Lockright diff now installed

[dieselboy]

Spent this afternoon fitting the auto locking diff. First drive all is well. You can feel there is something different. Installation was just time consuming and fiddly - The 3rd member is damn heavy!! To re-fit it was the case of "if you dont get in now you aint ever getting in!"

I went to go and get the truck washed as we went to some lanes last night. When I backed off the throttle I could hear this loud RATTLE. I wasnt sure if there was something not bolted up right with the front diff or I had messed up with the rear. I now think that there was may be not enough oil around the diff. After I drove a bit longer the noise completely went and has not come back since.
I went into ASDA car park (its closed now) and left two nice rubber trails around the back.

You have to keep the throttle steady when cornering so the diff doesnt lock. But, even when the diff does lock and my 33"s on it doesnt force the truck forward or anything, you can just hear the inside tyre slipping slightly.

PS. The diff drain plug on the axle is a 24mm !!!!! :/

Look forward to trying it out on some lanes soon. I needed the diff last night - the stiff suspension often lifts the truck up off the floor. You bounce down the rut and then bounce right back up out of it

[dieselboy]

One thing though - the hand brake light keeps coming on and off when driving. Where is the sensor for this? I had to unbolt the hand brake cables from each side so I could pull the half shafts out. Not sure how this affected the hand brake on light though. I'll make a new post

[stormforce]

did you adjust the handbrake when you connected it back up again

[dieselboy]

did you adjust the handbrake when you connected it back up again

nope! I didnt lift it or anything, Just removed and reinstalled the diff. What are you thinking I have done to it?

[stormforce]

just a thought if you slackened the handbrake cable to take it off then it may need adjusting up again

[dieselboy]

just a thought if you slackened the handbrake cable to take it off then it may need adjusting up again

Ah. No didnt do that

[lord lucan]

check the brake fluid

[POPEYE]

At the risk of asking a "numpty" question, wot is this auto locking diff then, wots the benifiets etc, and how does it fit, any pics/info apprecieated,

[TonyN]

It locks the diff, so you get 100% power to both wheels on same axle.

Ifs for offroading, you can have one wheel wagging in air and still get traction with other, which an open diff dosn't do, it just spins the wheel in the air.

Its does away with the spider gears inside the diff, auto ones work automatically, sensing differences between wheel speeds, Manual lockers you have a switch on dash (and an emptier wallet.. )

[JUDWAK]

any one who's drove lorrys knows you get a whole aray of difflock options
is it possable to have the same sort of choice in a surf
and what would it cost?
any ideas on that dudes

[dieselboy]

At the risk of asking a "numpty" question, wot is this auto locking diff then, wots the benifiets etc, and how does it fit, any pics/info apprecieated,

Well, the auto locking diff allows the prop shaft to become directly connected to either half shaft or both simultaneously with no slip. For example, in an open diff (which is what I have / had) if one rear wheel was in the air or say on ice or mud then that wheel will take all of the engine drive and the wheel that has grip will sit on the floor with no power being applied. This way you loose traction and not move anywhere. With a limited slip diff some of the drive will be applied to the wheel with grip and you will move forward.

With a locked diff in the same situation the wheel on ice will move a small amount before becoming completely locked to the wheel on the opposite side of the axle. the two wheels will turn at the same rate and you will move forward as if the ice wasnt there. The downside of a locked diff is when you need to park or make sharp turns. If the axle is locked together the outside wheel which needs to turn faster than the inside wont be able to very easily. The result is axle strain or tyres slipping every so often to free up the tension. The auto locking diff allows the outside wheel to rotate faster than the inside but not slower. This means that the diff unlocks that shaft (heard by a click click ratcheting sound from the diff). This saves tyres and stress.

Even last night sometimes I could get just one wheel drive on the rear (during manouvers) as the other side had "unlocked".

People tend to look to see what the clicking is though

[dieselboy]

How to install (with pics)
http://www.yotatech.com/f116/lockrig...p-pics-179241/

When I did mine, I remembered to use extra jacks to take the weight of the drums and half shaft so they wernt sitting on the seals. I also used two tonne axle stands to be a little safer when crawling under to undo the 3rd member and prop. I centre punched everything - Inlcuding where the prop was bolted to the 3rd member flange type thing. (When I say 3rd member I'm meaning the differential housing that bolts to the axle. I've read this is the 3rd member, although not sure if it's correctly referred to as that)

[Rustinho]

Cor blimey you've been a busy bee! (and no doubt the wallet is a bit lighter now too!)

[an1mal_69]

Good effort matey..putting the locker in is like having permanent 4WD in terms of extra traction you get. I find I can manage most lanes in 2WD now..so much so I've disconnected the switch that automatically selects 4WD when you shift to low range so I can stay in low-2WD

This Vid of me an Calos is a great representation of the difference they make

clicky

[POPEYE]

Cheers Tony, thats a great write up, Viva Yotatec eh!
it looks complicated did ya find it all went together ok? and lastly how much did it cost? (if you dont mind me asking)
and cheers tonyN, i think i understand what it does now,