I have a situation here and need expert advise.

I have been running lockright lockers  (1530) in the rear of my Samurai for 2 years without any problem and they have performed brilliantly as expected.

Now, I did a mechanical once over and for that I just removed the rear axles (without opening the rear diff) and got them cleaned/inspected for wear and tear. And then just put them back.

Now, I observe the following:

- On road it is popping out more often. (and this is not the usual popping out clunk sound. This is more like slipping and hence the clatter)

- In a wheeling session over 2 days, it became unbearable and sounded like a machine gun clatter. the rear just wouldn't lock and constantly clatter.

- While coming back on road (some ~200 miles) they were ok at constant speeds of 30-40 mph. Any load and they clatter.

So, I got the diff opened and see that there is NO wear/tear on right locker, but the left one is very very very lightly scrubbed (between the coupler/locker) because of the clatter. BUT the play between right/left is 100% ok and how it was when new.

I had a new set of extra springs and I noticed that the tension in the 1-2 springs is lot less than the new springs. the pins are 100% ok.

Questions:

#1: What could be the issue here? Did the axle removal/fitment cause a little bit of play to happen between the locker parts?

#2: I am planning to put these back with a new set of springs. Now to make them tight again (assuming that there was a bit of play), should I put in an extra shim? To remove the machine gun clatter, should the lockers open up more (just  the new springs would do) or should they be tighter (need an extra shim)?

Thanks,

khan_sultan, it is good to see you back on the board.  Has it been two years since you put those lockers in already?

The noise you are talking about is usually caused, in my experience, by the locker needing to be rebuilt or not setup tight enough.  I have also seen bent axle tubes cause a problem.  One would not think that removing the axles would be enough to cause the locker to shift, someone else might be able to add their opinion on that.

I wouldn't put in an extra shim yet.  When we put BRD HNTR's in we had to crank it down tighter then was called for in the specifications, then allow it to loosen up on it's own.

Let us know if the rebuild fixes your problem.

One tire low on air pressure?

Did you rotate tires when you inspected your axles?

-Eric

Did you lose any of the springs?  How was the pattern when you set the gears back up?

...The noise you are talking about is usually caused, in my experience, by the locker needing to be rebuilt or not setup tight enough.  

So, i think it is a case of needing a rebuild. The axle tubes are 100% ok and not bent anywhere. So, a rebuild would mean just putting in new springs/pins..

I wouldn't put in an extra shim yet.  When we put BRD HNTR's in we had to crank it down tighter then was called for in the specifications, then allow it to loosen up on it's own.  

What does "crank it down tighter" mean and how is it done? with a SHIM? How does it loosen on it's own?

One tire low on air pressure?

Did you rotate tires when you inspected your axles?

-Eric

No, had checked that. All 4 tires with same pressure

Did you lose any of the springs?  How was the pattern when you set the gears back up?

No, all 4 springs are there in the locker. Just the tension in less compared to new springs. Maybe that is the issue.

But, can someone explain, how weak springs could possibly cause clatter.

The only thing I can think of is that the weaker springs allow the gears to not engage as well and they are slipping more then before, where usually it would lock up.  Does it sound better now that you have put it back together?

Not sure if you have a Kick or Sammy but the axles in a Kick are different lengths side to side. Are you sure you have them in the correct sides? That could load the side gears differently?