Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Gday, i have just installed 2 lockrights with a 5.12`s ratios, the front seems to be holding up well, but it has made it hard to steer and sometimes it wants to turn by itself, is this normal?
The rear is leaking from the shaft seal, and has started whining slighty when i put my foot down. Is this a big hastle to fix? Also when driving in a straight line the rear clunks and makes metal on metal noises? Is this normal for having a locker? Any help would be great, thank you

I only have a lock rite in the rear, the shaft seal is not a very big job just gotta pull the axle then replace seal, but make sure the sleeve the seal runs on is still in good nic. Check the oil level, mine doesnt wine maybe the centre was not set up correctly did you install it yourself? could also be your wheel bearings. Mine clunks a bit around corners and coming out of corners but in a straight line it should be locked. Im using 85w/140 thats what they recommend to reduce noise.

I have a front lockright and yeh it is hard to steer at times, but if you give it a bit of throttle it will unlock...if you are on a high traction surface like bitumen or concrete it will be impossible to turn...

I had one in the rear as well but it was farked so i took it out and put a weld up in....when i was turning corners it would make VERY loud snapping noises and make the car very difficult and embarassing to drive...turned out the shims were stuffed and there was a lot of wear in the teeth.....you shouldnt be getting clunking noises when you are going straight because the unit should be fully locked up, so perhaps it isnt locking properly ??

Yeah its weird, when i went off road earlier that day, the rear was locking wonderfully, and it claps around corners but not too loud at all, so in that aspect it seems all right. But in straight line it clunks sometimes, and whines when i accelerate, but goes away when i take my foot off, could the locker be worn or brokn? Is a bering hard to fix?

Drain the oil and see if you get some metal in the oil. If it clunks (sometimes) in a straight line sounds like you have something floating in the oil

Your pinion bearings are gone.
constant noise would indicate either wheel bearings or carrier bearings.
If it is only evident on acceleration or deceleration, and goes away when you are cruising, it would indicate worn pinion bearings. (that is if the diff was set up right in the first place).
Did it make the noise before you installed the lockrite?
If not, are you using the bearings from the original pinion or did you use the ones from the vitara centre?

hey sick man - twin lockers!!!

fix your bearings or whatever and it'll be all sweet!

worn pinion bearings will make a consistent whirring noise rather than a clunking metal noise...ive had mine replaced before and the current ones are stuffed and there is no clunking

For the clunking in a straight line, It may be a simple one, but are both the tyres on that axle the same pressure, if there is a large difference the locker will occasionally unlock to even up the difference in tyre size.

Thanx guys for your input, yeah the tyres are the same pressure. I have heard that the lockrights have a sheer pin in them and they can break sometimes, they only cost a few dollars. Has anyone broken one of these pins before? If so what were the symptoms? Cheers

greyzook wrote:Thanx guys for your input, yeah the tyres are the same pressure. I have heard that the lockrights have a sheer pin in them and they can break sometimes, they only cost a few dollars. Has anyone broken one of these pins before? If so what were the symptoms? Cheers

Is this what you're after? (if it's not, don't shoot me please!... doesn't seem to contain the pin you mention, but then again it might)

http://www.roadlessgear.com/page/RGL/PROD/D/LRP100

Cheers, that could be it i dont reallly know myself, i might send thm an email and ask thm what a "broken" locker is.

No Idea wrote:Your pinion bearings are gone.
constant noise would indicate either wheel bearings or carrier bearings.
If it is only evident on acceleration or deceleration, and goes away when you are cruising, it would indicate worn pinion bearings. (that is if the diff was set up right in the first place).
Did it make the noise before you installed the lockrite?
If not, are you using the bearings from the original pinion or did you use the ones from the vitara centre?

I was thinking pinion too...

One question - did you line up the 5.12 ring and pinions properly when they went in - apparently you have to line up the gears exactly where they have always been* so that they wear correctly etc...

* - on the gears there should be a notch / mark to show that the tooth on the pinion lines up with a certain tooth on the ring.

ive heard if you got a bent housing it will cause the locker to play up have u been jumpin the car?

Greg, i brought the 5.12`s and the locker was already installed so i dont know how it was put in.

Redzook, i havnt been jumping, and the housing looks in good nic.

Im going to pull it down agaig for the 100th time today, and see what the problem is.

greyzook wrote:Greg, i brought the 5.12`s and the locker was already installed so i dont know how it was put in.
...
Im going to pull it down agaig for the 100th time today, and see what the problem is.

Fair enough - i recall reading that the 5.12's were profesionally installed so it would be fair to assume they should be ringht then.

I guess this would be a time consuming option, but you could always put a normal diff in there with the 5.12's and see what noises you still get... that would let you know if it is the ring and pinion or the locker making all the noise.

Otherwise, maybe just rip it out and weld up a diff and install that?

i pulled the diff and the axles out and one of the wheel bearings had gone, the ball bearings had split and little bits of metal were floating around. The diff semed to be in good condition. Is there any way i can properly chack it? Whould the shagged bearing be causing that clunking noise?

Matts lockrite he had in the rear of his zook used to clunk and bang even going in a straight line. Soon after it shat itself so in went a welded centre

Whining would be a gear noise that would change whether you are accelerating, coasting or decelerating. Backlash may be incorrect or the crown wheel and pinion may need to be lapped in.

If it's clicking in a straight line, then either one tyre is travelling further than the other (tyre preasure difference, diff not straight, chassis rooted etc) or its incorrectly installed. If it's clicking excessively on corners and throwing the car around I'd say the backlash is wrong.

its not clicking its making a clunking noise and grinding. I think its wheel bearing ill change it and see how i go.

ditch the lockright and weld the diff up

N*A*M wrote:ditch the lockright and weld the diff up

I agree with NAM. Hell cheaper for pretty much the same result on road*, and off road at least you know it is going to work..

* when u weigh up the options of the problems with pins breaking, needing to be re-shimmed etc etc....i find my weld up is pretty darn good on road (apart from shopping centre car parks with the screecing which make u look like a hoon) - i didnt like the lockright at all

camskizook wrote:i find my weld up is pretty darn good on road (apart from shopping centre car parks with the screecing which make u look like a hoon)

But then people realise you are in a suzuki and assume that it must be someone else making all those tyre screaching noises

greg wrote:

camskizook wrote:i find my weld up is pretty darn good on road (apart from shopping centre car parks with the screecing which make u look like a hoon)

But then people realise you are in a suzuki and assume that it must be someone else making all those tyre screaching noises

yeh and that combined with the awesome output of the 1 litre donk small children run away terrified

i love my welded rear

on the 34s i hardly chirp at all
on the 26s i chirp like a mofo

is it hard pulling out the lockrite? How do you think a welded rear would go with 31`s? Whats tyre wear like? BFG`s are expensive these days.

greyzook wrote:is it hard pulling out the lockrite? How do you think a welded rear would go with 31`s? Whats tyre wear like? BFG`s are expensive these days.

I don't know about ease of removal / fitment, but i can tell you that it should be fine with 31's... And you shouldn't need to be worried about strength of the diff either - LJ Extreem is running a welded rear on 36" swampers with no problems...

Tyre wear shouldn't be much of an issue - and i guess it would still be much cheaper to replace tyres a little earlier then it would be to get a new locker right?