Some Thoughts on Ox Locker / Shifter Cable Adjustments

[Daless2]

Some Thoughts on Ox Locker / Shifter Cable Adjustments

Over the last four weeks I have had the opportunity to help out more then a few Jeeper’s who have been having problems shifting or adjusting their Ox Lockers. To be exact, eighteen (18) Jeepers have stopped by and we have gone over their installations and adjustments.

This write-up is a result of these efforts.

Please note I do not consider myself an expert in any regard on this topic, however I do keep meticulous notes and look for common findings in efforts like this.

In sharing this information I have personally come to a few conclusion, the first of which is that Ox Trax instructions, and pictures displayed with those instruction may leave a little to be desired. Perhaps they are a bit confusing and could be written better.

I base this conclusion (of mine) on what I have found on these 18 Jeeps.

Folks, adjusting an Ox Locker is not rocket science. I believe all it takes are some clear directions. Perhaps these will provide another approach that might help.


I am taking a very simplistic approach here. I do not wish to be offensive to anyone, but I do want to enable everyone with the best chance of success in adjusting your Ox Locker. So please humor me when I say things like;

“Put the blue widget in your left hand and the green thingy in your right hand and turn your right hand clockwise as if to tighten a bolt.”


OK here are the things you may want to look into if you are having any problems engaging your Ox Locker or keeping your Ox Locker LOCKED as each of the owners of these 18 Jeeps was experiencing. (But not any more!)

There are three areas that I believe to be Vital that need to be addressed.

Vital Area #1:

How many threads of the Inner Cable Rod are protruding out of the Differential Shifter Fork Piston?

The correct answer is TWO (2)!

Not 5, not 4, not 1, not ZERO and not less then Zero!!!!

If a lot more then 2 threads, or a lot less then two threads are protruding the cable will be too long or too short to fit within the adjustment range at the Ox Shifter assembly.

It’s that simple folks. You can play with the adjustments till your blue in the face and you won’t get it right.


There are two ways to determine how many threads are protruding.

1. Pull the differential cover and look.

or

2. Don’t pull the cover and assume it is correct.


Of the 18 Jeeps I helped adjust, five (5) of them had more then five (5) threads protruding, Seven (7) had less then one (1) thread protruding and the remainder where close. Only Two (2) where correct.


Note: Not one of these 18 Jeeper’s had pulled the cover to check it out. Guess option #2 is popular.


Please make sure you have this right, or you will get very frustrated trying to adjust the shifter for full engagement and full disengagement. Trust me on this one, sooner or later, if you can’t get the shifter adjusted you will be pulling the cover and making this adjustment correctly.


Two and only two threads should be protruding.

If you need to make this adjustment you will have to disconnect the cable from the Sifter Assembly inside your Jeep and turn the inner cable rod in or out till you get 2 threads protruding.

If you are having problem adjusting the shifter I strongly advise that you pull the cover and check this adjustment out!

It can and will save you a tremendous amount of adjustment frustration later.

If nothing else, it will give you an opportunity to eye and admire that great Ox Locker you installed in there.
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Vital Area #2: - Serious Procedural Error when Adjusting the Ox Shifter and Cable


I have discovered a common error that many of these Jeepers have made while adjusting the shifter cable at the shifter assembly.

Trust me, you want to be aware of this.

Most people have to remove the Shifter Assembly from where it is mounted (console, bracket, ect.) in order to make the adjustments.

Once removed and reassembled, so that it can be adjusted, the thickness of the material where the shifter assembly is normally mounted to is no longer separating the top and bottom sections of the Ox Shifter Assembly.

If you do not compensate for the thickness of the mounting location, prior to making the adjustments, you will be making a serious error.

This will result in adjusting the cable perfectly with the shifter out of its mounting location only to have it be grossly out of adjustment after you re-mount it back in the console or bracket.

The thickness of the mounting location (console, bracket) will change the geometry of how far the cable will “Push” from the unlocked to the locked position.

The thicker the mounting material, the shorter the distance the cable rod will “push” at the shifter fork inside the differential cover. This will prevent a Positive Lock.


If you must remove your Ox Shifter Assembly from its normal mounting location please be sure to compensate for the thickness of the mounting location with washers of equal thickness between the top and bottom parts of the shifter assembly.


This is VITAL folks!

Vital Area #2: - Logistics of making the Ox Shifter Adjustments.

This is where I get a little simplistic (but accurate and exact) folks. Please bear with me.

The adjustment instructions that will follow will work to adjust either a Front or Rear Ox Shifter Cable correctly, IF you will simply follow these recommendations as follows:


To Adjust a Rear Ox Locker

Block the tires so the Jeep can’t roll.
Put transmission in neutral and transfer case in neutral and then remove the parking brake.
Jack up ONLY the driver side rear tire so it can be turned by hand (or foot).
Stand beside the driver side door opening and lean inside to make all adjustments.


To Adjust a Front Ox Locker

Block the tires so the Jeep can’t roll and apply the parking brake.
Put transfer case in neutral.
Jack up ONLY the passenger side front tire so it can be turned by hand (or foot).
Stand beside the passenger side door opening and lean inside to make all adjustments.

