To start, you'll want your rig to be up on jack stands, out of gear and the e-brake off. Remove the diff cover, then remove the pinion shaft. You then want to remove the c-clips, spider gears, and thrust washers (you will not be reusing the thrush washers with the no-slip). Now you're ready to put together the locker. You install the coupler into the driver's side first, with paddle opening facing up. Then put the active spacer onto the coupler with the opening for the c-clip facing you. push the axle all the way in, put the c-clip in and pop the axle out to set it in there. Rotate the wheel down so that the c-clip opening is facing down, the paddle facing toward you. Throw in the non-slotted driver with the paddle opening toward you, and press it down onto the coupler making sure that the teeth are fully engaged all the way around. Put the second coupler into the passenger side with the paddle opening away from you (opposite from the way it went in on the driver side). Grab the slotted driver and put the second active spacer into it with the spacer paddle at the opening in the driver. Throw this whole contraption onto the passenger side coupler making sure that the teeth engage fully all the way around and that the paddle is pointing away from you - fitting into the paddle opening. If the paddles are not perfectly into the openings, it won't work. I can't stress this enough; and this is, I think, the most frustrating part of the whole thing. Wedge a long screwdriver into the hole where the pinion shaft goes, keeping both sides engaged, and put the c-clip into the passenger side (of course push the axle in first, and after you put the c-clip in, pull the axle out to secure the c-clip in there). Holding both sides in engagement with the screwdriver, rotate the driver side wheel forward just a little (do it very slowly, not to jam the screwdriver into the diff housing. duh.) to reveal the spring slot. now grab the little springs and the big springs, throw the little spring into the bigger spring, and throw one of the spring assemblies into the spring slot, compressing the inner spring to get it in there. Make sure it's all the way in there! Again, with the screwdriver in the pinion shaft hole to keep the couplers and drivers stationary, rotate the driver side tire forward a half turn to expose the other spring slot. Throw the second "little spring-big spring" assembly into that slot. Again, make sure it's all the way in there! Now you get to use their super duper gap checking tool. It's highly sophisticated, you know! You check the gap between the drivers with the end of this metal stick. It should fit through with the narrow side, it shouldn't with the fat side. Now, rotate the wheels about a quarter turn backwards to expose the pinion shaft hole, make sure all 8 saddle springs are in place and the spacers and drivers are fully seated onto the couplers. Keeping the whole locker contraption stationary, rotate the carrier about a quarter turn forward to expose the pinion shaft hole. put the pinion shaft in, twisting it to get past the little springs (it helps to throw a little bearing grease onto the pinion shaft first). put the retaining bolt in and tighten the muther down. Okie dokie. Now you get to check and see if you installed the thing right (this really takes 2 people). Go put the tranny into gear (or park). Have one person rotate the dirver side forward (hold and push it real tight), while the other person turns the passenger tire backward (with some muscle). the passenger tire should pop and turn freely backward. the passenger tire should not be able to turn the same direction as the driver side person is rotating the tire. Repeat this in the opposite directions and you're done. Now you can put the diff cover on (don't forget to clean it) and throw on some RTV, fill her up with plain old gear oil (no special oil is needed), lower the rig down and you're done.
It took me about an hour and a half at a relaxed pace. Your driving techniques need to be a little tamer on the streets, but you definately don't have to drive like a grandma. Just keep it easy around the corners, let your foot off the gas as you intitiate the turn, accelerate after you straighten out. If you don't do this your rig won't want to steer very well. But the transition from locked to unlocked and back to locked is perfectly quiet and you don't feel a thing (if you take it easy on the corners). The only other thing I noticed was if you jam your foot on the gas to acelerate or quickly let your foot off the gas (not necessarily during or after a turn) you get a little wandering. Basically, treat your rig like it has a locker in it. Sudden changes in acceleration or decelleration you'll notice it (a little), and take it easy around the corners.
As for performance on the trails, it rocks! It still works on slighter turns - doesn't disengage. When one tire slips, it still gives some power to the slipping wheel, but gives more power to the non slipping wheel. I haven't found any down sides to it on the trail yet. The only problem I had with the product was the first one I installed ended up getting a circumfrencial crack in the synchro ring - materials defect - after a month of driving it on the streets. Sent it back to Powertrax and got a new one. We'll see how long this one lasts. My Jeep is a daily driver, it sees a lot of pavement. The locker is almost unnoticable on the streets, and is a blessing on the trails combined with the lockright in the front. I'll let ya know how it goes!
