Locker questions

[Living in the Past]

Curious was it ever determined if the caps are needed for full floating applications? Been over twenty five years since I installed the front one. The side, spiders gears and instructions are in another location in the Lock Right boxes. Otherwise would just look if the caps are in one of the boxes.

 

[plink01]

Sorry I'm not sure how I ****ed that up!!

 

[Steamer]

Curious was it ever determined if the caps are needed for full floating applications? Been over twenty five years since I installed the front one. The side, spiders gears and instructions are in another location in the Lock Right boxes. Otherwise would just look if the caps are in one of the boxes.

I would say yes since the caps are what the inner plates ride on as they move back and forth engaging and disengaging.

 

[Living in the Past]

I would say yes since the caps are what the inner plates ride on as they move back and forth engaging and disengaging.

I'm not sure how far full floating axle extend into the diff. Semi floating axles axle has to extend past the side gear so the groove for the C clips is accessible. So unless the cap fits tightly against the inner axle and pinion shaft it would serve no purpose. Besides the springs used to push the cog halves apart there are guide pins to hold the two in alignment. I know on a semi floating rear axle those caps have to be there otherwise the C clip would slide out the groove in the one half and the the inner axle would come out of the axle housing.

 

[Steamer]

The way I see it, and I could be wrong.
The caps do four things.
1. For a semi-floater, they provide a pocket for the C-clip to reside in, so they don’t fall out.

2. They take the place of the removed center block which prevents the semi-floating axle from moving in.

3. For semi or full float, They keep the outer plates in place and keeps them from moving in. The caps fill the gap between the outer plates and the center pin and that’s where the feeler gauge comes in.

4. The caps act as a shaft for the inner plates to move side to side on as well as rotate on when the plates disengage while turning.
The spring pins can only align the two inner plates together. They can’t align the inner plates to the outer plates. And I think they are only meant to align the inner plates rotationaly because the inner plates could rotate separately from each other just a tad. That’s because the hole between the inner plates where the center pin goes, is not round and there’s a bit of slop right there. That out of round hole () is what makes the center pin drive the plates apart.

For a semi or full floater, without the caps, when the locker ratchets in a turn and the plates disengage, the inner plates could get off axis as there would be nothing to hold them on axis.

I really think the caps gotta be in there for a full floater. Just my thoughts and I'm always happy to be corrected.

 

[Living in the Past]

The way I see it, and I could be wrong.
The caps do four things.
1. For a semi-floater, they provide a pocket for the C-clip to reside in, so they don’t fall out.

2. They take the place of the removed center block which prevents the semi-floating axle from moving in.

3. For semi or full float, They keep the outer plates in place and keeps them from moving in. The caps fill the gap between the outer plates and the center pin and that’s where the feeler gauge comes in.

4. The caps act as a shaft for the inner plates to move side to side on as well as rotate on when the plates disengage while turning.
The spring pins can only align the two inner plates together. They can’t align the inner plates to the outer plates. And I think they are only meant to align the inner plates rotationaly because the inner plates could rotate separately from each other just a tad. That’s because the hole between the inner plates where the center pin goes, is not round and there’s a bit of slop right there. That out of round hole () is what makes the center pin drive the plates apart.

For a semi or full floater, without the caps, when the locker ratchets in a turn and the plates disengage, the inner plates could get off axis as there would be nothing to hold them on axis.

I really think the caps gotta be in there for a full floater. Just my thoughts and I'm always happy to be corrected.

Think #1 and #2 are pretty much the same thinf. Both deal with many the semi floating C clips kept the side plates and inner axles in place. Difference on the stocknset up spider gears keep the sides in place. The other part your description turned a light bulb on in the brain how these actually work. Been a long time since I've installed mine. For what ever reason was thinking two set of springs and pin. Obviously for it to work the center plates have to be kept in alignment and outer halves have to ratchet faster than the center plates for there to be any give. I admit I was wrong and the caps must be in place to keep the two halves alignment.
Not a huge fan of this style locker. A open diff the driven wheel is moving the same or faster than the other wheel. The way these locker work is the non driven wheel can only move faster than the driven wheel. Which is why these are a bear to steering when in 4WD and one is installed in the front. If I ever pull the front axle on 68 it will not be to check shims on the diff but rather to remove it. Sadly the only other traction aid I know of for a coarse spline axle is the Torsen which finding another set would be very difficult.

