Lockrite issues?

[fweddy]

My lockrite seems to be slipping and fluffing around. What could be the cause?

About 6 months ago I had it out and had it looked at, was told it was never set right so they corrected it, after that it clicked more but still worked ok until just the last week or so its playing up. I have obviously done a axle seal as I'm loosing diff oil out the right rear wheel too. Fluids in there will need attention.

Any ideas?

[cruzerboy]

sounds like it needs reshiming with bigger shims mine did that last week put bigger shims in it and its mint now

[Nizsafari]

My lockrite seems to be slipping and fluffing around. What could be the cause?

About 6 months ago I had it out and had it looked at, was told it was never set right so they corrected it, after that it clicked more but still worked ok until just the last week or so its playing up. I have obviously done a axle seal as I'm loosing diff oil out the right rear wheel too. Fluids in there will need attention.

Any ideas?

Had a similar prob a couple of years ago with my Lokka (4wdsystems).. found out i'd broken one of the little springs which hold the 2 parts of the Lokka apart, replaced springs and pins and all good.. just a thought

[tallsam66]

If it was me id take it out when you doing your axle seal & take it into rick at 4wd Accessory he has installed lots im sure he will be able to sort it for ya .

PS do both seals while you have the axles out...chances are the other will go soon too.

[Steve_t647]

Pull the oil bung and put it through a screen to see if there is anything metal in it the seal that is giving up could have allowed some of it to fall internaly, if you have anything in the oil (bits of rubber from the oil or RTV stuff from the tube gasket it could be the answer bearing hardening failing.

Any noisier than normal bearing noise? Any movement at the wheel on either side? They are pretty simple things not a lot goes wrong with them, could be the spacer has cracked split or moved, sorry you need to pull it unless you know superman and have him have a look .

[fweddy]

Thanks for comments.

My poor tuck needs some attention at present.
• Tyres (one is totally flat and stays that way - leaking around the bead).
• Winch needs overhaul and is leaking oil.
• Needs engine oil and filter change.
• Weeping left rear outer hub.
• Badly leaking right rear inner hub.
• Dirty as inside.
• Not much better outside.
• My plastic boxes for my recovery gear have smashed bottoms so don't slide and lose stuff out of them.
• Locker got issues.

I just put the spare on and took it down to the shed to drop some things off, while in the paddock I tested out the locker on the grass. If I put my foot down anything more than real gentle one wheel spins and it goes click cli-cli-cli-cli-cli-click CLUNK and then engages.

So I parked it by the shed... locked it up... walked past all the skid marks back to the house....

[H2OLOVA]

I'd go with worn thrust washers as Cruiserboy said. There is a minimal amount of clearance required to allow it to unlock and if this is to great it will slip without to much force. If your axle seal has been leaking i presume you still have some oil in the diff?? Sounds like your truck needs some loving (but not the sort of loving that was on TV last night ) If your not keen to tackle this yourself give me a yell

Cheers

Jason

[fweddy]

Lets have a working bee on my truck I'm trying to think of why it might be a worthy cause but I'm struggling to come up with a good one!

At least most of the jobs are not very major, just a bit of time and I can knock most of them off quick. Was going to start on it tonight but tenant just called in to say the back fence somehow got smashed last night so I need to sort out what happened around there. After sanding and re coating the plaster in the new kitchen around there on sunday I should have a chance while that dries.

The diff oil will be low now that it has started leaking and may be contaminated with water - won't have been like it for too long since I last changed it (couple of months) but I'd say it will not be the best in there. Fingers crossed its not but...

One point of concern is the PTO winch mount, looks like the bars have been made after and not considering how to get the winch off later - looks like the heads of the bolts are in the bar cavity.

Two areas that I'd appreciate some help/comments are
- What to look for on the winch and replace while its being worked on. It's leaking oil out of the mech and the free spool is seized and needs freeing up, plus sort the shear pin out. May be able to do it in situ. Any one worked on one of these?

- How to assess and sort out the locker once its out. Last time, about 6 mths ago, I had it done by a well known specialist but was quite disappointed with the service overall.

[fweddy]

Had to go out last night to check that fence (and repair) truck went fine in one wheel drive down the river if I kept the speed up on loose climbs. Did some rabbit chasing for the dog, was very noisy inside truck.

Remembered a couple more issues:

• Tighten right front wheel bearing (did the left the other day but ran out of time for the right)
• Adjust steering box
• Get alignment
• Deal to windscreen

and eventually

• Deal with a few rust spots before they grow up to be big mean ones.

It's great truck this cruiser of mine!

Actually It's probable that I'm a bit of a perfectionist at times.

But at least I also got some of my sanding done last night so can attack more of the truck on sunday.

