DIY Rear Lokka installation on a 1999 LX470 with LSD (1 Viewer)

[thebeedeegee]

So it's been a long road, but thankfully this post didn't end up in the classifieds section as "Lightly used LX470 for sale- super rare front wheel drive edition"

This started after I saw a post a while back about attempts to improve the LSD in the rear of the LX470. Mine has done me absolutely no good in a cross axle situation or when one rear tire was in a hole while climbing a hill. I think it may have helped a little in mud but I'm not sure. Either way I heard about the Lokka, or "Aussie Locker" (which is another company with the same design BTW) Lokka was the only company that lists an auto locker for the rear of the LX470 that replaces the LSD components. Others had said it had been tried, but Lokka didn't actually have the part in stock.

When I checked Lokka.com it listed the part as available, so I ordered it for $351 shipped to my door from Australia. If you want to read about the whole long order process you can look here About to pull the trigger on a LOKKA

2 and half months later and I had the Lokka in my hands.

I picked up 4 quarts of cheap synthetic 75w-90 from Walmart (planning to change it after about 500 miles) a new gasket (ended up using permatex) some new feeler gauges (2 needed) and some axle seals

You'll need at least the following to complete this job on an LX470. I would rate this as a 3 job time consuming but not too difficult:

********************************************************************************************

-FSM section on rear axle service on LSD ... https://lc100e.github.io/manual/ (repair manual>suspension and axle>rear differential with LSD)
-Dial indicator and magnetic base ( I used the harbor freight one.....and the diff hasn't blown up yet)
-Toyota SST 09504-00011 or a homemade tool to turn the diff carrier "adjusting nuts" ( I used the chuck from my grinder )
-1/2 socket set with 10mm - 24mm
-Impact sockets and impact are nice but not necessary
-1/2" torque wrench
-2 set of feeler gauges
-1/2" breaker bar
-10mm flare nut wrench for brake lines
-14mm open end wrench x 2
-Needle nose pliers
-2 flat head screw drivers
-2 buckets
-oil drain pan
-a little NGLI 2 grease
-4 quarts of 80w-90 or synthetic 75-w90
-Diff gasket or FIPG gasket maker

Step one was to get the rear on jack stands and take both rear tires off. Then I drained the rear diff. Open the fill plug first (the upper one), then open the drain plug. Both take a 24mm I believe.

Next I disconnected the rear drive shaft. First make sure and put some match marks on the drive shaft and pinon so you can put the driveshaft back in the same position when you're done. This is where you will need 2 x 14mm open end wrenches. I ended up having to use a small breaker bar to get a couple of these bolts loose. Make sure your match marks stay on, I used a paint pen and while I had the third member out installing the Lokka the paint rubbed off, thankfully I could see where the dirt was rubbed off...

 

[thebeedeegee]

Next step I took was to remove the rear brake calipers. These are 17mm bolts. Take them off and set them on top of the axle. Then remove the brake drum. It takes some pulling and shaking but they should slide off.

Next you have to disconnect the rear brake lines so you can pull the axle shafts out. This seems like a stupid design to me. The brake line goes through a tab on the back of the metal shield that is welded on. I think you may be able to grind it off, then maybe drill a hole to place a bolt through so you can just unbolt the tab that holds the line when you need to pull the axle....I didn't do this I just disconnected the brake line. Use your 10mm flare nut wrench. Trust me use a flare nut wrench and not a standard 10mm. I almost rounded the nut off trying to use a standard 10mm wrench. Once the brake line is disconnected it will drip so place a small bucket underneath unless you have a brake line plug. I did not. You should be looking at this now.

Next step you will need to disconnect the parking brake cable from the back of both wheel hubs. Loosen the cable tension first with a 10mm wrench at the nut on the middle of the cable. It's only a metal rod with a cotter pin holding the cable onto the back of the actuator. I used a pair of needle nose to disconnect the pin and popped the metal rod out. easy peezy.

