Gov loc

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 5:24 am

If, you have 80-100K on your truck then the rear "optional" gov-loc is probably toast anyway. Best case scenario when using different size spares is to put it on the front and do not use 4 wd. That means changing two tires if, you get a flat in the rear.

YellowCrewCabber · Post by **YellowCrewCabber** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 8:36 am

I'm not too impressed with the gov loc. Seems like when you want it to lock it doesn't and when you're not expecting it, it does and on wet pavement be ready for it just in case. Maybe mine is just messed up. It has been worked on before but they were morons. So there are optional rear diff's out there that will swap out with the gov loc?? Same gear ratio's etc, etc?

Post by **HenryJ** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 9:44 am

Properly maintained they seem to hold up pretty well. Understanding how they work ,when they will and will not lock helps.
I like mine and have had no problems with them in the fleet.
They are not a hard core rock crawling locker. If it is not locking when YOU want it to , you could be asking for instances where it is not designed to lock. For a daily driver that sees weekend offroading and a little more, I think they do a great job.

Jongo88 · Post by **Jongo88** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 10:22 am

My old Blazer had a g 80 in it and it worked perfict for 270,000 miles. Then I sold it and I still see it on the road. I bet it still works too. I made it lock all the time in the rain. My 2001 Jimmy has one and my 2002 cc has one and they work perfict too. So I don't see the problem....

Post by **HenryJ** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 10:29 am

There have been some with problems. Some of that may have been not following the service interval. The first differential change was to have been done with the first engine oil change. This is in the owners manual. How many do you suppose did that.
Some have been hammered hard. No flexy diff like ours is going to take that forever.
Next may be the use of other than recommended lubricants. The G80 does not require a friction modifier.

YellowCrewCabber · Post by **YellowCrewCabber** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 12:10 pm

Just so you guys know I don't go "wheeling" in my truck. Quite honestly I wish I could. It's a daily driver and I'm afraid consistent wheeling would be hard on my wallet. This gov loc used to work fine until about 60k miles when the mechanic showed me the water contamination. $1000.00 later and it still hasn't worked the way it's suppose to. If I'm on grass with an incline forward or reverse it will not lock up. Now if I take the time to play with it, eventually it will but it's a pain.

I so want to take a match to the shop I took it to.

Jongo88 · Post by **Jongo88** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 12:45 pm

Man that is a lot of money.. I would of replaced it for 1/2 that much and have it work... sorry to hear that.

Post by **HenryJ** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 1:23 pm

Dump the fluid and put in fresh. It may still need to be flushed?
If it had the contamination too long , replacement may be the only option to fix problems. TGhere is just no good way to get it cleaned out without a complete disassembly of the eaton govloc. Even then new parts might be needed to make it right.

Spend the few dollars to change the fluid again.

YellowCrewCabber · Post by **YellowCrewCabber** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 1:42 pm

Thanks. Wish I had known about this site. I should've just done the job myself. It can't be that difficult. I asked him about the bearings he said that they were probably fine. About a week later I notice the axle seals were leaking.

They said they usually dont replace them.

SOOO I tore it down and replaced the seals and again added the friction modifier like THEY said it required. THEN about a month later I'm hearing noise. Turns out to be you guessed it AXLE BEARING. SOOO I tore it down again to find that the bad bearing was cutting a nice fat groove in the axle shaft. Couldn't find an axle shaft at the salvage yards. Had to buy a $60.00 offset bearing. Peices of metal flakes all over the inside of the diff. Cleaned it all out again. Added the friction modifier again like THEY said it required. The darn

thing hasn't worked like it should since letting this wonderful mechanic fix it. Oh that infuriates me when people blow smoke up your butt to make you think they what they are doing. When they don't know anything more about it than the car hop girl at the sonic next door. He kept saying something about setting the "pre-load" in the clutch packs?? Is this accurate Brule? Sorry about the long rant but this is this absolute most worst experience I'v had with a repair shop.

Post by **HenryJ** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 2:02 pm

YellowCrewCabber wrote:...He kept saying something about setting the "pre-load" in the clutch packs?? Is this accurate Brule?

That is true. Properly setting the preload can be a real pain. It is an un-godly amount if I recall correctly.