[Steve_t647]

OK not exactly for your truck but the lockright is well written up below, one on the fitting (top) and one on operation.

http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_li ... ckers2.htm
http://dodgeram.org/ki4cy/4x4/Lockrite.htm

One way to test is get on a bank or find some slippery grass or gravel frive etc and tie the 4wd to something (another 4wd or tree) to force it to spin a wheel (in 2wd not 4wd) then apply the handbrake half on and try again and finally put additional weight over the wheel that is spinning (the wife has to be useful for something 4wd related ) or if on a bank turn the 4wd arround and try a third time, if it is always the same wheel spinning then you know to look at the other side of the diff (mark the side when you remove it as you can get confused moving it around).

Possible issues:
There will be something in the teeth coupling area on the side not locking or the locking and axle gear cannot move far enough to engage on one side.
The hole on one side that the pinion uses to put pressure out to the lock is damaged or off centre.
Could be the springs have fallen out of the shear pin's (this could be what is in the teeth).
The pinion crossshaft has bent (not sure how) or become slotted worn one side so putting on uneven pressure on the locks.

Finally I have heard of issues from guys in Australia and a couple in the US, where they have been caught up on a rock and dragged out by a rope around the diff (they are Aussies and Americans) causing the axle tubes to BEND (or they strengthened the housing by continuous welding rather than stitch welding and letting cool). This is bad news, because the dog teeth inside the Locker can shear off if the axles are badly misaligned from a bent housing or from bent axles themselves. These teeth then get into the pinion bearings etc. Never herd of anything like that happening here but this is the worst possible case.

I would test to see what side you need to look at when you pull it, then drain the oil from the diff and run it through some mesh to see if there is any metal in there (you can usualy feel it suspended in the oil if you want to get your fingers dirty), it could be as simple as the oil and water being very thick and very low (I cant understand why tho based on its operation and a new pinion seal and oil would fix it). I would be careful driving it with a suspect diff and unknown oil level and would pull the pumpkin for inspection just to be sure.

To pull it you will need replacement diff oil, pinion seal, Silicone Gasket stuff and possibly brake fluid to bleed your brakes oh and they are heavy when getting them out and heavier when putting them back!

Good luck and report back

[fweddy]

Thanks Steve

Always appreciate your time to give detail.

When I tested it out the other day. Generally the right rear would spin, but sometimes the left rear would so obviously the drive was able to switch side to side, after some clicking both may or may not engage so it doesn't seem to be only one side. Fortunately (as I don't have a wife) I have paddocks with inclines to test on, although it was spinning on the flat too.

As I need to do axle seals its not going to be much more to rip the whole thing out, (you are right, they are heavy when you are lying on your back trying to get them in/out!) Have done it once before. Just glad its not the front .

Will be in touch once its out...

[Steve_t647]

I don't have a wife either not sure why tho

I would suspect there is nothing wrong with it physically if it will lock up each side the only thing I can think of is the oil may be too thick for the locker to hold in place or for the gears to mesh, but I would have thought the pinion would put enough pressure onto it!

I go back to my original theroy the locker has something between the lock and the teeth on the drive gear this could be really dodgy (thick) oil that takes a bit to get rid of, I have no idea how they would operate on low oil but I would expect it to be fine the pinion bearing and the other bearings would be more of an issue is low oil.

Hope it is that simple and the front takes more time but is easier you dont need to blead the brakes on the front and as long as the kingpins are fine it is only marginaly messier (depending on the number of rag's you have).

[hosehustler]

Worked on plenty of mine and others....
Sounds like broken springs to me, the little ones that keep the locker engaged (four of them)
Probably be just a couple broken as that's what normally happens when you get to this point, it's an easy fix as the springs are readily available and it's a common problem

[fweddy]

Have the locker out now. The diff oil was well above level and creamy Was basically expecting that after a bit of deep river stuff lately. Is it possible to keep that wet stuff out? I've extended breathers etc and have a new pinion seal (which I notice has a slight weep again!). Might have to try pressurizing it.

Nothing noticeable wrong with the locker, its sitting in the fully meshed position but it may be damaged springs not keeping it that way, as Tim says.

I'll have to get it looked at as I'm not familiar enough with them yet to just do what it seems to need and go to all the effort of putting it back in without a second opinion. Where / who is the best place?

[fweddy]

Also managed to get my winch all but removed so can also start to sort that out. Since my cruiser is laid up and will be for a wee while I went to the other shed to dig another car out to use in the mean time. Shall I do the Datsun or the Morris? (both no WOF and reg on hold) Datto had a flat as battery and tyres and has no insurance, the Morrie ute had a low battery just needed a fiddle with the fuel pump, a crank start (gotta love that) and a force into gear to free the clutch up, flew straight threw its WOF today - so I have transport.

[Steve_t647]

Clean it up with a little petrol and have a look in the holes where the shear pins live, every second one the pin and spring will be around the other way. I have no idea how to keep water out other than good seals and the breathers or low positive presure you may want to have a look at engine and gearbox oils too depending how deep you were.

If there are some missing as Tim suggests then all you need is replacement springs there is no adjustment needed just every second spring and shear pin goes the other way around.

