
Inquiring minds want to know... Seems to me there would be no difference between the twoif you suck liquid water into the intake.
Hydrolock is never going to be fixed under any warranty.

 

K&N filters are designed for high flow and are VERY porous. You can pour water right through them, and consequently any water entering your airbox will go right through it into your air intakes. On the other hand, the paper filters are designed to absorb the water and block it's entry into the engine. Trust me, because the air intake is directly above the passenger wheel well, if you hit water with any significant speed the intake design essentially causes a water ram into your airbox. A paper filter will save your motor, a K&N filter will kill it. Test it if you doubt me,I just don't recommend it.