E-locker actuator question

gmcmanus663

gmcmanus663

Member
About 2 months ago I installed an e-locker rear end in my 02. I ended up getting the axle in the day I had to leave for my 1000 mile yearly trip to school. Cutting it close, but luckily I have had no issues with it functioning as a normal rear end. I was not able to use the locker because until a few weeks ago it was not actually wired up. I ended up getting a wiring harness from Low Range Off Road which makes putting a locker in a non pre-wired third gen very straightforward and nearly plug and play. After installing this harness, I had no response from the locker. I know the actuator worked when I put the axle in because I bench tested it, and even actuated it when installed in the truck because the gears needed to be in the locked position to install the third member to the housing.

Fast forward to the past few days. I ended up not messing with it for a while because school has been so busy. I got a change to toy with the actuator the other day and I got it to engage. Great! A few issues though. Firstly, when it engaged it didn't sound normal, it sounded rough. Maybe this had to do with engaging it sitting still, but after seeing how it all works I don't really thing that would've been the case. After reading lots of threads and searching, I thought maybe the inside of the actuator had become corroded. So I took the actuator off and opened it up. Inside was clean as a whistle. And when I say inside here I mean the part that has a sort of spring with a gear connected to it, not the electrical side of things. I did end up opening the other part of the actuator up to see if anything was obviously wrong. Everything seemed okay in there.

I do want to continue to diagnose the actuator to see what is wrong with it and try and rebuild it if possible, but for now I just need to get my truck to a point that I can drive it. I manually unlocked the diff through the hole the actuator installs to, and verified that the diff is no open again. What I am concerned about it what happens when I reinstall the actuator. I see no need to put it totally back together. There are little springs and such that will be a PITA to install, and I plan on taking this thing back out again very soon once I have time. Do you think I can put the actuator partially back together (minus the little springs and all) and install it into the diff just to drive it. I wouldn't even hook the plugs up, it would simply be plugging the hole that it goes into.

Let me know what you think, and also if you have experience rebuilding these any info and tips for what could be wrong are greatly appreciated also
 
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Not sure how "rough" your actuator sounds, but mine has always sounded a little "strained" as the motor winds the spring inside (assuming the diff isn't aligned and the shift fork in the diff doesn't immediately slide to lock/unlock). There should be a light film of grease on the spring itself so it doesn't bind as it winds. I've also had the shaft actuator shaft that slides the shift fork in the diff bind where it enters the diff. Again a light film of grease helps. Loosening and tightening the bolts holding the actuator helped as well in my situation, I think the actuator wasn't sitting flush/square against the diff.

As for plugging that hole, I jammed a wooden dowel plug in there once when I couldn't reassemble the actuator right away. Think I jammed a shop rag in there once for a couple days too with no issues.
 
bike said:
Not sure how "rough" your actuator sounds, but mine has always sounded a little "strained" as the motor winds the spring inside (assuming the diff isn't aligned and the shift fork in the diff doesn't immediately slide to lock/unlock). There should be a light film of grease on the spring itself so it doesn't bind as it winds. I've also had the shaft actuator shaft that slides the shift fork in the diff bind where it enters the diff. Again a light film of grease helps. Loosening and tightening the bolts holding the actuator helped as well in my situation, I think the actuator wasn't sitting flush/square against the diff.

As for plugging that hole, I jammed a wooden dowel plug in there once when I couldn't reassemble the actuator right away. Think I jammed a shop rag in there once for a couple days too with no issues.
Click to expand...

Does the gear oil from the diff get to this point? So if I can at least cover it I could drive it, just dry pavement to be safe?
 
Also an update on the actuator itself. I think I figured out what I need to do to fix it. I've done a lot more research and I've got a better understanding of how it works. There are magnets inside that surround an armature. When the actuator is together, the magnets sit very closely to the armature, but do not touch it. If the magnets become un-glued they will magnetize to the armature, holding it still. 3 of my magnets were loose.

Unfortunately I learned how this all worked after I had taken it apart more. The orientation of the magnets with regards to their poles is very important and I did not label them before removing them. Luckily I have notes from a physics class I took last semester about magnetic fields that I can use to find their poles. Who'd a thought I'd be using that info this soon. Anyways once i figure out how they need to be oriented I'll glue them back into the housing and put it all back together. Hopefully it'll work then
 
Alright so I think the only thing holding me back is what kind of glue to use to put these magnets back in. I've seen people use hot glue, but to me that seems a little weak. Any suggestions?

Also one of the large O-ring seals is totally disintegrated, are there readily available replacements or should I just use some RTV?

Lastly I want to get some fresh grease in it before I put it back together. I know Toyota used their own special grease in here. Do you think I should get some of that or is there an alternative? That stuff is pretty damn expensive, something like $45 for what looks like a few ounce bottle. Maybe normal automotive grease would do?
 
gmcmanus663 said:
Alright so I think the only thing holding me back is what kind of glue to use to put these magnets back in. I've seen people use hot glue, but to me that seems a little weak. Any suggestions?

Also one of the large O-ring seals is totally disintegrated, are there readily available replacements or should I just use some RTV?
Click to expand...

I'd say that a 2 part epoxy is what you want for glue.
On the oring, if the OEM isn't available, you can probably find one at - https://www.allorings.com/
 
Okay, so I'm really down to one thing holding me back from getting this thing working. I've found every single thread I can (I think) on these actuators. I need to find out what the intended orientation for the magnets it with regards to their poles and all. I've found other threads on this that say to refer to a picture that no longer displays because the threads are so old.

Any help with this???
 
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