[fweddy]

Clean it up with a little petrol and have a look in the holes where the shear pins live, every second one the pin and spring will be around the other way. I have no idea how to keep water out other than good seals and the breathers or low positive presure you may want to have a look at engine and gearbox oils too depending how deep you were.

If there are some missing as Tim suggests then all you need is replacement springs there is no adjustment needed just every second spring and shear pin goes the other way around.

Do I have to remove locker from diff head to inspect? I seem to be only able to look at a couple of them in a large gap in the casing.

Oils needs doing any way and I'll give the whole thing a once over and grease etc while its in dry dock

[mercutio]

that is

[Steve_t647]

From memory the only thing you may have to remove is the pinion, that will allow you to rotate the locker in the diff.

The instructions say add the springs and shear pins last but from memory I added the pinion last as this allowed me to rotate the locker in the diff head.

I am sure if you send Tim a PM he will have a better idea, he has set mine up (before I took it apart again and put it back together because I could ) the tricky (black magic) bit is setting up the ring and pinion and you shouldn't need to pull it that far apart. If you clean it up well and he has time (check with him he does have a wife and family) he may be willing to further diagnose it with you or tell you where to take it.

Jase (H2O) has setup a few too and he offered assistance earlier, just clean it up. I would offer except I don't understand enough about the backlash setup to do anyones except my own (I followed the manual step by step like a monkey and still got it wrong), I will not be happy if I break my stuff but if I break someone elses .

[Sadam_Husain]

Shall I do the Datsun or the Morris?

I think the dog's already answered that one for ya Fweddy

[Jerry]

I think Bob had one of those back in the 1950's

[Moriarty]

I think Bob had one of those back in the 1950's

Never ever owned a Morrie Minor, nearest i ever got to one of them was an Austin Sheerline.

First car was bought in 1962 so get stuffed, Jerry!!!

[fweddy]

From memory the only thing you may have to remove is the pinion, that will allow you to rotate the locker in the diff...

I am sure if you send Tim a PM he will have a better idea, he has set mine up (before I took it apart again and put it back together because I could ) the tricky (black magic) bit is setting up the ring and pinion and you shouldn't need to pull it that far apart. If you clean it up well and he has time (check with him he does have a wife and family) he may be willing to further diagnose it with you or tell you where to take it.

Thanks Steve!

Shall I do the Datsun or the Morris?

I think the dog's already answered that one for ya Fweddy

According to her I think its illegal to go anywhere in it without her, but since its been in the shed over winter the law applied to the cruiser instead. If I get in any other vehicle to drive away (work car or parents vehicles) she will try get in and if told not to she just accepts it, but the cruiser or morrie causes more of an issue, she has even been known to run along the road after me. And tooting the horn generates lots of barking - the other day I saw a friend on the side of the road and tooted - big mistake! When I go down the river she runs ahead guessing the route (does a good job of it too) but if she goes the wrong way a quick toot brings her back.

[fweddy]

The weeping axle seal as christened my brakes and the shoes are getting low so will be replacing them.

What is the go with fitting disks to the rear of one of these cruisers ('85 MWB 70). Could always do with a bit better stopping and handbrake.

[H2OLOVA]

The weeping axle seal as christened my brakes and the shoes are getting low so will be replacing them.

What is the go with fitting disks to the rear of one of these cruisers ('85 MWB 70). Could always do with a bit better stopping and handbrake.

Working on that mod at the moment. Got them all fitted up and working sweet (except for when they don't fully release once i have this sorted i'll send your ones up Sadam ) I have template for mounts etc if you need it.

[fweddy]

Working on that mod at the moment. Got them all fitted up and working sweet (except for when they don't fully release once i have this sorted i'll send your ones up Sadam ) I have template for mounts etc if you need it.

What brakes are you using? how much fabrication? major job?

[H2OLOVA]

Subaru Calipers (with Handbrake). Bolt on job. Need a couple of new handbrake cables, a couple of new brake hoses and hey presto i can stop I'm using the same rotors as on the front.

[fweddy]

Here is the beast at present



That skid mark to its right was just trying to back up the length of the vehicle. It was all I could do to stop it spinning, makes me think the other wheel must have had some 'braking' or jamming of some sort? Its not that hard to drive on grass backwards with 33x12.5 muds at 25psi. There is only a slight incline.

[H2OLOVA]

Check that your wheel cylinders haven't siezed up. They can get pretty rusty if your doing a bit of river driving. Nothing a set of rear disc brakes wouldn't fix though

[SMOKEY]

Jase, by the look of fweddys and I would say Sadams will be the same ( and mine ) are fully floating rear axles, won't this make the mounting different to yours ???? , thinking out loud here might mean version 2 -------- if your kit would be suitable for another RED CRUISER .

I HAVN'T FORGOTTEN MY PICK UP , BEFORE XMASS ,

FITZY.