Vital Area #2: -. Making the Adjustments to the Shifter and Cable

Remove the Ox Shifter Assembly from its mounting location so you can gain assess to the adjustment areas.

Be sure to add washers between the top and bottom parts of the shifter assembly that will compensate for the thickness of the mounting area. (See Serious Procedural Error Above.)

Put the Shifter in the UNLOCKED Position.

Using an Allen wrench loosen the plastic setscrew that tightens down on the inner cable rod. This setscrew is inside the shifter. You access it from the opening on the side shifter assembly.

Loosen the Brass Locknut on the shifter cable sheathing. It should be tightened down against the Shifter Assembly.

Remove the two Phillips screws, which lock the brass swivel fitting in place against the shifter assembly.


Setting the Inner Cable Rod Length

Now look inside the shift assembly. You should see the inner cable rod threaded into the pivot pin.

Make sure Two (2) and Only Two (2) threads of the inner cable rod are protruding out past the pivot pin.

If you need to adjust this please do the following.


To Add More Threads:

Make sure the Shifter is in the Unlocked Position

Hold the Swivel Fitting in your right hand.

Hold the shifter assembly in your left hand.

Turn the entire Shifter Assembly in your Left Hand in a Clockwise direction, as if you where tighten it up.

Look inside the shifter and stop turning the shifter assembly when Two and Only Two threads are protruding out the end of the pivot pin.


To Remove Threads:

Make sure the Shifter is in the Unlocked Position

Hold the Swivel Fitting in your Right Hand.

Hold the shifter assembly in your Left Hand.

Turn the entire Shifter Assembly in your Left Hand in a Counter Clockwise direction, as if you were loosening it up.

Look inside the shifter and stop turning the shifter assembly when Two and Only Two threads are protruding out the end of the pivot pin.


Making the Lock/Unlock Adjustments

With the Ox Shifter in the UNLOCKED position, have someone turn the raised tire by hand (Or do it with your foot if you are working by yourself.)

The Swivel Fitting should be in your Right Hand.

The Shifter Assembly should be in your Left Hand.


As the raised tire is being rotated (as if driving forward) Turn the Swivel Fitting in your Right Hand Clockwise (as if to tighten) until you begin to hear and feel a clicking sound / sensation from the rotating tire.

In this position you are right at the point of beginning the “Lock” engagement of the Ox Locker.

From here, back off this adjustment ½ (one-half) turn, by turning the Swivel Fitting Counter Clockwise, ½ (one-half) turn.

This is exactly where you want this to stay.

Install the two Phillips locking screws into shifter assembly housing to lock the swivel fitting in place.

Tighten (but do not over tighten) the Brass Lock Nut, located on the Outer Cable fitting, against the Shifter Assembly to lock the cable sheathing in place.

(Caution: Do not tighten it against the Cable as I did while having a blonde day. Trust me on this, it won’t work for long if you do.)

Now shift into Locked position and check that the raised tire will not rotate in either the forward or backward direction.

Tighten the plastic set screw in the pivot pin to keep the inner cable rod from turning.

Take your Jeep for a spin and try your Ox Locker. I should engage and disengage fully.

If all is good (and it should be) re-install the Shifter Assembly in your console.

Vital Area #3: -. Routing and Hanging the Cable

The Ox instructions clearly state to give the cable plenty of slack to allow for articulation.

I think they really mean this!

If you are breaking the wire ties that you used to hang the cable and keep it up and out of the way, the answer is NOT to replace the wire ties with Hose Clamps, but rather to rearrange the cable placement so the wire ties don’t break!

Read that; “Broken Wire Ties are your friend! And indication the cable doesn’t have enough slack for full articulation.”

I also don’t beleive you want to use more wire ties (or hose clamps once you get the placement right) then are absolutely necessary to keep the cable out of harms way. The cable needs to be able to flex or “bow” out when shifting into the locked position when the locking cams are not aligned.

This is particularly important when you use the spring in the rear cover.

The motion of inner cable rod has to go somewhere.

The inner cable motion is absorbed by entire cable housing whenever the cams prevent the locker from engaging. This occurs by “bowing” or bending the entire cable housing to a small degree.

If the cable is clamped down to tight or too many clamps are used there is no place for the inner cable motion to be absorbed. This appears to make it difficult to shift into the locked position. (The eight (8) Jeeper’s with this specific complaint had an average of 12 wire tires or hose clamps holding their cables in place.)

Bottom line, I believe this is not a case for More Being Better. You might want to try using the minimum that you feel comfortable with to keep the cable out of harms way and allow it to flex, move and even float around under there.

I think you will find it will shift a lot easier and be more reliably this way.


Well folks, that’s all I have for now.

I hope this information will be useful for some.

Please feel free to share your own advice and experiences to make this thread better for all.

Frank

[XTRMEWJ]

I can not really add anything to this one...yet! I am putting my OX on this summer and you can be the house that I will be using this info...its already saved to my hardrive! Thanks for the help!!

Sean

2000 WJ, 242, 4" lift , 32's, ARB, ect...