[kingkom]

Hi everyone, obvious question probably.
How exactly does the air actuated front diff in the GV work? Is there a pin or something the pressure from the actuator pushes into place?

The reason I ask is I want to install manual hubs along with a hilux front cv conversion. Is installing manual hubs alone and blocking off the air line enough to make it work? Or do you have to somehow internally lock it in 4wd?

I've seen some people talking about putting in a Vitara centre but don't Vitaras also have air operated front diffs? I have GV 5.7 diff gears to go in and I will eventually be going with the Protrack steel air locker for GV up front in addition to my rear lockright so I have no reason to swap to a Vitara centre if not necessary.

[watermouse]

http://www.auszookers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=47843
http://www.auszookers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=19613

You have to modify or swap the GV center. The actuator needs pressure to stay engaged. You will need to block the air hose to the diff so that the pump builds pressure and you do not get 4wd errors on the dash.
Vits have simple open centers with manual freewheeling hubs. Using a vit center is possible but you will need 26 spline side gears from a Vit or GV rear. The GV front diff side gears are not compatible with other diff centers.

[henno]

Is your air pump broken? If not, just install the free wheeling hubs anyway. The air actuation will still need to work, but if it's working it'll continue to work.

[kingkom]

Nah I was sort of Just trying to plan ahead. There's no issues with having manual hubs and keeping the air actuation I assume?

I will eventually have to get rid of it to install my Protrack front air locker but I was sort of just wanting to make sure that I haven't forked out for a GV 5.7 front diff gear only to learn later I'll be having to swap to a Vit centre and get another set of gears. That's the reason I want the Protrack locker instead of ARB up front - it lets me keep GV diff - although when fitting the air locker it will replace the whole inside of the diff and get rid of my air actuation anyway. Apparently I can disconnect the pump and just bridge 2 wires when I do that and I won't get codes?

[henno]

kingkom wrote:

There's no issues with having manual hubs and keeping the air actuation I assume?

No issues at all. It's arguably a good thing as it means your CVs aren't constantly spinning, if you do a lot of driving. It also means you can then use 2wd low range on high traction surfaces (like boat ramps and what not) and if you break a CV you can limp home by just disengaging the hubs rather than having a busted CV spinning at a million RPM all the way home.

[ZUZUKI]

I'm in the process of putting a front locker in my GV (well, Matt at Total Traction Drivelines tells me i'll get my bits back before xmas!) & have ripped out the air pump & associated pipework - the air operated stuff never gave a problem in over 225k, but I never trusted it & carried a spare pump.
The question that Kongkom touched on though - what do I do to trick the 4WD controller into thinking there is a pump in place & building pressure, to brink on the 4WD engaged light - what wires to bridge??
Ta, Michael

[fordem]

ZUZUKI wrote:

what do I do to trick the 4WD controller into thinking there is a pump in place & building pressure, to brink on the 4WD engaged light - what wires to bridge??
Ta, Michael

Depends on the particular vehicle - some have the 4WD controller as a separate module, some have it integrated into the PCM ...

- the easiest way is to plug the airline from the pump, this works with both controllers, as long as the pump remains functional.
- a second way is to disconnect the 4WD light (in the cluster) & switch (on the transfer case) from the controller and wire the two together - from memory one is a black with orange wire, and the other orange with black - this is fine if you have the separate module, but I have no idea if the PCM uses the 4WD signal for any other purposes, so if you have the integrated controller, it might be an idea to tie that back to the 4WD switch through an isolating diode.

[ZUZUKI]

Thanks Fordem - It's a 1999 V6 manual, so I think it should be the separate module type.
While I could retain the pump, it seems silly to be carrying around the weight of an otherwise redundant pump, just to turn a light on, so I'm not not keen on that option - I'll have a look for the Black / Orange & Orange / Black wires.
Ta, Michael

[fordem]

You should find the 4WD controller in the driver's side foot well near the fuse panel - it's a little rectangular black box, and from memory just above the accelerator pedal.

I have confirmed the wire colors - the switch wire is black with orange, the light wire is orange with black - the other wires to the module are ...

ignition power - black with white.
ground - black
pump power - red
pump sense - pink

Just look for a little box with a six wire connector with those colors, unplug it and splice the B/Or & Or/B wires together.