Awesome Job! Thank you sir, great pictures that help tons 
-Matt
-Matt
locker actuator rebuild (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter landtank
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
subscribed, I want to see how this turns out
93yotasr5
Come and take it
Impressive!!
- Thread starter
- #24
assembling rear actuator
I received the o-rings and finished these off today.
First I used a Scotch brite pad and alcohol to clean up the armatures where the brushes contact them. You can see in the pictures now that they are nice and clean with all the tarnish removed.
The first set of pictures illustrates how to install the brushes.
You first place the spring into the holder followed by the brush and push the brush in until the brush wire can be hooked around the back of the brush holder.
The pictures don't show this but if you can get that wire all the way around the corner it will hold the brush flush all the way in allowing the armature to easily be placed in the assembly.
Once the armature is in place you just need to push that wire off the back and that will release the brush to make contact with the armature.
NOTE: this same method is used to remove the armature, you simply loop that wire over the end to hold the brush out of the way.
I received the o-rings and finished these off today.
First I used a Scotch brite pad and alcohol to clean up the armatures where the brushes contact them. You can see in the pictures now that they are nice and clean with all the tarnish removed.
The first set of pictures illustrates how to install the brushes.
You first place the spring into the holder followed by the brush and push the brush in until the brush wire can be hooked around the back of the brush holder.
The pictures don't show this but if you can get that wire all the way around the corner it will hold the brush flush all the way in allowing the armature to easily be placed in the assembly.
Once the armature is in place you just need to push that wire off the back and that will release the brush to make contact with the armature.
NOTE: this same method is used to remove the armature, you simply loop that wire over the end to hold the brush out of the way.
- Thread starter
- #25
rear actuator assembly
Next we need to install the armature.
The first thing is to grease the hole where the end slides into.
Then slide the armature down in place and release the brushes.
It's a good idea to rotate the armature and make sure it spins freely.
Next up is placing the motor cap in place. In the picture you will notice two small holes next to the threaded ones. These holes are there to make sure the cap in placed oriented correctly.
Next we need to install the armature.
The first thing is to grease the hole where the end slides into.
Then slide the armature down in place and release the brushes.
It's a good idea to rotate the armature and make sure it spins freely.
Next up is placing the motor cap in place. In the picture you will notice two small holes next to the threaded ones. These holes are there to make sure the cap in placed oriented correctly.
- Thread starter
- #26
rear actuiator assembly
On this actuator the o-ring groove was so badly corroded I ended up using FPIG on the rear motor cap.
I just laid down a nice bead and screwed the cap in place.
On this actuator the o-ring groove was so badly corroded I ended up using FPIG on the rear motor cap.
I just laid down a nice bead and screwed the cap in place.
- Thread starter
- #27
rear actuator assembly
Next up is timing the gear assembly to the shaft.
If these two are not timed correctly the shaft with either not extend or retract fulley leaving you with either an always locked or always un-locked diff depending on which way the timing is off.
What I do is locate the shaft in it's centered position and then mark the housing for the gear assemblies center and place everything together at that point.
I start by locating the gears center position on the actuator cover. If you look at the cover from the inside you will be see there is a casting piece that restricts the gear assemblies range of motion.
I make a mark that is across from the center of that area.
I then place the cover onto the main casting and transfer that location to the casting so when I install the gear assembly it will line up with that mark.
The shaft needs to be centered as well and there are 9 rings on the end of the shaft were it engages the gear assembly. I position the shaft so that the center ring(#5) aligns to the center of the bushing in the casting for the gear assembly.
Next up is timing the gear assembly to the shaft.
If these two are not timed correctly the shaft with either not extend or retract fulley leaving you with either an always locked or always un-locked diff depending on which way the timing is off.
What I do is locate the shaft in it's centered position and then mark the housing for the gear assemblies center and place everything together at that point.
I start by locating the gears center position on the actuator cover. If you look at the cover from the inside you will be see there is a casting piece that restricts the gear assemblies range of motion.
I make a mark that is across from the center of that area.
I then place the cover onto the main casting and transfer that location to the casting so when I install the gear assembly it will line up with that mark.
The shaft needs to be centered as well and there are 9 rings on the end of the shaft were it engages the gear assembly. I position the shaft so that the center ring(#5) aligns to the center of the bushing in the casting for the gear assembly.
- Thread starter
- #28
rear actuator assembly
At this point you will need to coat the contact surface of the gear assembly with dielectric grease and using white lithium coat the gear teeth and the bushings.
You want to align the tab which locks into the two wrap springs with the mark that you made on the casting for determining the center position.
Lastly you need to lube the bushing in the cover and install it in place.
At this point you will need to coat the contact surface of the gear assembly with dielectric grease and using white lithium coat the gear teeth and the bushings.
You want to align the tab which locks into the two wrap springs with the mark that you made on the casting for determining the center position.
Lastly you need to lube the bushing in the cover and install it in place.
