Auto locking diff

[kiers117]

I have a Suzuki escudo 1991 3 door. I was told it has an auto locking rear diff and turning at low speeds its very easy to tell but as soon as you get above say 10km it acts like a normal diff.

My question is does that sound right? And once you are above around 60km the diff seems to be very noise like the oil is low, not a grinding sound but like an old bearing noise maybe?

Any advice would be great
Thanks

[Smurf]

Have you checked the oil level?
To tell if it is a locked diff or not.
Jack the rear off the ground and spin a wheel, if the other wheel spins in the same direction it is locked, if it spins in the opposite direction it is a standard open/unlocked diff.
Chock the front wheels and have the vehicle in neutral to do this.

[nzlux]

Auto lockers click as they unlock when doing tight turns on hard surfaces at low speed (car parks intersections etc) they are barely noticeable at high speeds.

They do not make noises at higher speeds (as they are normally locked), you might have a driveline related issue causing that.

[trucked]

It will act line a normal diff in a straight line, but when driving faster and powering through corners it will push you slightly, can't remember if it's under or over steer. You might notice a slight increase in driveline noise as there's increased pressure/strain with two locked wheels turning a corner but it's no biggie

And it's possible your have worn diff bearings, just cos it's an auto locker doesn't make any difference to that problem

[churchill]

Yeah sounds like a bearing is on the way out. Check the wheel bearings as well if the sound is coming from one side.

[kiers117]

I cant really hear the clicking when going round corners but I think that's because the worn bearings are making to much noise.

I have not checked the oil but at a closer look it seems as the driveshaft spins its flicking oil out where the pinion bearing is. That's a great idea I cant believe I didn't think about jacking the ass up and spinning the wheel

I did some research and if the driveshaft has play where it meets the diff the pinion bearing is stuffed and mine has 3mm ish play each way. Are they hard to replace? Can there be anything else wrong or is it 100% the pinion bearing?

Thanks for all the replies

[churchill]

Pinion bearings are gone, they need careful setup to get reliability out of the diff. Probably best to get a good second had diff and fit the auto locker to it. From memory a diff shop charges around $1000 to redo all the bearings in a diff...

[trucked]

I cant really hear the clicking when going round corners but I think that's because the worn bearings are making to much noise.

It will only click at low speed and without much gas pedal going around a corner, this is the diff unlocking and allowing one wheel to go faster than the other

I have not checked the oil but at a closer look it seems as the driveshaft spins its flicking oil out where the pinion bearing is. That's a great idea I cant believe I didn't think about jacking the ass up and spinning the wheel

I did some research and if the driveshaft has play where it meets the diff the pinion bearing is stuffed and mine has 3mm ish play each way. Are they hard to replace? Can there be anything else wrong or is it 100% the pinion bearing?

Yeah that is not good at all sounds like the bearings are cactus and making some noise about it. Theres always a chance there could be something else wrong as its only a interwebs diganosis. But play at the pinion and noise is a good indicator that bearings are bad and pinion crush tube has come a little loose.

Is it hard? depends on whos doing it. Setting up a diff is not a she'll be right sort of deal, clearances and preloads must be very accuratley measured to have a reliable diff. Requires a good set of tools with specific measuring ones.

This guy does a awesome job of diff setup up for toyota, that will give you an indication on what needs to be done.
http://www.gearinstalls.com/

Rebuild diff to fix or as above find a good second hand one and swap the auto locker over.

If your going to a good second hand one and swap it over yourself its not that hard but you need to be able to set the backlash and to do that accurately enough you will need a dial gauge with magnetic stand.

[Marculo]

While on the topic..
After any reviews from anyone with an auto locker in either the rear or front of there zook.as much as I would love to be able to Afford air/electric lockers it's a bit step for me at the mo.
Would just like to know experiences with driving on the road if it wore to be used in your daily ?
Cheers guys

[zukmeista]

Had one in the rear of my Samurai, when they are set up correctly they are barely noticeable on the road, you will know its there when you go round a wet roundabout though...