YellowCrewCabber · Post by **YellowCrewCabber** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 6:05 pm

HenryJ wrote:Dump the fluid and put in fresh. It may still need to be flushed?
If it had the contamination too long , replacement may be the only option to fix problems. TGhere is just no good way to get it cleaned out without a complete disassembly of the eaton govloc. Even then new parts might be needed to make it right.

Spend the few dollars to change the fluid again.

I was going to do that tonight but I am not up for it. It will be done this week.

YellowCrewCabber · Post by **YellowCrewCabber** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 6:07 pm

HenryJ wrote:
YellowCrewCabber wrote:...He kept saying something about setting the "pre-load" in the clutch packs?? Is this accurate Brule?
That is true. Properly setting the preload can be a real pain. It is an un-godly amount if I recall correctly.

Hind sight says maybe it's a good thing I didn't diassemble that myself.

Post by **HenryJ** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 6:13 pm

YellowCrewCabber wrote:
HenryJ wrote:Spend the few dollars to change the fluid again.
I was going to do that tonight but I am not up for it. It will be done this week.

I might consider adding some Seafoam to break up the varnish and absorb some of the water. Make a good run to warm things up and then drain it while it is warm.
Let it sit long enough to drain thoroughly and then button it all back up.

Look things over good while the cover is off. If it looks bad to you, it is.

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 9:00 pm

HenryJ wrote:Dump the fluid and put in fresh...............

This is your only shot at saving it. We do not need discussions on Royal Purple or Amsoil for your situation! Dump it and if, you see brown foam then report back. My initial impression would be to hose it down with cheap brake cleaner and refill but, Brule can provide better advice.

Post by **HenryJ** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 4:20 am

I have used brake clean to wash things down. Sounds like an idea if you need to clean things up. Allow time for it to evaporate and clean it all out before you replace the cover.

YellowCrewCabber · Post by **YellowCrewCabber** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 6:27 am

Brake clean is what I used last time. Excellent degreaser. I'll get some sea foam while I'm at the parts store. Thanks ya'll. Keep yer fangers crossed.

YellowCrewCabber · Post by **YellowCrewCabber** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 4:52 pm

Well no brown foam but the oil does look a little discolored. (slightly milky could be the sea foam I added today)Could be the type of fluid they filled it with. "They" meaning the dealership. I know this has been a long drawn out and dramitic issue but something is just not right and I believe I caught the dealership in a lie. The two reasons why I took the truck to the shop was because the rear diff would try to lock up but would not stay engaged(clunk,clunk,clunk) and there was a vibration in the rear of the truck at highway speeds. After all the mess dealing with the first shops B.S. there was still a vibration. I know it had to be related. Took it to my mechanic friends shop put on the lift. "Your driveshaft is bent" Wlhich it was I saw it. OEM driveshaft $700.00 a shop that builds them $300.00. I had one built for it. DID NOT fix the problem. Same vibration still there. So I lived with it for a awhile as it gradually got worse I started to get worried. If something lets go back there I'm gonna kill someone or myself. So I told my boss and he let me take to his dealership (He's a chevy man too) on his dime. By this time I've learned of the water contamintion and vibration problems in our trucks but didn't know how until I became a member here. The shop supervisor said the driveshaft was the problem. The u-joints were the wrong size allowing movement inside the yolk. I put the thing in I know for a fact that was tight as Dick's hat band when I installed it. I instantly thought they are covering this up. Fine the boss paid for a new driveshaft. I got the built one back and very tempted to stick it back in. I mentioned all this to my boss and he said "Why would they lie about this?" Because they stand to loose a WHOLE bunch of money if they admit there is a problem. So this evening after removing the cover I found a paper gasket there. I last time I had the cover off I used a silicone sealant. I did not put that gasket on there. Now I'm going to check to see if that sealed bearing I installed is still there?
Jeff

YellowCrewCabber · Post by **YellowCrewCabber** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 6:43 pm

I pulled the drivers side axle out just to be sure. The offset bearing is still there. Everything looks OK the oil feels fine nothing in it other than it looks kinda like coffee with a little creamer added. It's back together I'm gonna live with it and see if the fresh lube helps. Now, I wonder where is that thread on moving the vent hose? And wouldn't you know it the rear pads need replaced.

