DIY Rear Lokka installation on a 1999 LX470 with LSD

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Awesome write up! Now its time to do the part time 4wd conversion and front Lokka!

Appreciate it. Yeah I'm seriously considering it. My next step is sliders and a rear bumper. Then I may do that conversion in a year or so.

I'd like to start wheeling this thing harder, the rear has already proved to be a huge improvement. I climbed right out when my rear tires fell into a deep mud hole this week while out hunting. Before I would have definitely been spinning and digging
 
Well I knew I should have replaced the axle seals after pulling the axle but I got lazy. I have a slight leak on both sides so I've gotta pull them again.
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Aside from the leak, how are you liking the lokka?

Yeah it's been great so far. The noise is definitely quieter after about 400 miles, and I still plan to swap to some heavier oil which should quiet it down some more. It clicks turning into my driveway and in parking lots just like everyone who has one said it would, nothing terrible though.

Driving on the road I can't tell it's there. I tested it a little bit in some mud and climbing through some ruts and it seems to be working well. I'm happy with it so far.
 
Well, I know a lot of people had concerns with an auto locker in the snow. I put it in thinking "pshhh dude I'm in Florida let's do it"

Here i am up in the NC mountains in the winter...we'll see how this goes.

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thebeedeegee having a long wheelbase will definitely help with the autolocker in the rearend.

I run Lockrites front and rear in my 40 Series and they are awesome off road in the mud,rocks, etc. Limited experience running Lockrites in snow, I would say take it easy on the throttle!

Good luck!
 
thebeedeegee having a long wheelbase will definitely help with the autolocker in the rearend.

I run Lockrites front and rear in my 40 Series and they are awesome off road in the mud,rocks, etc. Limited experience running Lockrites in snow, I would say take it easy on the throttle!

Good luck!

I've run lockers front and rear in a couple of Bronco's (one early model, one full size) for 30+ years.

There are only two potential draw backs to lockers:

1. When on a sidehill your rear end will slide downhill when/if the rear wheels spin.
2. In rutted tracks the rear locker tends to 'push' the front making it difficult to steer out of ruts, but you learn to get off the throttle, steer hard the direction you want to go and reapply the throttle.

There are other peculiarities folks will bring up, like harder steering on sharp turns (doesn't bother me, never broken anything). Yes 'selectables' are the Cat's Meow, but Auto's can work well too in many conditions, you learn to adjust.
 
Well after about 2k miles I decided to swap the fluid over to 75-140. The locker had actually quietened down a whole lot to the point where I didn't even notice it unless turning REALLY tight, and even this it was quiet. Figured it couldn't hurt.

I noticed a worrying amount of metal on the plug. More than I've seen before at changes. I'm going to send off a sample to Blackstone and see what they say.

What you think?
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Much more than I would have expected and I'm not one to worry much about small amounts metal from a diff.

Not sure Blackstone can tell you anything you don't already know about it though.

I'd just run the new gear lube for a couple thousand miles and then check it. IF you see the same thing again (more metal and significantly deteriorating lube) then I'd have cause for concern, but yeah....that's a fair bit of metal.
 
I've said this before on other posts but I'll say it again.... Buying and installing a Lokka auto locker was the best thing I ever did to my truck. It was on an 80 series so I think the install was less complicated. Truly money well spent
 
Much more than I would have expected and I'm not one to worry much about small amounts metal from a diff.

Not sure Blackstone can tell you anything you don't already know about it though.

I'd just run the new gear lube for a couple thousand miles and then check it. IF you see the same thing again (more metal and significantly deteriorating lube) then I'd have cause for concern, but yeah....that's a fair bit of metal.

I wonder if its metal from the Lokka or metal from the gears?

The fluid looked clean, it was cheap supertech 75w-90. I put in mobile 1 75w-140.

I just got back from doing a long highway drive, some mountain driving in some light snow, and off road trail.
 
I wonder if its metal from the Lokka or metal from the gears?

The fluid looked clean, it was cheap supertech 75w-90. I put in mobile 1 75w-140.

I just got back from doing a long highway drive, some mountain driving in some light snow, and off road trail.

Doesn't look like anything that would shed from the gear set really. More like 'flaking' from something poorly heat treated or perhaps a spacer/thust washer of some type?
 
Doesn't look like anything that would shed from the gear set really. More like 'flaking' from something poorly heat treated or perhaps a spacer/thust washer of some type?

Maybe the thrust washers. I reused 2 of the old ones. Pieces were very silver when the oil cleaned off
I've said this before on other posts but I'll say it again.... Buying and installing a Lokka auto locker was the best thing I ever did to my truck. It was on an 80 series so I think the install was less complicated. Truly money well spent

Yeah it's been great so far. Hopefully next time I change the oil there isn't this much metal in there and ill feel a lot better.

The LX did great on the trail last week. I had some clearance issues on an obstacle (dinged my rear diff) but she wanted to climb right up no problem. The clearance issue was really just bad line choice. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of the more fun parts of the trail but she did well
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Doesn't look like anything that would shed from the gear set really. More like 'flaking' from something poorly heat treated or perhaps a spacer/thust washer of some type?

I'm wondering if it could be material off the cross spider. The silver color is similar and it seems like the Lokka would wear those pins as it operates. There is slop where the pin fits through the slots in the cam gears per the design.

When on the gas the pin pushes against the sloped side of the slot and forces the cam gears out locking the gears together, when differential action is needed it goes back the other way so you get a lot of back and forth motion on that pin it would seem.
 
I was thinking those bits are from the carrier.

I would do a test drain and fill cycle with an inexpensive GL-5 conventional dino 85/140 (+\- $20 a gallon) , run it for 1,000 miles drain and check your plug again see if any more material came off.
 
I was thinking those bits are from the carrier.

I would do a test drain and fill cycle with an inexpensive GL-5 conventional dino 85/140 (+\- $20 a gallon) , run it for 1,000 miles drain and check your plug again see if any more material came off.
What would cause the carrier to wear like that? If the bearing races were accidentally installed swapped could that cause uneven wear? I'm trying to think about what I could have put back together incorrectly
 
What would cause the carrier to wear like that? If the bearing races were accidentally installed swapped could that cause uneven wear? I'm trying to think about what I could have put back together incorrectly

Bearing and races do have 'wear patterns' after time, so always best to keep each pair matched.
 
It may be as benign as a bit of casting that flaked off when you assembled & torqued the carrier back together- maybe like something from this rough edge


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Did any of the parts installed appear to have a hard chrome finish?
 

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