[lee88]

Hey guys

Just installed a 1512 lockright into the rear of my vit(took my centre to a diff shop to fit).
The problem is when im going slow and turning for example, it starts bucking around a LOT!
If i put my clutch in it clunks around like CRAZY. (pretty sure its my driveshaft slapping back and forth it does this for a fair bit until it comes to a stop..)
I'm worried that its gonna break something it really doesnt sound good to me!
Does this sound normal to you guys? could it not be set up properly? how much slop/play is too much?

I can turn the driveshaft back and forth by hand quite a bit before i feel any resistance im wondering whether i should take it back or whether this is normal for a lock right?

edit: it mainly does it when im going very slow or almost stopped. (also still in 2wd if that makes a difference)

[Red89]

Did you get it done at a place in Oconner.

[lee88]

Hey mate

Yeh took it to the place in O'conner.. whys that?


edit: note that im not trying to blame/bad mouth them btw.. as i gave them a 2nd hand diff & the locker and asked him just to fit for me (Not really sure what condition the diff was in)
Was more of a question of whether its normal & whether anyone has the same with their lockers?

[Red89]

By the sounds of it they have set it up the same way they set two of mine up, they don't have as good a reputation these day as they use to. If it was only just done take it back to them chances are it will have been setup with the maximum gap between the halves of the locker and will need to be shimmed to a smaller gap, particularly if the locker is second hand. They were reluctant to do mine as they said it would break the hemisphere and they also tried to tell me the locker would constantly unlock and only be locked when given a boot full, that was when I realised they didnt have any real world experience with them. If it is happening all the time take the car in with you and get them to test drive.

[SierraDan]

Agreed. But also, there will some some degree of slack and noises. But not as much as you have described.

[lee88]

Thanks for the replies guys!

Guess i will drop my diff again and take it back for them to check the tolerances..
the locker was brand new but used a 2nd hand diff with the existing side gears. Might give them my spare diff so they can raid parts if they need..

its ok around corners if im not accelerating. it unlocks nicely but as soon as i even touch the accelerator it bucks around/bunny hops a LOT lol (& i cant put my clutch in to stop it because i get the awful driveshaft/diff clunking around)

btw Red did they end up fixing yours?

[atari4x4]

take the car there & let them see how bad it is before pulling the centre out as they won't be able to replicate the issue on the bench.

[Red89]

lee88 wrote:

btw Red did they end up fixing yours?

One of mine was new, one was used, they reshimmed both. The new one is now fine and still in the front end, the used one still slipped when put under pressure trying to climb stuff. Mine where initially slipping constantly and kicking the back end at low speeds even when in a straight line and when I tried to climb things both ends would just slip.

[lee88]

Red89 wrote:

lee88 wrote:

btw Red did they end up fixing yours?

One of mine was new, one was used, they reshimmed both. The new one is now fine and still in the front end, the used one still slipped when put under pressure trying to climb stuff. Mine where initially slipping constantly and kicking the back end at low speeds even when in a straight line and when I tried to climb things both ends would just slip.

Damn that sucks did it eat your side gears from slipping like that?
As far as i can tell mine locks up fine and unlocks when i'm off the accelerator (mind you havent done that much offroading yet)
its only when i'm going slow & or turning a corner slowly if give it a bit of accelerator it will start jumping around, then even if i push the clutch in it still clunks around heaps
for example i was on a bush track trying to turn around & everytime i needed to stop to reverse when pushed the clutch in it would keep going 'clunk clunk clunk clunk!' for a few seconds then stop

idk maybe its just normal lockright operation then?
Or could it even be the backlash on the diff or something?

& thanks Atari maybe ill see if i can take them for a drive to see what they think

edit: the more i try and explain it the more it sounds like normal locker
just worried about the diff/driveshaft clunking aftre i put my clutch in

[christover1]

It may bed in and smooth out.
My tailshaft has a lot of slack, I got used to it,
but will one day reshim it.
It is over 5 years old and still works great.

