rear e-locker actuator rebuild pics (1 Viewer)

[clownmidget]

Finally got around to doing this after putting it off for near two years. Like many, I had experienced the "sticky" actuator, tried "exercising" them, got it to work most times, sometimes just lived without it, etc. Last month it actually got stuck in the locked position with about 200 highway miles between me and home. The trick that time was to actually just let the truck cool down for four hours and everything moved just enough to let me unlock it.

I've rebuilt the front and I will say IMO, it is harder than the rear. For those that have considered it, I say go to it, it's not that hard - seriously. But my one caveat, is that this is NOT intended to be an exhaustive "rebuild" or to be used instead of a good FSM. I'm not posting torque specs or much of any detail. This is just some pics to assist those that like a visual to go along with the text - kind of like comic books...

First is removing the guard. Two 14-mm nuts on the diff studs (right side of pic) and one 10-mm bolt on top to the left.

Second, disconnect the two wire harnesses and breather tube. Three 10-mm bolts hold the switch cover plate. The manual describes removing the switch first. I did not and didn't have any negative consequences

Third, remove the switch cover plate. It is held there with just FIPG or ??? depending on whose been there before. A very fine edged putty knife and some gentle tapping with a rubber mallet did the trick.

 

[clownmidget]

next

In the last pic above you see the 10-mm fixing bolt going through the actuator shaft that sat directly behind the switch plate. That comes out in order to remove the actuator motor assembly.

next remove the four 12-mm bolts holding the actuator motor assembly to the side of the diff housing.

the motor assembly pulls straight out and again is held in place with just some FIPG.

last pic shows the two mating surfaces cleaned up a bit. you don't need to drain any diff gear oil in order to do this job but it is very close.

 

[clownmidget]

next2

With the actuator motor assembly on a bench you loosen the three 10-mm bolts holding the gear cover in place.

turn it so the cover is on the bottom and gently separate the cover from the housing. this has a large o-ring and is usually corroded pretty well. I can only imagine what one from the "rust belt" looks like after 10 years

bottom pic of what should come out in one piece. the cover has two springs that hook over the metal L-bracket of the larger gear. the surface visible in the pic of the large gear in what makes electrical contact with the three leads in the housing. the small gear slips off, as does the larger one.

 

[clownmidget]

next3

continuing to empty the housing...remove the small gear - note the relationship of the lip it has on one side, I show photos just as an FYI. I don't know if anything terrible would happen if it was flipped so get it right.

pull off the large gear and keep the springs in place if at all possible. The L-bracket slips between the two opposing hook ends of the springs. If your springs and cover plate are badly corroded you might need to disassemble further, I did on the front actuator.

last pic is inside empty housing, well nearly so, you still need to pull out the actuator rod. you can use some whiteout to mark the position of the rod relative to the housing for re-assembly. make sure the contact points of the leads get cleaned well.

 

[clownmidget]

next4

the empty housing cleaned up with a dremel.

the large gear with the wrong side showing I wanted to show the other side that has the metal surface that contacts the three leads in the housing. mine was in pretty great shape considering it didn't work too well but my front actuator was really corroded badly.

last pic just showing the actuator rod.

 

[clownmidget]

next5

pics showing the lip on the small gear (covered in grease - sorry).

Now to begin to tear into the electrical motor

Save yourself years of grief and break down and buy a simple impact screwdriver. Don't even waste your time putting a standard screwdriver on the three phillips head screws that hold the armature cover on. Once you've got the three screws off remember this TRICK...

 

[clownmidget]

next6

TRICK - Put your finger in the gear housing and firmly hold the worm screw of the motor in place BEFORE you pull the armature cover off. The armature cover has four magnets glued to its walls and when you pull it off, it'll grab hold of the armature and pull it up and out and bugger your magnets (or worse) and generally make it harder for you to do this job with the least frustration.

You can make some simple magnet holder from steel wire that will hold the magnets just off of the armature far enough to allow you to easily pull it out without damaging anything.

Pic of cover off showing the four magnets. Check to make sure these are still well attached to the cover. This is where my problem was. One of the magnets had come loose and attached to the armature, not allowing it to spin. I used some two part epoxy described as being appropriate for this type of use.

 

[RavenTai]

did you remember to set the relationship between the final gear and output shaft on assembly?

 

[clownmidget]

next7

armature free from housing. I cleaned up the contact points (copper area) and the worm drive part.

pic showing the wire magnet holders keeping the little buggers in place.

pic showing them loose and the springs behind them. Do this in a clean, well lit area cause it'd suck to loose these.

