Testing my factory lockers. (1 Viewer)

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Feb 12, 2007
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Tucson, AZ
What is the right way to do this. I have had my LC for about 6 months and have not touched the locker dial on the left had side of the wheel:doh:. (yes I tried searching) I don't have the CDL switch just the nob that says diff lock ff<PUSH>RR or something. can someone tell me what I need to do to actuate my lockers safely and with out doing damage ..I can get to some hard pack dust covered area pretty easily but just confused about when you can turn with them engaged with out doing damage.
 
Gravel type surface
make sure she is running in 4low
start creeping slowly and turn on your diff locks and turn the steering wheel left to right a whole turn to get the gears lined up so the pin locks the diff.
 
Baran

I have a '94 also. With the vehicle stopped, I place the tranny in neutral and shift into 4 lo. This should lock your center diff. If not, moving slowly forward or reverse will sometimes make the light come on. Once the center is locked, I put the tranny back in neutral and turn the knob to lock the rear /rear and front. If they don't lock, do as JimmyK stated. Turn the wheel and move forward or back. You are just trying to make the gears change position so they can lock together.

Just remember, don't lock the RR and FR diffs when there is good traction. I would also recommend not moving too fast . You won't be able to steer well with the fronts locked.
 
Hmm, the vehicle needs to be in 4lo. After you turn the dial you MUST be moving to get the front and rear to lock. You need to drive slowly is an arch to create a differential in RPM between the DS and PS axle. The front should lock sooner than the rear. Driving in a straight line or sitting still, while theortically possible (one is gajillion chance) will not alow them to lock.

Basically, if you understand how these things lock it makes sense. The "locking" axle has a "dog collar" that is attached to the actualtor shaft. When you actuate the locker it moves the dog collar against the differenial. The axle runs through the dog collar and is sloted to mate with the axle splines. Where the collar and diff meet they each have teeth. The chances of the teeth mating are very unlikely and if the diff and the axle move at the same RPM they will not move in relation to one another and the teeth will never mate. Once you create the differential in RPM they will eventually mate.

Once they are locked you can drive straight without issue. However, you'll not be able to turn on a solid surface with the front locked and you will but huge stress on the rear. So you really don't want to do this. The reason unlocked axles move at different RPMs is to allow vehicles to turn. See the sectionon lockers in FAQ. Even on a gravel surface you may notice the rear sort of hoping on the side that is on the inside of the turn. This is because the inner axle is turning fewer times (or trying to) than the outer.

Here are some related links. I know there are more out there. The second may be more helpful to you in you current situation.


https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=146579&highlight=Lockers

https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=131199&highlight=Lockers
 
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Diff Locks

I second what the others have said. You must have the center diff locked and the indicator light must be showing. Then switch on the front and rear lockers as required. I have had issues with the indicator switches not showing the front and rear lockers as locked even when they were. Dirty contacts in the switches. Easily cleaned with contact cleaner.
Sometimes it takes a bit to get the rear locker to engage.
 
Cool guys, ok going print this out and go find some gravel!.:cheers:
 
OK I'm back ..I followed your posts as closely as i could . I'm still not sure if I did it right. I found a gravel parking lot and drove it to it with the truck it Drive and the High low stick in High (as it always is).

I put the traning in Neutral and put the H/L stick in Low.I drove a tiny bit and the center diff light came on yellow and so did the ABS light. I then drove a bit farther slowly and switch the diff lock dial fully to the right. instantly both front and back diff lights came on but where flashing red. I drove 5 total circles in each direction and the entire time both front and back diff lights were flashing along with the yellow center diff light being on steady (not flashing).

Did I do this right , wrong, somewhere in between?
 
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I was test driving a LX450 with diff locks and could not get them to lock. I had it in 4-low, turned the switch, turned the wheel, drove forward slowly a little (well a lot) and just could not get them to lock. (they blinked and blinked) I also never saw a light on the dash or anywhere else for the center diff, can someone post a pic of where and what that looks like?

I am in an attempt to buy my first locked 80.

Thanks

(hopefully not hijacking the post, sorry if so)
 
Went and tried again...Same thing, I'm assuming that the flashing means that they are not engaging I don't know if the lockers have ever been used and the PO had no idea what the dial did.

If they have never been used and they have seized up. what are my options. Just keep driveing in circles?

Are the red flashing diff lights supposed to turn solid (not flash)or yellow or both?
 
Each will be solid red when it is locked. One can lock (solid red) while the other one could still be flashing - happens often until sufficient wheel slip occurs to allow the diff to lock.

Even on soft sand I've had either end not want to lock until sufficient slip occurred. And on that note I've also found that in sand the front locker can stir/dig/agitate sand so much that less progress can be made than with just the rear locker. So, it's not always better to lock both ends...

cheers,
george.
 
The lights should be solid when engaged. The blinking is the transitional phase indication. Probably sticky actuators. Fortunately, the axle actuators are much easier to access than the Center Diff Lock actuator, which on your vehicle seems to be operating properly as you get a locked indication of the CDL.

I don't have the electric lockers, but I did sleep in my own bed last night.


Dave
 
So what dose the ABS light coming on with the CDL light mean? is this normal?

Will driveing in circles for a long time cause a stuck actuator to become free or do I need to have this looked at by a shop?
 
abs and cdl is normal. flashing fr/rr lockers means its not engaged yet. keep driving slowly in tight circle and it should come one solid w/ a click sound.

try rr lock first then do fr/rr on the dial. the tires on one side need enough slippage compared to the other side to make it lock. it's prob. just totally sticky from non-use as others said.
 
Yeah, give it a few more tries. Have someone turn the dial while you listen under the truck. You don't have to be under the truck. But you should hear a electric little motor noise. At least you'll know if you are getting power to them.
 
When you go in circles you need to go real slow. Just creep along very slow. If you go to fast the dogs will not have time to lock up.
 
You can also do this in your driveway. Get 2 sets of jack stands and set them up so both sets of wheels are off the pavement. Then shift to 4low and engage the lockers. Do this with the engine off and tranny in neutral. Slowly rotate one wheel on the rear. You'll notice the other wheel rotate opposite. When the locker engages the wheels will rotate in th esame direction. Repeat on the front axel. Also if you do this on the driveway, with the engine off, you can easily hear the actuator run. This is how I trouble shoot my actuators. :)
 
So what dose the ABS light coming on with the CDL light mean? is this normal?

Will driveing in circles for a long time cause a stuck actuator to become free or do I need to have this looked at by a shop?

Yep normal. The ABS light just tells you the ABS is off. The ABS is automatically turned off when the centre diff is engaged.
 

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