 

[rkymtnflyfisher]

So the million dollar question now.

What if I don't have those two caps?

The rig I pulled the lockers from must not have had them installed, everything went into zip lock bags and into an ammo can when they came out. That's why I thought one used the caps and the other didn't.

 

[brian]

So the million dollar question now.

What if I don't have those two caps?

The rig I pulled the lockers from must not have had them installed, everything went into zip lock bags and into an ammo can when they came out. That's why I thought one used the caps and the other didn't.

i'll be able to maybe answer that question hopefully this weekend when i pull the locked 4.11 rear out of the front, in it's previous life it was run hard.

 

[rkymtnflyfisher]

I found this a bit ago, post #537 is after I pulled the locker from the rear diff. No spacers to be found in that pic. WTF.

Build - An Accidental Frame Off..................

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[pbgbottle]

I set mine up on the tighter side also.
I don’t even think I could slide a feeler gauge in there
They work smoother ,less banging and popping.

When I did mine a few years ago, I had read that the gaps were very important. I got several sized shims from $OR and set them right on the tight end of the range they specify. Actually, just very slightly tighter. When checking the gap, you only need to install shims , part numbers 1 & 3 and the center pin noted in pic below.

View attachment 2310264

Here a few links. "LINK # 1" "LINK # 2"

 

[pbgbottle]

I put the c-clip end caps in on mine front and rear.
The centre pin holds them in place. Doesn’t the inner half of the locker float on them also along with the springs and pins. It’s been along time since I’ve been in looking at my lockers.

 

[pbgbottle]

Pic of mine. For fun

+

 

[rkymtnflyfisher]

Doesn’t the inner half of the locker float on them also along with the springs and pins.

Good question, the rear I kind of understand why the caps are there and what they do. My concern is that I only have 2 of the caps, I really don't see what purpose they have in the front diff, the axles are held in place at the knuckles.

 

[rkymtnflyfisher]

Pic of mine. For fun

+View attachment 2312562

Any idea what your clearance is between the two halves?

 

[pbgbottle]

I have no idea. I never bother checking that gap. when I install mine
I just set them up using the fattest shim Available that just allows me to just slide the center pin in even if I have to slightly tap it in and leave it like that. Jus make sure you don’t tap one in that is super tight like I did as you will never get it back out. I had to push mine in a bit rotate diff cut half of it off rotate diff again and finish banging out the rest of the centre pin. I set it up snug and leave it . I found that gave the locker the best on road manners I set one of mine on the middle of the specs and it ended up ratcheting more that I would like and it rounded off or prematurely destroyed the locker.

Use thickest shims that still allows you to slide center pin into place

,,,

Any idea what your clearance is between the two halves?

 

[tacocat]

I have two Lock Right ish lockers that I pulled from a parts rig a couple of years ago that I may be using in my rig due to some unforeseen circumstances. While test fitting the locker in my rear diff I noticed these two caps that fit inside of the body of the locker, my question here is, are these two caps for the front diff in absence of the two c clips? Or am I missing something else altogether?
View attachment 2309794

I read through your Super Duper build thread (almost as much for fishing pics as the Cruiser tech).

It’s been a long minute since I drove an SWB manual with a Detroit, but are you sure you want that device in your rear axle considering the weather of wear you live?

A post where you mentioned how your 40 can easily go sideways on snowy mountain roads stands out.

 

[rkymtnflyfisher]

I read through your Super Duper build thread (almost as much for fishing pics as the Cruiser tech).

It’s been a long minute since I drove an SWB manual with a Detroit, but are you sure you want that device in your rear axle considering the weather of wear you live?

A post where you mentioned how your 40 can easily go sideways on snowy mountain roads stands out.

No, I’m not 100% sure I want an auto locker back there, for that exact reason. That is also why I drive my truck in the winter for the most part. Inevitably there are days that I drive my 40 in the snow, one of them are days to the ski slopes.

 

[pbgbottle]

I’ve had a front and and rear locker in my 40 for like 20 years maybe longer. Love them. And mine was a daily driver. It didn’t really slide sideways on ice or snow . Once you locked the hubs and punched the gas she took off where ever I wanted it too . Only once I got messed up on a real icy road that was angled off towards a cliff did I poop my pants ,as all she wanted to do was slide off the edge of the road . Lol.