Aussie Locker Install (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Hayes
- Start date
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Hornd
SILVER Star
Am I the only one that can't look at pics?
I installed an Aussie Locker in the rear axle of my 1993 FZJ80 today. I found the instructions a little disorganzied, but the install was easy nonetheless.
Here are some photos of the install for those who are allergic to bananas.
1. Follow the instructions provided by Aussie Locker. These pictures and instructions are only additional help.
2. After the rear axle is safely supported on jack stands, you need to pull the rear axles out a few inches so you will be able to remove the third member from the axle.
2A. Undo the flange nuts, remove the flat washers, and GENTLY tap the sides of the flange to get the cone washers to release. You can do this without removing the wheels, but if the cone washers wont release, you'll need to remove the wheels to get a better angle on the flange. The cones will eventuall come loose, and probably shoot out at you.
2B. Pull the axle out 4-5 inches.
3. Now you need to remove the third member.
3A. Disconnect the drive shaft at the third member and tie it up out of your way. Or, take the whole shaft off, take the opportunity to lube it, and set it aside.
3B. Remove the nuts and get some help to remove the third--the whole differential, carrier, ring, and pinion are in there--it's heavy.
4. If you're not sure what you're looking at, here ya go:
5. Remove the pinion shaft pin, the pinion shaft, the spider gears and their cupped thrust washers, and the side gears and their flat thrust washers.
6. Check out your Aussie Locker. Not many parts:
7. Put a little MP grease on the side gears--both sides of both gears--and put a flat thrust washer on the axle end of the axle gear.
8. Put the axle gears in the carrier where the side gears used to be. (The grease should help hold things together.)
9. Put some grease on the spacers, and place them on the axle gears.
10. Carefully slide the pinion shaft back in between the spacers--just support the pinion shaft, rather than putting the pinion shaft pin back in.
11. Now you need to measure the clearances between the pinion shaft and each spacer.
11A. Carefully wedge a flat-head screwdriver between the pinion shaft and spacers to fully seat the spacers and axle gears.
11B. Use a feeler guage to measure the clearances. If you're out of Aussie Locker specs, you'll need to replace your side gear thrust washers as appropriate.
12. If you're within Aussie Locker specs, you're ready to put the cam gears in. Grease everything to help it stick.
12A. First put one Aussie Locker pin in each slot on the cam gears. The small nub on each pin goes in first.
12B. Pull the spacers out and put them in the cam gears--arranged so that everything will be pointing the right way when the cam and axle gear teeth are meshed.
12C. Put one cam gear in on one axle gear (the teeth obviously need to mesh). Reseat the spacer by pushing on it.
12D. Put the other cam gear and spacer on the other axle gear. Rotate the cam gear so the gaps align to give you a hole. Stick your finger in the hole to reseat the other spacer.
13. Keeping the cam gears aligned, slide each pin out of its slot where it will insert into a matching hole on the other cam gear.
14. The last thing you need to do is put the little springs in the slots, underneath the pins. The springs will fit in the side of the slot with a little careful help from a screwdriver. The spring will seat onto the little nub on the pin. Be patient and go slow.
14A. Using a dial caliper, take a final measurement of the the clearance between the two cam gears. If you're in spec with the previous pinion shaft-spacer measurement, you should be fine here. If not, troubleshoot according to the Aussie Locker instructions.
15. If you're in spec, you're Aussie Locker is installed. Make sure everything is clean, put on a new gasket, and put it all back together.
16. Don't forget to test the locker per Aussie Locker instructions. Read and follow them exactly.
17. Beverage Break
Hayes
- Thread starter
- #84
Sorry man.
I had the pics remotely hosted, and then never saved them when I canceled my hosting service.
Thanks the pics should aid the process a little.
Thanks for the photos!!!!
LFD2037
TEXAS LEXUS!
Couple things I noticed from NTL's pic's:
clean the damn rear end BEFORE you start taking it apart
too much grease will give you false readings on the precise measurements for play
mine's a few years old but I didn't have that washer/spacer w/a tab on it nor did directions say anything about it
clean the damn rear end BEFORE you start taking it apart
too much grease will give you false readings on the precise measurements for play
mine's a few years old but I didn't have that washer/spacer w/a tab on it nor did directions say anything about it
Which way should the open parts of these spacers face? I faced them with open part out but I'm getting a lot of noise while coasting. I can't find a proper set of instructions anywhere.
