I recently locked up my Grizzly, after many hassles it finally works! Wow, what a difference!

 

Update- I talked to the guy who I had remove the bearing from the carrier. He said that it wasn't all that tight, and that a couple of screw drivers and alittle muscle would have removed it. I thought of that, but I didn't want to risk messing up the bearing.

Rick

 

Hey GrizRick
You should contact Dirtyhowies and let him know of your problem. Maybe he has a trick for popping that bearing off.

 

Thanks for the info! I am looking to buy Dirty Howies front locker. Let me know what you think.
Mainly what it does to the steering on the trails and how it responds in the mud!

 

GrizRick,
I'm new to this forum and don't want to just butt it, but Here goes anyway. I don't understand. The case splits into two halves. It has six bolts that hold the ring gear onto the case that actually hold the case together and the three brass retainer screws are there as an assembly aid. When you remove the 6 ring gear bolts and the three brass screws the case splits into two halves and the locker is installed in a pocket inside the case replacing two clutch discs. then it is reassembled and put back in the housing. you should not need to remove any of the bearings from there pressed on locations.

 

Mudrush,
Having done it yourself, don't you think that is the dumdest way to set up a limited slip differential? If it had clutches behind both side gears like an automotive limited slip does, it might actually be effective instead of useless.
You are correct about the installation. I didn't realize untill the bearing was pulled, that it sat on the cover and simply taking the cover off would have solved the problem. I chalked it up as a learning experience. If I have to do it agian someday I'll know how to do it right.

Rick

 

There is a way to do that job in about an hour and 15 to 30 minutes. Of course jack it up and take off the front tires. then remove the one bolt that holds the ball joint to the bottom of the spindle assembly. this will leave everything hanging on the strut. do the same on the other side and drain the oil. since everything is swing on the struts just give them a good pull and they will come out of the differential housing take a 12mm socket with a swivel and remove the six bolts on the left side differential cover and the one mounting bolt that is screwed into that cover. turn the cover in place counterclockwise until it clears the mount bracket and then pry it off with the factory cut pry slots between the housing and cover. You can pull the cover off and the ring gear case from there. keep up with the little shims on each end of the gear case. they may be stuck in the housing or on the gear case. make your mods and reinstall it. This way you want have to take the diff housing out of the bike. The last time i did it, it took about 1.5 hrs. Remember to clean it real good or dirt will fall into and on your parts.

 

First of all let me start by saying that the Dirty Howie locker(s) that I bought from Howie got stripped out the first time I used them. After having to remove the front differential for the third time in less then a week, I was just alittle upset! They did however work long enough for me to get a feel for how the Griz was going to handle with a locked front end. Because of that, the last time I had to open up the front carrier housing to remove the stripped out locker, I welded the spider gears, so now I KNOW that I'm locked up and am not going to have to remove anything again anytime soon. Inspite of all the problems I encountered with the lockers, Howie was very helpful and cool about it the whole time. After the second locker stripped he offered me a complete refund. I have no idea why the lockers stripped out, and Howie was at a loss as well. Needless to say it took about 3 weeks for all of this to transpire, and since then I have been able to go out and ride with a locked front for a couple of tanks of gas. Here is my review.

On the trails- The steering is noticeably harder, and on the very tight turns you may have to back up once to make it. Althought I used to have to back up on those turns most of the time anyway. The softer the ground, the easier the steering. It tracks very well at high speeds. The steering actually seems to be easier in 4WD then in 2WD. It also seems to go where you point it better in 4WD. Sliding the rear end is easier in 2WD also. It doesn't want to crawl out of ruts that you slip into as easy, but then again I have so much better traction, that the situations that I used to try to avoid because of getting stuck don't really apply any longer. Driving over fallen trees that are 1'- 2' in diameter are alot easier as well, needing far less speed to get over then before. Also, driving down a trail that has alot of wind blown trees sitting at differerent angles is far easier.

On hills- This is one of the areas where the locked front end shines! Off camber, uneven hills, and the hills with ruts are no longer a concern. Lifting one wheel off the ground doesn't really matter all that much anymore. The other tire has full traction, and doesn't require slipping of any kind to be there for me! It does need more rider input to keep me going where I want to go, and very uneven hills need more steering effort. The very steep hills that require me to be on my feet to avoid a flip are a little harder to manage sometimes. Since I don't have the leverage to steer on my feet as much as I do sitting down, and with both front wheels grabbing at a 100% rate, the wheel that has the most traction is the direction that the quad wants to go for the most part. This happens frequently when ascending long steep hills. There is alot of "back and forth" steering. This requires a "mans" arm strength to correct at times.

Down hill- Ther really isn't all that much difference now then before. Engine braking on my Grizzly is very tight anyway. There are times, it seems like, when it will pull one way or the other, when it might not have in the past. But I'm not certain about that. The differences are so minor when decending a hill that I can't say for sure that there really are any.

In the mud-This is the area where my Grizzly stands out the most now! In the mud steering effort isn't any different then it was before. But traction is ALOT better then it was before. I have been able to go through many mud holes that were either very difficult, or impossible before. Climbing out of mud holes is much easier as well. In the past I my have been able to get through the mud, but often times I couldn't get up the short little hill at the end of the mud hole. Not any more!

On the road- It actually seems to have more high speed stability then it had before. Steering effort at high speeds are much less then at lower speeds. It seems to hold a straight line better as well. It definatly wants to go sideways in turns more on gravel roads now then it did before. But that isn't a problem. In fact its funner for the most part. All of this will require getting used to.

Backing up-This is one area that it definitaly has suffered some. If I'm going backward in a straight line, everything is fine. If I try to turn to one side or the other it wants to lock it at full turn in a big way! Requiring more strength than even I have at times to correct! This is something that I can live with once I get used to it, and know that it is going to happen.

Summary- All in all I should have done this a long time ago! There are some bad manners that come with a locked front end, but the added traction that comes with it are more than worth the trade! What I have now is a true 4WD. No slipping of any kind is required to have full 4 wheel traction at all times. The great thing about it is that I have all of that going up and down hills! I haven't spent a whole lot of time on my quad since I locked it up, and I may find more good things about it as well as bad, but so far I'm liking it in a big way!

Rick