Post by **HenryJ** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 6:58 pm

Watch those rear slides. Clean and lube them up good.

Glad things look good

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 7:00 pm

I really do feel your grief! I really do. Stealership techs are known for not spending much time for diagnostics. They lose money when not actually performing a repair that has a flat rate repair time assigned to a problem.. They tend to start throwing parts at a problem and not taking the time to see what the actual problem is.

I fought GM all the way to Detroit to just get the mysterious Z trim measurement for a TB crank and lost. Only thing that I learned is that their specs listed on our home page is mysteriously incorrect but, they are unable to provide one that is correct.

If, you get laid off, break both legs and are seriously bored, you can do a search for the thread using me as the author.

Hindsight is wonderful. Dated photos of your RTV gasket and a friend who witnessed it would be wonderful but, it didn't happen. A consumer's complaint is the last thing on GM corporates mind right now.

We need to regroug and rethink about your problem. Don't waste your time and money as I did.

YellowCrewCabber · Post by **YellowCrewCabber** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 7:18 pm

Thanks for your concern guys and thanks for letting me rant. I gotta get back to the truck and relocate that vent tube.

YellowCrewCabber · Post by **YellowCrewCabber** » Sat May 23, 2009 7:37 am

What years were "our" eaton gov locs available? Both axle shafts are the same length??

killian96ss · Post by **killian96ss** » Mon May 25, 2009 12:16 pm

YellowCrewCabber wrote:What years were "our" eaton gov locs available? Both axle shafts are the same length??

The Eaton Go Loc was available in the S10 from the early 80's all the way through the end of the line in 2005. Yes, both axle shafts are the same length.

Steve

Post by **HenryJ** » Mon May 25, 2009 1:01 pm

Keep in mind that even though they may be the same length, once used they are not interchangeable due to the twist.

killian96ss · Post by **killian96ss** » Tue May 26, 2009 12:04 pm

HenryJ wrote:Keep in mind that even though they may be the same length, once used they are not interchangeable due to the twist.

I've never heard anything like this.

Right and left side axles are exactly the same, have the same part #, and can be used on either side. If the axles were designed to be used specifically on the right or left side they would have different part #'s.

Steve

Post by **HenryJ** » Tue May 26, 2009 12:57 pm

Once used they twist and are not interchangeable.

killian96ss · Post by **killian96ss** » Tue May 26, 2009 4:13 pm

HenryJ wrote:Once used they twist and are not interchangeable.

I missed the "used" part.

Steve

Post by **HenryJ** » Tue May 26, 2009 4:29 pm

In a low torque application you might get away with it. I have had to do it a time or two. It is pretty easy to see the twist on an axle and figure out which side it came from. Used axles have been less than 25% the cost of new around here.

A piece of 3/4" PVC pipe can be split on the end , heated and rolled out to make a nice squeegee for cleaning the axle tubes.

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Tue May 26, 2009 5:10 pm

HenryJ wrote:..............A piece of 3/4" PVC pipe can be split on the end , heated and rolled out to make a nice squeegee for cleaning the axle tubes.

That is a new one one me. All thread and progressively larger washers to clean the tubes on a heep is what I use and I carry with my spare shafts on the trail. Good pointer!

YellowCrewCabber · Post by **YellowCrewCabber** » Wed May 27, 2009 8:04 am

HenryJ wrote:Once used they twist and are not interchangeable.

So getting a used shaft out of the same side I'm replacing would be the way to go??

YellowCrewCabber · Post by **YellowCrewCabber** » Wed May 27, 2009 8:08 am

I'm thinking about replacing the inner axle bearings also. Is this an easy job or special tools needed?

Post by **HenryJ** » Wed May 27, 2009 9:07 am

YellowCrewCabber wrote:
HenryJ wrote:Once used they twist and are not interchangeable.
So getting a used shaft out of the same side I'm replacing would be the way to go??

Yes. Often times I even consider a complete axle assembly if I can upgrade to a locker and the carrier is "iffy".

YellowCrewCabber wrote:I'm thinking about replacing the inner axle bearings also. Is this an easy job or special tools needed?

They can be a bear to pull. Even with a big slide hammer, I usually end up torching them to get them loose.

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