 

[thebeedeegee]

Now you are ready to pull the axle shafts. I believe the FSM says you need to disconnect and remove the ABS sensor, but I found that unnecessary as long as you are careful not to smash it with the axle while removing it. The shafts are held on by 4, 17mm nuts in the back of the hub seen here. Take them all out and get ready to pull. This is easier with a second person because the caliper is still attached to the wheel hub. Place a rag in the hand holding the axle shaft as you slide it out, and be careful not to damage the axle seals ( or you can just plan to replace them after you pull them, I didn't...which was a mistake) Have your helper hold the caliper as you pull the shaft out. Place something to catch diff fluid because some will probably leak out once you pull the shafts.

Now you are looking at this...There is an O-ring behind the hub that will probably fall apart, mine was toast at 185k miles. I used gasket maker here during reinstallation. I think this keeps water from getting into the back of the wheel bearing.

Once both axle shafts are out it's time for the fun stuff. Time to pull the 3rd member out, and that bitch is HEAVY. I was not expecting it to be that heavy, I mean, I thought it would be hefty but holy s*** that thing is heavy. Be ready for that with a jack or a buddy to help. It's held on by 10, 12mm ( I think) nuts. I used an impact to remove them, but they are only supposed to be torqued to 53 ft/lbs so you should be able to get them with a wrench. Make sure you don't loose any of the nuts or their washers. Once it's loose get something ready and start trying to pull it.

I started wiggling it and it came off a bit, but I ended up having to use a hammer and a piece of wood to persuade it to break free. A pry bar should work here as well. Again, this thing is HEAVY so be ready.

Now the REAL FUN stuff starts. Drag that heavy piece of s*** out from under the truck ( well, don't drag it, but you get the idea) and get it set up on your work bench. If you don't have a vise like me C- clamping some wood blocks to the table to support the third member helps so it doesn't roll off and bust a hole clean through to the center of the earth (did I mention this thing is heavy?)

 

[thebeedeegee]

***Update- according to this video (at 1:22) it looks like you can mark the adjustor nuts and if you put them back in the same place you won't have to set backlash. He uses a set of vise grips to hold it in place on the bearing caps...I wish I would have thought of this. If you go this route you shouldn't have to reset your backlash, but it would of course be good to check it.


Now we need to get the actual differential carrier out of the housing. Have a way to mark the components here, a paint marker or a punch. I would recommend a punch. I put 2 paint dots on one side, and 1 paint dot for the other, but the paint came off at one point. Make sure you put match marks on the bearing caps, this is very important.

Now you need to remove the 4, 17mm ( I think) bolts holding on the bearing caps.

This is the part that confuses me. Everything you read about putting in a Lokka, or any auto-locker, they say you don't have to reset backlash if it comes out and goes back in the same. On this diff you have to remove the "adjusting nuts" holding pressure on the bearings to get the diff out. When those come out you now have lost all the preload on the bearings changing backlash. I watched one video where a guy says to leave on the setting tabs you see on top of the bearing caps ( 12mm bolt) and only loosen the bearing cap nuts , but this doesn't make sense to me. Maybe one of you guys can tell me for sure, but I just removed everything.

Once the caps are off the carrier needs some persuasion to come out. I tapped it lightly with a block of wood. MAKE SURE YOU KEEP TRACK OF WHICH BEARING RACE GOES TO WHICH SIDE. You should be looking at this now. On this model you don't actually have to remove the ring gear, so you only need to separate the differential case. MAKE MATCH MARKS HERE AS WELL. I did not, but thankfully I took lots of pictures so I was able to assemble it correctly as it was taken apart. Loosen these in a crisscross pattern. You can see what the "adjustor nuts" look like laying on the bench to the left

Remove the top portion of the differential case and you will see this. All the LSD plates, side gears, and thrust washers (shiny plates). All this is coming out. Keep the 2 best shiny thrust washers to use in the Lokka. From my research it looks like all the thrust washers used in the LSD are 2mm thick, but maybe I'm wrong. All mine were, and when you look up part numbers online the 2mm washer is noted as "LSD". More on this later....

Pull everything out until you get to this.