- Thread starter
- #29
front actuator assembly and testing
The front goes together the same way however there is no shaft to be timed.
But you still should center the gear assembly for testing purposes.
TESTING
How I test them is to set the truck up with the CDL in the locked position and the locker switch turned off.
With the key in the off position I plug one of the actuators in and then have someone turn the key to the on position.
Since both actuators are in their centered position they should turn on and rotate to their unlocked position.
For the rear actuator this would be with the shaft fully retracted.
For the front actuator the gear should turn counter clockwise as you look at it straight on.
Since all 4 magnets of the rear motor had come loose I had no idea which pair of magnets went where.
For the motor to turn in the proper direction the magnet position is critical as well as the the polar position.
While the 4 magnets were glued in the proper position the polls were wrong and in my case the motor spun backwards which caused the shaft to extend instead of retract.
To fix this, swap the motor leads at the connector. The motor now turns in the correct direction an the shaft retracts when the locker switch is turned off or in case of the front the gear will rotate in the opposite direction.
Attached are pictures of the finished actuators.
The front goes together the same way however there is no shaft to be timed.
But you still should center the gear assembly for testing purposes.
TESTING
How I test them is to set the truck up with the CDL in the locked position and the locker switch turned off.
With the key in the off position I plug one of the actuators in and then have someone turn the key to the on position.
Since both actuators are in their centered position they should turn on and rotate to their unlocked position.
For the rear actuator this would be with the shaft fully retracted.
For the front actuator the gear should turn counter clockwise as you look at it straight on.
Since all 4 magnets of the rear motor had come loose I had no idea which pair of magnets went where.
For the motor to turn in the proper direction the magnet position is critical as well as the the polar position.
While the 4 magnets were glued in the proper position the polls were wrong and in my case the motor spun backwards which caused the shaft to extend instead of retract.
To fix this, swap the motor leads at the connector. The motor now turns in the correct direction an the shaft retracts when the locker switch is turned off or in case of the front the gear will rotate in the opposite direction.
Attached are pictures of the finished actuators.
Looks good Rick. They look brand new.
Very nice work. MIke
94SRUNNER
GOLD Star
I don't even have F/R lockers, but what a fantastic write up.
Thanks Rick
Thanks Rick
Thanks for the write up. Those look great. I wish had this to look at a couple weeks ago when I did all of the above to my rear locker (except I skipped the bead blasting and used fipg instead of o-rings). The trickiest part for me was figuring out if the shaft was centered/clocked properly. It really is not that hard of a job and now my lockers work like they should.
- Thread starter
- #36
thanks guys.
I've been contacted by a few people and there will be seal kits available.
Also some have asked about the difficulty of doing this. That would depend if you are doing a PM on a working actuator and just want to clean, grease and reseal the unit or if it is repairing a malfunctioning one.
The three main reasons that I've seen for a malfunctioning actuator are:
1. Binding gear assembly do to dirty bushings
2. dirty contact area on the gear where the leaf springs sit. A bad contact here won't allow the motor to receive 12v.
3. loose motor magnets.
The rear locker in this thread is about as bad as I've seen and if your actuator isn't working at all I would assume the worst.
I've been contacted by a few people and there will be seal kits available.
Also some have asked about the difficulty of doing this. That would depend if you are doing a PM on a working actuator and just want to clean, grease and reseal the unit or if it is repairing a malfunctioning one.
The three main reasons that I've seen for a malfunctioning actuator are:
1. Binding gear assembly do to dirty bushings
2. dirty contact area on the gear where the leaf springs sit. A bad contact here won't allow the motor to receive 12v.
3. loose motor magnets.
The rear locker in this thread is about as bad as I've seen and if your actuator isn't working at all I would assume the worst.
What if the actuator seems to be working(i.e. I can hear it turning and applying the spring pressure), but nothing happens after that? No amount of figure 8 driving can complete the locker engaging.
I think I have looked into the actuator assembly and it seems to be working. Do I pull the third member, or is there something else to check?
I think I have looked into the actuator assembly and it seems to be working. Do I pull the third member, or is there something else to check?
- Thread starter
- #38
if you can hear the motor working but the dash light stays blinking it is likely 1 of two problems.
1. the diff is actually locked but the indicator switch on the diff is malfunctioning.
2. the diff isn't locked because the bushings are bound up and won't let the gear assembly move.
So I would lock the diff and then jack up the axle so both tires are off the ground and see if the axle is locked or not.
1. the diff is actually locked but the indicator switch on the diff is malfunctioning.
2. the diff isn't locked because the bushings are bound up and won't let the gear assembly move.
So I would lock the diff and then jack up the axle so both tires are off the ground and see if the axle is locked or not.
Ricks pictures don't do justice to the quality job he did! I put them
back on the truck today, need to pick up a battery tomorrow and test them
out.
Great job Rick! Thanks for your help!
Lane
back on the truck today, need to pick up a battery tomorrow and test them
out.
Great job Rick! Thanks for your help!
Lane