[Red89]

Normal operation means you shouldn't be able to feel the car move, just the occasional loud bang when cornering. If you're unhappy with it take the car into them, that's what after sales service is for

[lee88]

Took the car in today, still not sure whether to pull it out or not. he said it was pretty bad when we did a u turn in a culdersack, we started bucking/clunking around a lot.
(but note if i had kept my clutch in i would have been able to turn around with no probs)
They said feel free to bring it in and they can check the tolerances, but he warned if it goes too tight it will have trouble locking & unlocking..
Normal driving is fine & larger corners it seems to be ok, it does seem to have smoothed out a bit after driving it all day tho & after the weekend

Christover how does yours act when doing u turns or around tighter corners? My tailshaft has lots of slack too, it clunks everytime i take off :/

Do you guys think should i learn to live with it or should i pull it out and get them to reshim it? is a tighter lockright better then a loose one? lol

[christover1]

Mines been in the rear over 5 years, it is very smooth on u turns,
unless I accelerate hard, then it locks up.
Can't comment on loudness, as I am hearing impaired,
but I only get light clicking.

My front is only new, it took 2 months to bed in and smooth out.

My slack in driveline was only annoying till I got used to it

[lee88]

Cheers for the replies guys.
Just pulled the diff again gonna get them to check/ adjust it up tomorrow.
Hopefully they can sort it out for me. Anyone know what sort of tolerances work best?

Also Chris, when it locks up in u turns does it buck u around or does your tire just squeel?

[jdk81]

My lockright has been in for 70,000km in the rear of a SWB sierra daily driver

Ive found it bucks, clunks and/or tires chirp etc sometimes mostly due to my error/laziness/impatience etc.
Driving with an autolocker is an acquired skill, requiring a little discipline, and tolerance of the clunk/buck/tire chirps.

The extra slack you now feel in the pinion is due to the nature of the locker design and how it locks
This forces them to lock under torque, and allows one side (perhaps both) to compress when going around a corner under constant torque, allowing one side to turn faster than driven.

Without physically driving your vehicle it is difficult for me to know.
It could be set up wrong
Or it could be that you haven't learnt to drive with your autolocker/vehicle combination yet.
It takes a certain type of person to be content with an autolocker, being a tightass is just the first requirement.

[shandy92]

Hey Lee, sounds like the best thing to do was to do what you have done (pull it out and get it checked), i agree with jdk81 in saying that it does take a special person to be able to drive and tolerate an auto locker.

where in perth are you? i can take you for a spin in mine sometime so you can compare. mine has been had a lockrite for 30,000km

[lee88]

I definitely expected it to be a bit bunky, but so many people say you shouldnt really be able to notice it on the road..
JDK, from what you wrote it sounds like if you try to drive good then you would be able to drive it smoothly..?
I definitely don't expect it to be perfect on the road! but i expect it to be driveable.
(I remember a post from somewhere and they said that even their wife could drive it on the road smoothly with no problems!)

When i took the diff shop guy for a drive yesterday, he said it seemed fine on the longer/faster turns, but agreed that it was pretty undriveable when turning at low speeds. As soon as i got on or off the power even a tiny bit, it just bucks me around.
He also said since it was in such a light car, that wouldn't help with the locking/unlocking & the bucking. i did notice on the weekend when i had people in the back it was better behaved around corners, but still at low speeds it was hard to drive, even offroad where the wheels can slip if they need to.

When i got under my car last night, I could literally turn my driveshaft almost half a turn!

I guess if it turns out that the tolerances were fine, ill just have to learn to drive it or live with it, or start to save for an airlocker XD..


Shandy, I'm about 10 mins out of Freo (in Kardinya). Where abouts are you? from memory you were far away lol
Maybe we can go for a 4x4 one day & go tease some pootrols with our lockers hahah

[jdk81]

It isn't noticeable on the open road (unless you are harsh on the clutch whilst changing gears), and generally won't notice it on roundabouts.

