Rear Actuator Not Working Post-Regear

[Iceaxe]

Hey guys,

Example #5,436 of why you try NOT to use your name brand mechanic for work on your cruiser. The culprit this time: 4WheelParts. Took my rig in to regear it to 4.88, they quoted me a 1-2 day work duration. Wound up hanging onto my rig for 10 days... where they told me they installed their warrantied gear and "blew it up" during the test drive. My impression: these turkeys had no idea WTH they were doing.

ANYWAY, took the rig out on a trail test yesterday and discovered my front locker is working, but the rear is flashing but not engaging. I have factory lockers. 30A fuse is intact.

Couple of questions...

1. Would you take the rig back to these turkeys to figure out WTH they did to the rear actuator?
2. Does this sound like something easily fixed (e.g. replace the sensor??)

Thanks for the advice while counting down to Cruise Moab........

 

[ReformedJeeper]

Do u hear the actuator moving when you try and operate the diff lock switch?

Can you confirm if the diff is actually locking and you are just not getting the signal?

If you are not mechanically inclined I would take it back to them and make sure they make it right. They are a big name so they shouldn't put up a fight. Also, this way the liability stays with them, if you touch it they might say you did something.

My guess is they had the diff mechanically locked but the actuator in the unlocked position (or vice versa) on the reinstallation. A reputable shop did the same thing to my front locker (I fixed it myself because I did not want to wait, had to take the actuator apart, it was a PITA).

Good luck.

 

[Iceaxe]

Reformedjeeper, I've gotten pretty good working on my rig, but I'm so annoyed with these guys' work that I'm inclined to put it on them. No, the actuator is making no sounds... I figured it was probably what you describe...
Thanks so much for the advice!

 

[ReformedJeeper]

For me the actuator not making any sounds was the dead give away. If the position is mismatched the locker won't even try to actuate. Unless something is unplugged I think the same thing that happened to me happened to you.

 

[Iceaxe]

So I dropped the rig off at their shop for another full day. After which they hadn't figured out what was wrong with the actuator. But they did confess to installing the front gear improperly and blowing the gasket on the front diff. They swapped out my front U-joint just to give me something to smile about. Then returned the truck without a rear locker.

They've asked me to bring it back to they can continue to work on the locker.

I'm speechless...

 

[Whileemptyheadsdream]

So I dropped the rig off at their shop for another full day. After which they hadn't figured out what was wrong with the actuator. But they did confess to installing the front gear improperly and blowing the gasket on the front diff. They swapped out my front U-joint just to give me something to smile about. Then returned the truck without a rear locker.

They've asked me to bring it back to they can continue to work on the locker.

I'm speechless...

I'm probably In that same state of mind, Tech In America Is pretty much gone, ay least the skilled labor aspect of It. In the last 3 weeks at the Gym parking lot I have had to honk my horn at 2 different men who would have walked Into my car because of their addiction to their cell phone. Talking about blind Hang Loose, I'm neither here nor there on the Jen Pics, but you guys couldn"t see this coming,,,? LOL lol LOL

 

[ReformedJeeper]

Ice axe are you in socal? If so we can just figure it out. I've rebuilt both the front and rear actuator. Let me know if you need a hand. Sorry to hear you're having such a hard time.

 

[Iceaxe]

Hi jeeper, no, I'm 8 hrs north of you... but thanks so much for the offer. I'm taking the rig back in the shop on Thurs and want this guy to fix the damage... I'm pretty sure he screwed something up in the install.

 

[alia176]

This sucks and speaks to the quality of workmanship these days. But, you have to admit, the guys at these types of places are bunch of monkeys good at installing lifts and such. Doing R&P work is highly specialized and ought to be done by shops that do these daily. Unfortunately, this is a hard lesson learned by the PO and not much help at this juncture. I bet the Battle Born Cruiser guys have some local recommendations for this type of work. Good luck man.

 

[Chris Wilcox]

Something sounds weird. To regear you'd have to pull the 3rd member. To get the 3rd member out you have to be locked. Otherwise the collar won't pass through the cutout in the housing. So reassembly is opposite to disassembly. Presumably the collar was in the locked position to get it back into the housing. So now that it is unlocked and you are driving around, how did that operation happen?
Are you sure the collar is even in there? You can always pop off the position switch (3 bolts) and look inside to see what is up.
I can't imagine they would have disassembled the actuator itself so that should have not needed the position reset procedure or anything like that. I'm puzzled.

 

[Iceaxe]

Chris,
They indicated they did the correct reassembly and think it's a short somewhere in the line. Given the fact they goofed both the front and rear installs, I'm wondering if they somehow goofed the actuator (yet have no idea how / what could have happened)...

 

[Iceaxe]

Ok, the end result was the plunger mechanism was gummed up and needed to be cleaned out and lubed... Now everything is working well.

 

[Chris Wilcox]

Well that is a huge bonus.

 

[Iceaxe]

Yes indeed *sigh*.