Ox C825-273-29-AIR Air Locking Differential for 29 Spline Chrysler 8.25 Rear Axle with 2.73 and Numerically Higher Gear Ratio

Cons: This locker did not fit into my Chrysler 8.25 differential housing. Before I could adjust the backlash to be within spec the small cap of the locker was contacting the housing. This is with a 41 tooth (4.10) ring gear which is exactly the same with as stock. I ground the housing down to accommodate the carrier with backlash at .007, but when test fitting the shift fork it to required grinding to fit into the housing. All around poor fitment by design for this application. I did cross reference all the individual P/N of the locker to what is called out on the OX USA website and they all matched up.

The diff cover has the bolts recessed which makes it a real pain to line up your shift fork, line up your bolts holes and not make a mess with the RTV while you hold the 20lb cover and try to get bolts started with a socket wrench. You are unable to turn the bolts by hand due to the recess. Also, there was no accommodation made for the parking cable bracket which attaches to the top center bolt of the diff cover. This bracket also had to be modified to fit in its proper place.

Pros: A lot of thought went into how to be able to remove the cross pin to allow installation of the c-clips once the ring gear had been attached to the carrier. It took a lot of fiddling to get the cross pin back in but it is better than having to grind ring gear teeth.

Summary: I think this is a low volume seller for OX and has received a commiserate amount of R&D for this application. Probable not many people bringing their 18+ year old XJ or Dakota to a shop and paying 50% of the vehicle worth to have a locker installed. Since most installs into the C8.25 axles will happen at home OX may not have visibility to these issues.