Difficulty locking rear diff

[I_bRAD]

Hi All,

Did a search but couldn't find what I was looking for.

I've got a '97 with the e-locker, but it would appear it is difficult to actually get it to engage. It looks like the wiring and sensors are OK- when I switch it on the abs light comes on and the elock light flashes, but I've only been able to get it to engage (solid light) a few times (yes, I am in 4low). I was testing it yesterday and got it to engage, then spun the rear tires to confirm (confirmed-it was engaged) but it disengaged again and I couldn't get it to engage again after that.

Before I go to the trouble of pulling the unit to see how things are looking, is there something simpler I should be checking first?

Will I need to drain the diff to remove the motor unit or does it sit above the oil level?

Thanks for any help...

 

[junr]

Mine would stick once in a while. I would move right to left while driving forward and it usually engages that way. I try to do this about once a week when I can. I've noticed it engages better now than it did before.

junr

 

[JWaldz]

Like stated above, you have to kind of move around Drive/Reverse and have the wheel turned a little to get it to lock in. It will eventually though, just depends on its location.

 

[I_bRAD]

Thanks for the advice.

I never thought of turning a bit so I'll try that out. Perhaps this will be simpler than I thought!

Any ideas why it might have disengaged on me? the manual says it'll shut off if you switch out of 4L, and mentions not to drive over 5mph but doesn't explicitly say it will shut off if you do. I am sure I must have gone over 5mph when I did the spin test.

 

[JWaldz]

Thanks for the advice.

I never thought of turning a bit so I'll try that out. Perhaps this will be simpler than I thought!

Any ideas why it might have disengaged on me? the manual says it'll shut off if you switch out of 4L, and mentions not to drive over 5mph but doesn't explicitly say it will shut off if you do. I am sure I must have gone over 5mph when I did the spin test.

I would think it wouldn't disengage if you go over 5mph but if you switch it out of 4lo it might. I don't know how the ecu works on it, mine isn't hooked up to one. Someone with more knowledge on it will probably chime in.