Now you follow your Lokka instructions and make sure your cross spider doesn't have excessive wear.,.I guess mine looked ok. Now we are going to start putting the Lokka together and check clearances. This bit is very important to ensure it operates correctly. First put the Lokka cam gear with your shiny thrust washer on it, into the diff housing, and place the spacer on top that came in the Lokka box (looks like a ring). Then place your cross spider on top of that.

We have to measure the clearance from the bottom of the cross spider to the top of that spacer. I found it was easiest if you used the right angle style feeler gauges, but you can slide the flat style gauge through the slots in the side of the diff as well to get a straight shot. I put my hand on top of the cross spider when I measured these clearances to be sure the spider stayed all the way down when I slid the feeler gauge in. You are looking for a clearance between 0.006" and 0.020 ". Do this multiple times. These measurements should be no more than 0.010" apart to ensure the Lokka is centered about the cross shaft.

You want to check both sides of the cross spider. So you need to take the other Lokka cam gear and place it into the other side of the diff housing, making sure the back side of the gear also has the other shiny thrust washer behind it. Make sure you flip the cross spider over and keep the orientation the same as you check the other side's clearance so you are checking in the same way it will be installed.

My clearance was 0.019" on one side, and 0.020" on the other. At the loose end but within spec with my stock thrust washers. I could have ordered some thicker ones to get it tighter if I wanted.

 

[thebeedeegee]

Don't measure like this. Use an angled feeler gauge, or measure by sticking the feeler through the slot you see in the diff housing above the ring gear. This ensure you get a straight shot. You want the feeler to drag just a bit as it goes in and out. I measure again with the next size up as well to make sure it doesn't go in so I know I'm correct.

Now put a little grease in your Lokka gear teeth, and in the slots for the springs and pins. This will help keep the springs and pins from falling out while you assemble it. DONT LOSE THEM, Lokka didn't provide extras, and I imagine getting replacements would take forever based on how long it took to get this Lokka. Springs go in the holes with the open slotted side, pins go in the holes with the NIPPLE UP. Per photo.

Now we are going to measure the second important clearance check between the Lokka cam gears. Assemble the system so it looks like this. Here you can see the shiny thrust washer sitting on the back of the axle gear. Do not put the cross spider in for this part, it needs to be out to measure the clearance.

Now assemble the carrier with only 2 or 3 bolts holding it together. Just snug them tight. Now we are checking the "inter-cam clearance". You will be measuring the gap between the cam gears through the hole where the cross spider would be sitting. This is the gap between the flat parts of the cams where the cross spider rides, you do not measure this gap by leveraging the cam teeth apart. I made this mistake the first time. Rotate the gears around to ensure everything is settled.

The instructions say to use to flat blade screw drivers to leverage the cams apart as far as possible to ensure you get the maximum measurement. I had my wife help here by pushing down on the screw drivers while I measured clearance. You will need to stack multiple feelers together to check a clearance between 0.140" and 0.165". It says to check with a feeler gauge on opposite sides and average them together. I got the same on both sides 0.145"

Now take the carrier apart again and fit the cross spider in the Lokka. It's almost starting to look like something again....

Next we put the diff carrier back together. Tighten to 35 ft/lbs in a crisscross pattern.

 

[thebeedeegee]

Put the differential back on the bearing races. This is kind of a pain in the ass. I had to hold the bearing races and adjusting nuts on with my fingers while I set it back into place. You have to make sure the threads on the adjusting nuts are set perfectly into the threads on the case so you can turn them and set the back lash. It took me a few tries to get right.

Set the appropriate bearing caps onto each side. FSM says to start the bolts first then tap the bearing caps into place. If they don't go easily the adjusting nuts are not placed correctly, so try again. I had to do this a few times to get it just right.


On to setting the backlash. I'm sure everyone who really knows about diffs will cringe that I did this by myself for the first time with a HF dial gauge HAHA. I made sure to test drive before writing this up to make sure everything worked, and it appears to be all good so here we go.

Torque the bearing caps to 61 ft/lbs, then loosen them and re-tighten to 7 ft/bs. Now you should be able to turn the adjustor nuts. The SST would be great here, but the chuck for my angle grinder worked perfect. You need something that fits into the slots of the adjustor nuts to tighten and loosen them.