I've poured over those instructions a hundred times. I wish the answer was in there somewhere
Open side outward is the proper orientation. What kind of noise? Occasional popping or banging is normal when going from drive to coast and visa versa as the drive wheel switches sides. Most of the time it will switch without making noise.
The flat side rides against the center pin, so the stepped side faces outboard.
cartercd
SILVER Star
I would caution people to not assume that their original thrust washers are going to put them within Aussie Locker specs. You should plan for some down time to order washers unless you want to spend $200 beforehand and have them immediately available. I’ll discuss the challenges I had with my setup, but first here are some diagrams to familiarize yourself with the component names and the tolerances specified by Aussie Locker:
In my case the original washers were 1.95mm, which is at the upper range of thickness. These put my pinion shaft gap out of spec. That is an understatement, as I could not even insert the pinion shaft as it would contact the spacers. Oh well, I took some measurement without the thrust washers and determined that the 1.55mm washers would put me nicely within the pinion gap specs. I ordered then installed the 1.55mm washers and I was right where I wanted to be. I completed the installation and took a measurement of the center gap. Crap...I was out of spec as the gap was too wide. So I needed slightly thicker washers to close that center gap, but slightly thicker washers also reduces your pinion shaft gap.
I did want any normal person would do under the circumstances, and I built an Excel model that allowed me to plug in any combination of washer thicknesses and calculate both the pinion gap and center gap. Interestingly, there was no combination of washers that would put me in spec. I contacted Aussie Locker (Torq-Masters) and described my predicament. They said that although the center gap spec is a max of 0.170 inches, they warranty a gap up to 0.183. However, a gap that wide increases the risk of breaking pins and bad things happening. That didn’t sound very encouraging. They advised to get the center gap as close to spec as possible. So I ordered 1.7mm and 1.65mm washers and re-assembled. This got me really close to spec and within the Aussie warranty coverage. Below are the options I evaluated as well as the part numbers for the Toyota thrust washers.
A few hints I picked up along the way:
In my case the original washers were 1.95mm, which is at the upper range of thickness. These put my pinion shaft gap out of spec. That is an understatement, as I could not even insert the pinion shaft as it would contact the spacers. Oh well, I took some measurement without the thrust washers and determined that the 1.55mm washers would put me nicely within the pinion gap specs. I ordered then installed the 1.55mm washers and I was right where I wanted to be. I completed the installation and took a measurement of the center gap. Crap...I was out of spec as the gap was too wide. So I needed slightly thicker washers to close that center gap, but slightly thicker washers also reduces your pinion shaft gap.
I did want any normal person would do under the circumstances, and I built an Excel model that allowed me to plug in any combination of washer thicknesses and calculate both the pinion gap and center gap. Interestingly, there was no combination of washers that would put me in spec. I contacted Aussie Locker (Torq-Masters) and described my predicament. They said that although the center gap spec is a max of 0.170 inches, they warranty a gap up to 0.183. However, a gap that wide increases the risk of breaking pins and bad things happening. That didn’t sound very encouraging. They advised to get the center gap as close to spec as possible. So I ordered 1.7mm and 1.65mm washers and re-assembled. This got me really close to spec and within the Aussie warranty coverage. Below are the options I evaluated as well as the part numbers for the Toyota thrust washers.
A few hints I picked up along the way:
- If you are out of spec on the pinon gap try swapping the spacers from one side to the other, as manufacturing tolerances may improve the outcome and get you within spec.
- For initial assemble use minimal grease as it interferes with your measurements (and given how many times I took things apart and re-assembled it makes a mess)
- Verify your measuring device. I added up the sum of the feeler gauges, but then independently measured the total thickness of the feeler gauge with a caliper. You’re dealing in thousands of inches, so you need to trust your measurements.
- If you disassemble be careful not to let the tiny spring shoot across the garage and spend a half hour looking for it. I would never do this myself of course.
- Be prepared for multiple Step 6s, as you’ll be waiting on parts.
