Here are the latest news....
Today we opened the rear differential.guess what....
no damage,no broken pieces,not even a mark on the ring or pinion.....just the ring was a bit loose...There was a loose set up probably from the time we installed the r & p's
...anyway , we agreed to do the following steps.
1.Revove one of the two shims that were on the side gear.
2.Reduce backlash according to manual.
So backlash was reduced and also one shim removed.
Remember what I said about  the two shims that were on the stock side gears and didnt have the same thickness??? Since the Tractech manual (as well as many installation descriptions of EZ locker on the internet show)said that one shim per side gear should be used,we choose to keep the thiner one.The differetial was re-assembled and we were ready to test the result................Wheel were constantly unlocked.We turned the left wheel and the right remained still......the locker couldnt lock the axles....
So we are a bit troubled.The stock side gears had two shims on each one.One shim was not as thick as the other was.Tractech manual said that one shim should be used on each side gear.Which one  should we use? We used the thinner one and the locker couldnt lock the axles.If you turned one wheel there's was that "click-click" sound.We have two options now....either use the thicker one only,or both of them.

That's normal, did you drive it
a locker allows one wheel to turn
faster so the wheel you turned was
the faster wheel, and the clicking is
normal too, that's the ratcheting we
talked about, drive it before you tear
it down again.

Yes ,if you turn a wheel faster than the other you have the "clicking" sound.But if you then turn the wheel slower, the locker should lock the axles so that both wheels turn .Thats what the manual says.
Anyway,today we opened again the differential   , we replaced the thinner shim with the thicker one.We also adjusted the backlash.We test it.Everything was fine.The wheel that was turned faster was disengaging easily,and "clicking" was smooth and not loud this time,and also was the same from both wheels.With the 2 shims in,the clicking was more loud from the right wheel,the one that couldn't get unlocked easily.We tested the truck also on /off road.Everything was good.
For example with the 2 shims in,when I was trying to enter a normal turn with steady throttle,the outside wheel was clicking loudly, the "click" sound was heavy and the truck behaved as if someone was pulling it from the front and another one from the rear.In turns, I was disengaging  the clutch almost everytime.Now with steady throttle,the truck enters the turn smoothly and exits the same,with a smooth "clicking" coming from the outside wheel.
So if anyone has two shims in his stock diff,and wants to put an EZ Detroit locker,use the thicker shim.
Of course we installed the Calmini LSD in the front axle,no probs here.

Great to hear that all is well, how many times apart
3, Ohh well, it's working good now.

Hey let me know how the LSD in the front is working,
I'm torn between the LDS and an ARB, LSD for the
price and the ARB because it's just the trickest solution
to go from total normal to hard core Kick Butt Offroad.

Thanks,
Darrin

Everything o.k at last.....
after 2 days with problems

the results are ...
rear diff (Detroit EZ)

and front diff (Calmini LSD)




In a couple of days I ll tell you about the LSD.I ll test it.
thank you all very much for your help.

wow,  will those calmini stickers really stay on the a-arms?  lol

Stu

they are already one year there.......  

Usually there is only 1 thrust washer/shim under each sidegear if there are 2 then try to keep the combined sizes between left and right within 0.100 of a mm of each other and make sure your pinion shaft inserts easily into the block with not to much play.

Usually there is only 1 thrust washer/shim under each sidegear if there are 2 then try to keep the combined sizes between left and right within 0.100 of a mm of each other and make sure your pinion shaft inserts easily into the block with not to much play.

Thanks.I used only the thicker one on each side gear.Everything works fine now.

Great to hear that all is well, how many times apart
3, Ohh well, it's working good now.

Hey let me know how the LSD in the front is working,
I'm torn between the LDS and an ARB, LSD for the
price and the ARB because it's just the trickest solution
to go from total normal to hard core Kick Butt Offroad.

Thanks,
Darrin

The LSD is working fine.I was driving for example on an icy road yesterday.I saw the difference between how a locker works and an LSD works.There,when both  rear wheels were spinning sometimes,the front were keeping the truck on the way,pulling forward.Also in mud the LSD worked good.I think if someone does everything except rockcrawling,a combination of LSD and Locker is the best.When the terrain is muddy,wet,the LSD helps the truck to have a more stable course,while at the same time  the locker may cause both wheels of the locked axle to spin.I m very satisfied.