Set up your dial gauge so you can get a reading on backlash. I tried to make sure my gauge was 90 deg from the drive tooth I was measuring on. Tighten the adjustor nut on the ring gear side of the diff and check back lash, we are looking for it to be 0.008" at this point. Hold back the ring gear as you set your gauge onto it to make sure you get the full back lash measurement. There is a fine adjustor knob that will slowly drop the needle onto the tooth. I adjusted until I barely saw the needle start to move then backed off. Rock the gear and see what your measurement is. I checked multiple times repositioning the dial each time to be sure.

Next while turning the ring gear fully tighten the adjustor nut on the drive pinion side ( opposite the ring gear) . After a few turns loosen the adjustor nut on the drive pinion side.

Now we need to set up our dial on the top of the adjustor nut on the ring gear side. It needs to be set on the very top portion near the top of the bearing cap, I couldn't get a reading when it was placed anywhere else. Adjust the opposite side adjustor nut slowly while watching the dial, stop when you see the needed move. Now you have set the bearing to "zero preload" per the FSM. Continue tightening this adjustor nut 1 to 1.5 notches past this point.

Now you can reset your dial to measure backlash again. Adjustments will be made until you have 0.0051" - 0.0071" backlash. To make an adjustment you will need to loosen one side and tighten the other. I measured and measured and measured. Make sure you get it right. Then check it multiple times.

Torque the bearing caps back to 61 ft/lbs and spin the ring gear 5 times or more. Then check backlash again.

 

[Lalalx470]

Amazing work!! I've been kicking around the idea of putting a lokka in mine, hard beat the price. Hope to hear yours is holding up well by the time I finally get one from across the pacific.

 

[thebeedeegee]

I spent probably almost an hour next scraping all the old gasket material off both sealing surfaces. I put a thin bead of black permatex on the diff housing and got ready.

Hard part is over...sorta. Remember how heavy that diff was? Well now you need to get it back under the truck. I use a jack this time and had my wife roll it into place while I steadied it. I was able to slide it right on. I used a hammer and wood again to tap it into place. Tighten all the nuts in a crisscross pattern to 35 ft/lbs. I let the gasket sit up for an hour or so before tourqeing it down.

Slide your axles back in CAREFULLY so you don't mess up your axle seals. I had to rotate the hub a little to get the shaft to click in. Re-attach your drive shaft matching up the marks. Torque down to 78 ft/lbs,

Tighten 4 axle hub bolts to 90 ft/lbs

reattach the brake line

Put on brake drum

Attach caliper bolts to 90 ft/lbs

reattach parking brake cable and tighten

Refill brake fluid and bleed air from calipers.

Now for the Lokka unlock test. With the truck on stands rotate the rear wheel, the other should spin with it. Now have someone hold back one tire and turn the other, you should feel it unlock and only one wheel should spin with a click click click click. Now repeat on the opposite tire.

Fill your diff.

Drive away happy you are now "ballin' on a budget" wheeling an LX470 with a rear locker.

 

[thebeedeegee]

Amazing work!! I've been kicking around the idea of putting a lokka in mine, hard beat the price. Hope to hear yours is holding up well by the time I finally get one from across the pacific.

Thanks man, I gotta say I was a little overwhelmed when I realized I would actually have to set the back lash, but it really wasn't hard at all. Hopefully it doesn't blow up. I drove about 100 miles today and everything seems to work as it should. I took it into the woods to hunt, and down some muddy roads as well.

On the asphalt you can hear it click turning into the drive way, making a turn from a stop sign with the window down. It will drive my wife crazy but it doesn't bother me. I took some corners on the road on the gas, off the gas, getting on the gas halfway through, letting off the gas halfway through. Everything felt exactly as it did before the install. It is not noticeable so far at all on the road.

The clicks were fairly loud when I first pulled out of the driveway, to the point where I was like "oh s*** what have I done?!" but the system has quieted down a lot now. The clicks are only audible during slow tight turns.

