Preliminary drive line test on new 1993 with lockers (1 Viewer)

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Mar 29, 2010
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Location
Tucson Arizona
Picked up the '93 the other day and did some quick testing on the CDL and diff lockers on a dirt area near the house.. Seems that when 100% locked up front and rear, all lights on the dash are constant except the far right which is the rear end.. It blinks and appears to not be locking? Also, when doing hard right and hard left turns, the right turn produces a clunka clunka sound sort of like the sound a Jeep front axle makes when the axle shaft ujoint is going..
Any input on what might be up with both?
 
Even if on dirt full turns with all the lockers engaged is very hard on the components especially if you have components that are already nearing their end. So I wouldn't make it a habit of doing it, as this is a good way to break things.

Sounds like several issues;

Birfields are going bad (clicking noise)
Rear locker is not locking (probably a solenoid issue) a continuous Blinking light means there is a malfunction. Slee Offroad had a rebuild write up on their site about e-locker solenoids (they are known to go bad) if I remember correctly.
 
Yes, I am pretty careful about being locked and not going on pavement, etc.. I just wanted to feel it out and see what it would do while locked, etc. on soft sandy dirt (in the desert near Tucson!)
 
Blinking doesn't mean malfunction--it means that its not locked. My rear sometimes takes a bit longer than the center and front to lock and unlock. Just drive in a figure 8 to try and lock it. If you absolutely cannot get it locked, then it might be malfx
 
That is what I was trying to do....did about 4 figure eights and the blinking persisted...
 
mdandshly you are correct, locking the e-diff is not an instantaneous thing. Blinking is normal unless it blinks for an extended time and never goes solid at which point it signifies a malfunction of some sort. Its been a toyota standard to signify malfunctions for many models not just the LC 80. Its in the manual for the 100 and 200.

Even if for the 80 it wasn't 'technically' meant to represent a malfunction (Which I thought it was, but as I said its been 10 years since I read the manual) how could it not if you spent tons of time trying tons of methods to get it to lock.. At that point most would consider that a malfunction.

First of all make sure that its not the sensor, is it actually locking and the light is just blinking? Then I would try locking and unlocking the switch for the rear locker multiple times, sometimes that will get it working. Then I would check your actuators, as those seem to be the problem spot with the e-lockers.
 
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Easiest way to test is raise the rear up and spin a tire by hand. Should lock right up if it's working properly. It's also much easier to hear the locker motor when the engine isn't running. Mine took a breaking in period of testing when I first purchased. I try to test them once a month now just to keep them from getting stuck/gummed up again.
 
With the information at hand, it would seem wise to baseline both lockers.
As other fellow members have said earlier in the post, the e-lockers may require up to couple of seconds to allow the worm gear moving the actuator to the lock position. During this time the dash indicator will blink.
BTW, excellent suggestions by @Mr Cimarron, rise the vehicle and move the wheels by hand until the lockers engage/disengage.
FWIW, I go the trail every week; once there, I always lock/unlock both ends 2 or 3 times for just a few short yards in order to make sure the mechanism is always in proper working conditions.
Good luck
Cheers
 

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