Lockright woes

[Bajan Tim]

I installed a lockright locker in the rear of my coil sprung sierra and something seems to be wrong.

I have test driven it on asphalt and in mild corners the outer tyre scrubs/ chirps sometimes and the is an rattling sound coming from the rear diff,the tighter the turn the worse the scrubbing and noise gets, even when going really slowly and also with out the clutch pedal pressed in and coasting.

The manual makes referene to a clicking sound which i have heard on other sierras but the noise mine makes is more high pitched and sounds scary like somethin is about to fall apart.
Also the manual said there will be an additional 25 degrees of backlash in the drive shaft, currently mine has very little play.
I jacked it up and turned the wheels by hand and both wheels spin in the same direction, like a welded diff does with very little play.
Could the locker be assembled too tightly?
What could i have done wrong?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

[christover1]

I have a lock rite front. In 4wd with the front hubs locked, I can easily spin one wheel by hand, if off the ground of course.
While both off the ground, obviously both turn same way.
It does sound like its not unlocking, worth a try to see if it is.
It may need time to get the diff oil around it?
I didn't set mine up, I just fitted the crown and pinion and fitted it.

but I'm told if they have the wrong shimming, they be too tight and may not unlock.

It could also be that you need time to get used to it, but I think its jamming.

just a guess.

christover

[cutzook]

lock rights are a waste of time in a sierra. may as well just welded it.
i would never buy another lock right again.

just my 2 cents.


cheers joel

[cj]

If your axles are bent that will cause problems too.

[Bajan Tim]

thanks guys, will try removing the thicker shims and see if that helps, hope everything is still in good nick

[Zute]

What tyre pressures are you using ? maybe try them at 40psi and than at 15psi . See if this makes a differance.
Also add some weight to the back and see if this will get it to unlock in a turn.

[Bajan Tim]

well its been taken apart and put back toghther by my mechanic, the backlash is there when spinning the wheels by hand when the vehicle is jacked up, still dont hear a clicking when cornering but i dont notice it much except when im makin sharp turns, maybe i dont have enough traction to make it unlock, im running 30x9.5 bfg muds.

thanks guys

[christover1]

well its been taken apart and put back toghther by my mechanic, the backlash is there when spinning the wheels by hand when the vehicle is jacked up, still dont hear a clicking when cornering but i dont notice it much except when im makin sharp turns, maybe i dont have enough traction to make it unlock, im running 30x9.5 bfg muds.

thanks guys

just jack up 1 wheel only, then see if it will unlock when you turn it by hand.
It sounds like it may be working properley now.

christover

[Bajan Tim]

I jacked up one side and could rotate one tyre a few degrees and before it stopped, i'm assuming that is the 25 degrees of backlash that they talked about in the manual. I'm not hearing any clicking sounds that are mentioned, are the gears/teeth on the locker and the side gears supposed to engage and disengage ?

[christover1]

I jacked up one side and could rotate one tyre a few degrees and before it stopped, i'm assuming that is the 25 degrees of backlash that they talked about in the manual. I'm not hearing any clicking sounds that are mentioned, are the gears/teeth on the locker and the side gears supposed to engage and disengage ?

yes.
There should be 25% of free rotation.
Then you should be able to turn the wheel by hand greater than 25% and locker will unlock, and wheel will spin, with a little clicking. This needs a little more effort to turn.

Mine was a little hard to spin when first fitted.
But after a day, it spins, unlocks easy.

christover

[lay80n]

From memory my deroit should lock up the wheels within 1/8th of a turn of rotation when high torque is present.
Layto....

[Bajan Tim]

going by what you are saying mine might not be unlocking, there is no clicking going on with mine, will try a lower tyre pressure and see what happens.

cheers

[sierrafreak]

i have the same thing with my detroit locker and 30bfg muddies it never made a sound when it was first put in

Then i went back they looked at it and it was put in properly but still no noise then after a while it must have free'd up a little and started to make a clicking noise on the tarmac.

Also be carefull about your sharp turns my missus has been driving the Zook and doesnt understand the necesity to take corners wide (no 90% turns) And i think mine is farked have to pull it apart next weekend.


On another note with running this size tyres i would check your wheel bearings and steering knuckles while your at it.

[suzuki boy]

Iv'e got lock rites in mine front and rear and hav'nt had a prob(touch wood) Just got to have huge arms to turn when in 4wd(power steering would be nice) But did one set of front wheel bearings but don't no wether it's to do with the locker

[Bajan Tim]

Well the locker is definately not unlocking, what effect does the thickness of the two spacers that go next to the block that holds the cross pins have on operation?

[christover1]

Well the locker is definately not unlocking, what effect does the thickness of the two spacers that go next to the block that holds the cross pins have on operation?

I think to unlock, it needs to be able to slide back the length of the teeth on the gear. I think if the spacers are too thick, it can not slide back far enough to clear the teeth.

[Ric]

Well the locker is definately not unlocking, what effect does the thickness of the two spacers that go next to the block that holds the cross pins have on operation?

are you talking about the really thin washer like things that sit between the side gears and the centre? i ended up removing the thicker one. (there were two, one thick one thin) and then it worked fine, i had both washers in at first and it was too tight and would not unlock.

Ric

[lay80n]

In the install instructions for mine it had a spec for the side gear "width", and you had to adjust the shims to meet this, so that the clearence was right. Otherwise it either wouldnt unlock. The clutch packs have to be able to seperate enough so that the dog teeth can slide over each other.


Layto....

[scottlimmer]

sounds like the side gear is locked up . when i put my locker in i just the cross and side gear and shims and lift out the driver and springs . then just did center and made sure that side gear can spin freely . then just pulled it apart and put the driver and other bits in and put all together
and works fine. i have done 4 or 5 like this and all work in small truck and 4wd hope this help

[CHOPS1]

Off topic, but what do these lockers go like in the mud?

Chop

[christover1]

Off topic, but what do these lockers go like in the mud?

Chop

mines in the front, rears welded.
under power it stays locked, handles like an air locker on.
great traction.
It stays locked under heavy deceleration, but under light deceleration or cruising it unlocks easily.
Thus understeers under power, then it cuts in when ya back off.
Not an issue at lower speeds. At higher speeds I go back to 2wd, and handling goes normal.

I wouldn't enjoy a rear one on a daily driver.

just my opinion

christover

[CHOPS1]

I'm gonna bite the bullet and get 2, bbm have a special on!

chop

[christover1]

I'm gonna bite the bullet and get 2, bbm have a special on!

chop

go for it, just make sure they are fitted/shimmed correctly..

I fitted mine to the car, but an expert fitted it to the diff centre