Now I need to get up to Uwharrie and test this baby out.....I need some sliders first though

 

[flintknapper]

Nice write up. Great pics as well. Thank you for taking the time to document all of this and for pioneering the venture (Lokka in a LX470). Now I have to decide if I want to go this way or put a selectable in mine (Harrop).

 

[thebeedeegee]

Nice write up. Great pics as well. Thank you for taking the time to document all of this and for pioneering the venture (Lokka in a LX470). Now I have to decide if I want to go this way or put a selectable in mine (Harrop).

Thanks man, took me a while to type up last night. If any experts on here have any recommendations or corrections let me know.


I really wanted a Harrop but when I still need to weld on some sliders and add a rear bumper I couldn't justify the cost

 

[J1000]

Nice instructions and review, thanks for posting it! The LOKKA is definitely on my radar but I also definitely don't want to ruin the way it drives especially on twisty mountain roads. Please keep us updated if it does anything unexpected or not.

 

[thebeedeegee]

Nice instructions and review, thanks for posting it! The LOKKA is definitely on my radar but I also definitely don't want to ruin the way it drives especially on twisty mountain roads. Please keep us updated if it does anything unexpected or not.

Thanks, I know it's not most of the 100 series guys style but so far so good. I really don't notice it at all. I went through some tight turns yesterday that turn almost 90 degrees while accelerating and felt nothing. No bangs or clunks, or lurching all smooth as before. Now i have money to spare for some steel to build a rear bumper, and a weld yourself slider kit.

Admittedly the clicks are a bit annoying as most people think something is wrong with your car haha. I know the guys at work are going to give me s*** when they hear it after seeing me with my diff apart..."No really, guys it's supposed to sound like that!"

 

[KliersLC]

Just curious, will this work on a non LSD diff?

I loved the aussie locker in my 80, and would love to have one in the 100.

 

[thebeedeegee]

Just curious, will this work on a non LSD diff?

I loved the aussie locker in my 80, and would love to have one in the 100.

Yeah definitely, they've been making them for the 80 and 100 series open diffs for a while. I think it was hard to get the LSD previously. I know torque masters (aussie locker) in the US don't have one for the LSD. I would buy it from them if you have standard open diffs since they are USA made and the sam design.

 

[KliersLC]

Yeah definitely, they've been making them for the 80 and 100 series open diffs for a while. I think it was hard to get the LSD previously. I know torque masters (aussie locker) in the US don't have one for the LSD. I would buy it from them if you have standard open diffs since they are USA made and the sam design.

Interesting. A buddy tried to get an aussie locker for his 99 last year and was told they did not exist.... I'll do some checking around.

 

[thebeedeegee]

Interesting. A buddy tried to get an aussie locker for his 99 last year and was told they did not exist.... I'll do some checking around.

Hmm, maybe torque masters doesn't then. Lokka definitely does

 

[thebeedeegee]

Just as a quick update I do plan to try and use some thicker oil in the rear diff after about 500 mile break in. I've been reading on a lot of other forums that guys had good luck with 75w-140 in the rear diff to quiet down the noise from an auto-locker. I've got 75w-90 in there now, and the noise is pretty loud when making a tight slow turn while barely on the gas (turning into the drive way or parking spot)

We'll see if it's any better with the thicker stuff. Everything feels fine, but if I can quiet it down a little I'd like to.

 

[thebeedeegee]

Just as a quick update I do plan to try and use some thicker oil in the rear diff after about 500 mile break in. I've been reading on a lot of other forums that guys had good luck with 75w-140 in the rear diff to quiet down the noise from an auto-locker. I've got 75w-90 in there now, and the noise is pretty loud when making a tight slow turn while barely on the gas (turning into the drive way or parking spot)

We'll see if it's any better with the thicker stuff. Everything feels fine, but if I can quiet it down a little I'd like to.

 

[KliersLC]

I can't remember the exact specs off the top of my head, but I used the mobil 1 full synthetic for the aussie locker in my 80 for 150k and it was very well behaved. I think I used the 75w-140, but not sure--Something like that though.