99 LC - What keeps a rear locker from locking? (1 Viewer)

[MDarius]

My SIL just bought a 100 series today (cash pending) and the rear locker doesn't lock. PO "hasn't looked into it much" in the 3+ years he's owned it. He did say he's inspected the rear diff and there's never been any metal shavings.

I figure:
1. Switch
2. Connectors
3. Some kind of actuator motor
4. Collar
5. Buggered up gears and guts

That's about all there is to a locker, right? Any suggestions on what to start looking at?

 

[Octous]

My locker ecu which is in the passenger foot well by where your right foot would be had bad contacts no had to plug it in and unplug it to get my rear locker to work

 

[sr5pickup]

Can you hear a noise coming from the actuator when switching on? Sometimes the actuator seizes up from non use. May need to try cyclng it several times. You can try slowly driving in reverse or forward, or try driving in figure eights to get it to actuate. Do this on loose gravel. If that doesn’t work the actuator may need to be pulled and internals cleaned/greased.

 

[MDarius]

He'll pick it up Friday so we'll explore that more. Thanks!

It's a gold 99 with 227k, arb winch bumper and Warn winch up front, ARB rear with tire swing out, OME lift with airbags in back, 5 Goodyear 315's with lots of meat, fitted canvas duck seat covers, new headlights with LED upgrades. $12k. I feel like it was a good find. Pictures to come when he picks it up.

 

[medtro]

Is the t-case shifter shifted to "L"?

 

[MDarius]

Is the t-case shifter shifted to "L"?

Yeah, the guy who owned it is pretty capable, so I'm sure it's more than that this time. He just never bothered with it because he has other LC options in his herd if he wants lockers.

I'll go through what I can this weekend.

 

[barrysmoothies]

I had this issue as well and my understanding is it's fairly common. My locker indicator would blink on the dash, but then never actually engage. Was due to a bad 4WD low sensor. Got it replaced and now no issues.

 

[saucebox]

If you end up wanting to take the actuator apart, have a study though the 80 series locker rebuild threads. There are some specific things to watch out for. Wits End sells a kit of sorts that includes correctly sized O-rings, new bolts, etc. I used the Wits End stuff to rebuild mine. It's essentially the same process though, just make sure the axle is locked before rebuild (apply 12V directly if necessary).