Outer Limits 4x4 Board

I changed my rear (airlocked) diff oil today and found this stuck to the magnetised drain plug:



It's only about 2mm thick so looks pretty light duty.

Does anyone know what it is?

A clip or something?

Looking at the size/shape I would be guessing a spider gear circlip???

Could be worth dropping the diff out to see....

that is a locking tab for the hemisphere bolts that hold the endcaps onto the air locker
look here at number 12 http://www.arb.com.au/media/products/ai ... 2-RD01.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

tuf045 wrote:that is a locking tab for the hemisphere bolts that hold the endcaps onto the air locker
look here at number 12 http://www.arb.com.au/media/products/ai ... 2-RD01.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

What does it do?

Does that mean the hemisphere bolt may come lose?

TheOtherLeft wrote:

tuf045 wrote:that is a locking tab for the hemisphere bolts that hold the endcaps onto the air locker
look here at number 12 http://www.arb.com.au/media/products/ai ... 2-RD01.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

What does it do?

Does that mean the hemisphere bolt may come lose?

The bolt could have come loose very hard to tell!

mate best thing to do is take your centre out and check the others and the bolts are tight.
is that all that came out? The new locking tabs are not dear at all from ARB.

tuf045 wrote:

TheOtherLeft wrote:

tuf045 wrote:that is a locking tab for the hemisphere bolts that hold the endcaps onto the air locker
look here at number 12 http://www.arb.com.au/media/products/ai ... 2-RD01.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

What does it do?

Does that mean the hemisphere bolt may come lose?

The bolt could have come loose very hard to tell!

mate best thing to do is take your centre out and check the others and the bolts are tight.
is that all that came out? The new locking tabs are not dear at all from ARB.

What would have caused it to break off - shock loading, wear and tear, poor installation.

Yes, that's all that came out, and some very very fine fillings.

TheOtherLeft wrote:

tuf045 wrote:

TheOtherLeft wrote:

tuf045 wrote:that is a locking tab for the hemisphere bolts that hold the endcaps onto the air locker
look here at number 12 http://www.arb.com.au/media/products/ai ... 2-RD01.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

What does it do?

Does that mean the hemisphere bolt may come lose?

The bolt could have come loose very hard to tell!

mate best thing to do is take your centre out and check the others and the bolts are tight.
is that all that came out? The new locking tabs are not dear at all from ARB.

What would have caused it to break off - shock loading, wear and tear, poor installation.

Yes, that's all that came out, and some very very fine fillings.

No idea on what cause it to come off, my only suggestion is they come off rather easily when they have been reused ie locker has been apart for something?

How does this locking tab actually work? How does it stop the bolt from loosening, as in the ARB diagram it sits on top of the bolt head?

The hole in the middle should have 12 points. The head of the bolt has 12 points. The clip taps over the head of the bolt and prevents it from turning because the "wings" will hit the hemisphere.

It's not uncommon for them to fall off. Poor design. As a general rule we clean the bolts heads with solvent, tap the clip on and put a dollop of silicone on each one to retain the clip. Seems to work!.

Dan

Ruffy wrote:The hole in the middle should have 12 points. The head of the bolt has 12 points. The clip taps over the head of the bolt and prevents it from turning because the "wings" will hit the hemisphere.

It's not uncommon for them to fall off. Poor design. As a general rule we clean the bolts heads with solvent, tap the clip on and put a dollop of silicone on each one to retain the clip. Seems to work!.

Dan

Thanks Dan,

So what would cause them to come off? The bolt rotating too much? The clip is pretty flimsy so I don't think it would take too much.

TheOtherLeft wrote:

Ruffy wrote:The hole in the middle should have 12 points. The head of the bolt has 12 points. The clip taps over the head of the bolt and prevents it from turning because the "wings" will hit the hemisphere.

It's not uncommon for them to fall off. Poor design. As a general rule we clean the bolts heads with solvent, tap the clip on and put a dollop of silicone on each one to retain the clip. Seems to work!.

Dan

Thanks Dan,

So what would cause them to come off? The bolt rotating too much? The clip is pretty flimsy so I don't think it would take too much.

Possibly poor factory assembly. I check all of these before installing a new airlocker as it is common for them not to be fitted correctly. Or it has been re-used if the hemisphere has been disassembled. Never re-use these they will fall off. They also usually end up in the crownwheel once they come off.

I would pull your centre and re-tension and replace all of these now before the one bolt that is missing this lock tab makes its way out and destroys your locker. They are cheap from ARB. You just sit them over the head of the bolt and tap them home using a slightly oversized socket.

Thanks for the tips all.

I'll be taking it to a diff specialist in the new year to get it check out.