Great, Thanks for the report.  

OK, I now understand why no one add's a forwarding link and just tell us to use the forum search because this forum is not set up in a way we can subscribe to the different threads we are interested in! ERRRR!

OK, so I am interested in finding (see article archives "Zig's Beef)
SO, I go and type in "Zig's Beef" in the Search window and get these two results:
[1]Diffs- r-diff spacer & fr-diff pinion mount                                                                         
    http://www.zukiworld.com/forum/index.php?topic=3032.0
[2] Sidekick-Lockers-front alum.casing
     http://www.zukiworld.com/forum/index.php?topic=4002.0 

OK, I'm on Page:2 and will just continue reading, but it is very frustrating when you want to go off and search these other tangents that people suggest and can't just click a link or actually find it via the search.


With that, "search archives on Hagens Explorer CV set up".... yea, I will just wind up reading the whole forum and find it one day!

I am going to set up a folder on my computer and save the different threads so I can go back and refer to them and if ever I post something and suggest something, hopefully I can just put a link to that particular thread.

Sorry, yes, I'm whinning... I'm going back to page-2 and picking up where I left off and will get caught up soon!!! I don't even have my Sidekick yet - just doing my research!!!                           
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Quote

According to your experience,with a set up like the one I have now (Calmini 3"+3",Anvil-steel 3rd member-5,83 r&p's-Centerforce II-Warn premiun hubs-26 spline driveshafts-steering stabiliser-idler arm brace)
is it safe enough to install an automatic locker in front and which one  do you propose ? What moves should I avoid when off roading ?
An other option is to put an LSD in the front axle,mainly to reduce stress,but .....its not a locker .....

(sorry for any mistakes I do,english is not my native language)  

I have been locked in the front for years and never trashed a front housing :-/ I must be lucky from what I have heard about others experiances. I have trashed many half shafts and CV's. I recently upgraded to the Anvil w/ XL-7 3rd member (see article archives "Zig's Beef) I dont believe that you will have any trouble with a locker and the Anvil/steel 3rd set up. The problems that you will probably have will be with the CV's breaking under the extra force. Keep in mind that will be determined by your driving style and how heavy your right foot is. I drive my Kick HARD, and I expect to break stuff with the trails I ride and the vehicles I follow/lead through the trails.

If you are running manual lockout hubs there will be no difference of driving in 2wd than what you have now. Off road you will gain an incredible amount of traction with a front locker. Your steering will not be as tight turning in 4x4 with a locker and you will have ALOT more steering wheel pull from the wheels grabbing traction. With manual steering it can be tough to turn if the locker locks in, but I quickly learned to feather the throttle to lock/unlock the locker to allow turning.

I personally think you will enjoy being locked in the front, as long as you dont mind switching out CV's on the trail.

Also see the article archives on Hagens Explorer CV set up. It will be a good upgrade for you if you find yourself breaking CV's after installing the Locker

I hope this helps out,
Zig

My dad was down at the bad lands orv park in Attica IN. when he broke his stock IFS axle. When he was only going up this relativly easy hill when he was almost to the top he heard this bang then he pushed the clutch in and as he rolled down he seen this black spot were the 90 weight oild had ran out of the diff. When he got home he looked and seen that he twisted the pinion bearing carrier all the way around it and that was wothout a locker. some that means the stock sidekick aluminum IFS diff is very weak. So the only thing a stock trackick with its factory IFS system should be used for is going through snowed in roads

Yes, the fronts seen to be weak, it's all in the skinny pedal.

I have run the stock aluminum diff for years, with 33" swampers and a turbo
without any breaks, until those |removethispart|@#$# jeepers blocked me in and I had to
back up onto this boulder to get out, BANG, front broke, it's reverse you
got to watch out for

Wild

well my dad was going forward when he broke his i guess heat is a big problem because he only had 29s and he broke it.