 

[clownmidget]

next8

pics of the two o-rings.

the larger one on the gear housing looked to be right on 75-mm and given its age and shrinkage probably 2-mm thick.

the smaller one from the armature housing looked to be 53-mm in the pic, maybe supposed to be 52-mm and again about 2-mm thick. these were actually in decent shape but stretched badly and cracked in texture.

 

[clownmidget]

wrap up

Re-assembly is pretty much exactly the dis-assembly in reverse. In fact you'll probably notice a lot of the pics are from the re-assembly.

The only interesting tidbits I think are worth noting is that all of the larger pieces are held together by either FIPG or an o-ring with some securing bolts. However, when starting to tear into this stuff, especially if any of it is corroded, it tempts your faith that something else is holding it together and you've missed something important. What worked for me was a lot of patience and working the edges over and over and some gentle tapping.

the only other "tricks" were in removing and installing the armature cover in a way that doesn't mess up the little magnets and in putting the whole housing on top of the gear cover so you can slip it into place without the two gears falling off.

I just used a Permatex high temp sensor safe, etc gasket maker instead of o-rings. I did this on the front too. I don't have the time or patience to try and track down those o-rings and feel comfortable enough in being able to pull it apart again knowing what's holding it together.

the last challenge is in re-installing the whole assembly and getting the actuator rod with the threaded hole to line up with the mount in the diff housing and getting that bolt back in. for this it's nice to have the truck up on a lift or jackstands where all four wheels are free and you have not moved the vehicle at all in between removing the actuator and re-installing it.

this took me about three hours from start to finish and I was pretty lazy about it.

bottom line though, if your e-lockers aren't engaging within 1-2 seconds you're not experiencing them the way they are capable of working.

 

[Dusty]

what a usefull thread. thanks clown. I see you wear latex protection when you wrench---are you a sissy?. Kidding-I started doing the same this year and I think it helped my marriage.

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

Good post with nice clean pictures

Should be a FAQ addition

What did you use for assembly grease and where did you apply it?

 

[FirstToy]

great writeup and pics! it takes all the mystery out of it, def. faq necessity

 

[clownmidget]

Phil, I used a brand name di-electric grease that was supposedly for "marine" use. I may have actually got it at West Marine. Anyway, put a very thin layer on the metal surface of the large gear, a little on the gear teeth, a little on the worm gear, little dabs at the end of the armature shafts, pretty much anywhere I could see evidence of needing it. Also forgot to mention I used a good electrical contacts cleaner to spray off all of the internals once I cleaned them up with a dremel brass wire wheel. That made cleaning up corrosion so fast and easy.

thanks for the comments, I wish some of the pics were in sharper focus but you get what you get...

 

[NW-sickboy]

seriously your the man for this write up..... thanks a ton, tearing into mine asap...

 

[FourBy4Toy]

did you remember to set the relationship between the final gear and output shaft on assembly?

I know this is an old post, but I am with Raven, there is a lot left out here on this rebuild, MAINLY it being, you have to have the entire shaft along with BOTH gears "clocked" correctly, or the shaft that goes in and out that actuates the sleeve inside the diff will not function properly, consequently, you locker will not engage, or disengage, would be nice if somebody has figured a way to mark/clock the spring/"L" "arm"? location that comes off the larger cog for reference to put everything back together clocked correctly, I just spent about 2 hours, clocking, and reclocking until I got the piston(actuator rod), to actually move fully both directions, what a pain!, I still hope I got it right, I took it for a test drive, and now it is locking in the rear, whereas it wasnt before(another story, had water inside the assembly, and needed cleaned as well)..
The rear tire chirps on the pavement now in a tight corner, my concern now is that I hope I dont have it clocked like 1 or 2 teeth clockwise, or counterclockwise, essentially making it to where it dont FULLY engage the sleeve, or it is trying to engage it too much, and could burn up the servo motor?

Anybody have any ideas?. I thought about locking it in, then let it sit, then feel the servo motor to see if it was getting warm at all, I guess that would tell me if it is trying to still push the rod in further(thinking it isnt fully engaged yet), but that wont tell me if the sleeve is fully shifted into locked...

 

[RavenTai]

give this a read it talks about setting the clocking of the rear actuator,

https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/17701-rear-locking-dif-assembly-help.html

 

[mmuthart]

I went through this rebuild last year but I had my entire 3rd member on the bench. That made it a no brainer because I could test the actuation and visual verify that everything was working correctly before reinstalling. Sorry, I know not much help...

 

[FourBy4Toy]

give this a read it talks about setting the clocking of the rear actuator,

https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/17701-rear-locking-dif-assembly-help.html

Thanks man!