For instance..
If you are coming up to a set of lights, and enter a slip lane just before you stop, the diff can unlock a little. As you apply power/release clutch to drive away, you can get a loud crack and the car will jump a little as the diff locks. So ensure you finish your turn before coming a rest, and apply power gently on take off.
If you are leaving a corner and apply power like you would in a normal car, you can generate an excessive crack and make the car jump as the power comes on. In the wet this is very scary, until you learn the be gentle, take it easy, and apply power gently.
At certain speeds (usually when not under power or engine braking) and you clutch it you can generate the bucks etc.
If you slow right down, prior to parking or roundabouts and idling or at gentle revs, it will minimise bucking, however it can sometimes bucks.
If it starts to buck under idle, riding the clutch a little, or applying small power very gently is often enough to get it under control.

Often I just don't care, and say "fucking auto locker"

As per backlash, use a bit of tape and stick a protractor on the flange. Turn it to get a good idea of how much backlash you have.
The backlash from the diff centre pins which locate the locker (key to how the locker functions), is multiplied by the diff ratio (when checking backlash in the diff using the pinion).
Add this with the backlash in the gears (which should be a bees dick), and it might be enough to see what you are seeing.

[lee88]

jdk81 wrote:

It isn't noticeable on the open road (unless you are harsh on the clutch whilst changing gears), and generally won't notice it on roundabouts.

For instance..
If you are coming up to a set of lights, and enter a slip lane just before you stop, the diff can unlock a little. As you apply power/release clutch to drive away, you can get a loud crack and the car will jump a little as the diff locks. So ensure you finish your turn before coming a rest, and apply power gently on take off.
If you are leaving a corner and apply power like you would in a normal car, you can generate an excessive crack and make the car jump as the power comes on. In the wet this is very scary, until you learn the be gentle, take it easy, and apply power gently.
At certain speeds (usually when not under power or engine braking) and you clutch it you can generate the bucks etc.
If you slow right down, prior to parking or roundabouts and idling or at gentle revs, it will minimise bucking, however it can sometimes bucks.
If it starts to buck under idle, riding the clutch a little, or applying small power very gently is often enough to get it under control.

Often I just don't care, and say "fucking auto locker"

As per backlash, use a bit of tape and stick a protractor on the flange. Turn it to get a good idea of how much backlash you have.
The backlash from the diff centre pins which locate the locker (key to how the locker functions), is multiplied by the diff ratio (when checking backlash in the diff using the pinion).
Add this with the backlash in the gears (which should be a bees dick), and it might be enough to see what you are seeing.

Thanks heaps for the info!!
They have checked the play in the locker itself & they said its within the tolerances. I asked if he can shim it up a bit tighter for me, but he said not really..
They did mention that there was a bit of play between the lockright & the actual side gears (im using original side gears)
I asked if the side gears are worn, and they said they are not excessively worn so they should be ok..

Soooooo hopefully it will bed in and smooth out, or at least i will learn to drive it a bit better!

Cheers

[lee88]

Just an update -

Took my car for a lil spin tonight after refitting the diff. WOW! what a difference offroad. Drove up some stuff that i had NO chance of getting up before!

Also seems better on the road now.. & i'm able to turn corners with less troubles then before.. (I honestly don't think it was set up correctly, so glad i took it back. but in saying that i think its still not as smooth as other people say theirs is)

It still bucks me around when turning at low speeds if i get on the throttle at all, but i think its not as bad..

In saying that i managed to give a nice lil bunny hop show to some police parked in the carpark hahah oops! (so glad they didn't do anything they must of just thought i couldn't drive, wouldn't wanna get yellowed again lol..)

[jdk81]

If you are worried, consider having a complete spare 3rd member just in case.
They are about $50 at u-pull-it wreckers over here.

[Red89]

I wish there was still some U-Pull-It wreckers over here

Lee88 by the sounds of it it just needs to bed in now, you may still get a kick every now and then especially when slowly turning into carparks or driveways etc but nothing like you were describing. Its a good excuse to go wheeling more often now

[shandy92]

Good to hear that you got it sorted out, I did a long reply the other night but it hasn't showed up here:(
Yeah I'm north in padbury, might be going for a wheel on the 7th of April ( check out the trips section) so hope to see ya then.

Mitch