locking diff question

[TCLLC]

please tell me if I have an issue. I am going through my monthly stuff with the 4wd. I put it in high and drive my 10 miles. I go in the dirt, put it in low and drive a little bit straight. then I try to engage the locking diff and sometimes it goes in, not all the time

I put it in high, drive so it locks in, then I put it in N, then low and drive a little bit straight (in dirt), then I shift back to N. then I either press the atrac button, drive a little bit then back to N or I skip right to the locking diff button and wait for it to lock in (which usually does not happen). I have also tried shifting into low and diff lock without moving. Low locks in great, I cannot get the diff lock to reliably lock in


most of the time, it will not lock in. if I pick mogul or rock it will lock in while I drive. then I can usually take it out of diff lock and back in without issue, it used to lock in without problem a couple months ago.


then there are a few times it just locks in. I have read the manual, I looked everything up online. either I am just dense and missing something or I have a problem or this is just normal

I do the diff lock every 2-3 months, I try to do it in mud or wet grass and only go straight


help!

 

[jhguth]

something's wrong if it's locking in 4hi (you can do a mod to make it, but you would see lights on if a previous owner had done that)

to get it to lock you need to turn a bit so wheels aren't the same speed

 

[nb rob]

When in 4lo,

press the diff lock button. drive ahead slowly and steer left and right. It *might* require more than you'd think... think hand-over hand on the steering wheel one way and then the other... you're crawling at this point, so it shouldn't take you too far off course.

If I just press the diff lock button and roll straight ahead, it will take ages to lock. If I crank left and right in an exaggerated manner, I can get mine to engage within a few feet.

You'll hear a nice 'crack' from the rear end when it both engages and then disengages.

If it's not working for you, crank the wheel even further side to side.
If this doesn't work, it might require inspection and repair.

 

[nevada]

please tell me if I have an issue. I am going through my monthly stuff with the 4wd. I put it in high and drive my 10 miles. I go in the dirt, put it in low and drive a little bit straight. then I try to engage the locking diff and sometimes it goes in, not all the time

I put it in high, drive so it locks in, then I put it in N, then low and drive a little bit straight (in dirt), then I shift back to N. then I either press the atrac button, drive a little bit then back to N or I skip right to the locking diff button and wait for it to lock in (which usually does not happen). I have also tried shifting into low and diff lock without moving. Low locks in great, I cannot get the diff lock to reliably lock in


most of the time, it will not lock in. if I pick mogul or rock it will lock in while I drive. then I can usually take it out of diff lock and back in without issue, it used to lock in without problem a couple months ago.


then there are a few times it just locks in. I have read the manual, I looked everything up online. either I am just dense and missing something or I have a problem or this is just normal

I do the diff lock every 2-3 months, I try to do it in mud or wet grass and only go straight


help!

wait, are you saying it sometimes locks when in 4HI? I believe the factory set up should only allow it to lock when in 4low, and below a certain speed. I don't remember if its 5, or 15mph.

 

[TCLLC]

wait, are you saying it sometimes locks when in 4HI? I believe the factory set up should only allow it to lock when in 4low, and below a certain speed. I don't remember if its 5, or 15mph.

sorry, no, only in 4 low. I try to lock the diff when in 4low, in N, not moving, sorry for any miss communication

 

[willo]

I'm fairly new to this forum but not to these diffs.

I think you need to understand what's going on in the axle, then you'll have a better understanding of the locker function and how to make it work better.

Here's the axle with the open differential:
[]----*----[]

We use open differentials normally so that the axle won't bind up when turning on pavement. When unlocked, each Wheel and Axle shaft spins independently. When you turn, the outside wheel must turn more than the inside wheel.

When locked, the axle becomes a single unit.
[]---------[]
If you take a turn on pavement, you'll experience wheel hop, horrible tire wear or maybe break an axle component.

The key here is that in order to lock together, the splines in the locker must align.
Until they do, the locker will not connect.
If you're not in a loss of traction situation, the splines may stay out of the alignment needed to achieve lock.
The purpose of waggling the front wheels is to make the rear axles move independently just enough to help those splines align.

So, if you drive in a straight line where you're not slipping, the axle can indeed take forever to lock.
A good question to ask yourself - are you overusing your locker? You really shouldn't turn it on until you need it - aka are losing traction. If you limit usage of the locker to times when you actually need it, you'll find that it'll engage quite easily.

Why do I bring this up?
Well, if you're using it in situations where it takes forever to lock, you may be unlocking too late in the game as well. The axles can create binding force that won't allow the locker to release right away. Doing so can cause wear on the locker and stress on the differential that you don't want.

Hope this helps a bit.

 

[nevada]

sorry, no, only in 4 low. I try to lock the diff when in 4low, in N, not moving, sorry for any miss communication

ah. got it. pretty sure you need to be moving. just rolling along slowly, it should lock right in.

 

[2112 R]

You'll hear a nice 'crack' from the rear end when it both engages and then disengages.

That "crack" noise really freaked me out the first time I heard it. First thought was "Well dam, just broke something." Then came to find this is pretty normal.

 

[TCLLC]

I'm fairly new to this forum but not to these diffs.

I think you need to understand what's going on in the axle, then you'll have a better understanding of the locker function and how to make it work better.

Here's the axle with the open differential:
[]----*----[]

We use open differentials normally so that the axle won't bind up when turning on pavement. When unlocked, each Wheel and Axle shaft spins independently. When you turn, the outside wheel must turn more than the inside wheel.

When locked, the axle becomes a single unit.
[]---------[]
If you take a turn on pavement, you'll experience wheel hop, horrible tire wear or maybe break an axle component.

The key here is that in order to lock together, the splines in the locker must align.
Until they do, the locker will not connect.
If you're not in a loss of traction situation, the splines may stay out of the alignment needed to achieve lock.
The purpose of waggling the front wheels is to make the rear axles move independently just enough to help those splines align.

So, if you drive in a straight line where you're not slipping, the axle can indeed take forever to lock.
A good question to ask yourself - are you overusing your locker? You really shouldn't turn it on until you need it - aka are losing traction. If you limit usage of the locker to times when you actually need it, you'll find that it'll engage quite easily.

Why do I bring this up?
Well, if you're using it in situations where it takes forever to lock, you may be unlocking too late in the game as well. The axles can create binding force that won't allow the locker to release right away. Doing so can cause wear on the locker and stress on the differential that you don't want.

Hope this helps a bit.

thanks, I get all that and trust me I don't over use it. just about 4 times a year I just like to make sure it will still engage. only in a straight line, in something where it can slip if needed etc.

but if what you are saying is true (and I do trust you, and I am sure it is) that makes a lot of sense. so it sounds like its ok. huge weight off my shoulders on this one. the manual made it seem like it would just slide in no problem which is why I thought I may have an issue

thanks again!!

 

[MeefZah]

You have to be moving.

 

[Thrasher_S]

I'm fairly new to this forum but not to these diffs.

I think you need to understand what's going on in the axle, then you'll have a better understanding of the locker function and how to make it work better.

Here's the axle with the open differential:
[]----*----[]

We use open differentials normally so that the axle won't bind up when turning on pavement. When unlocked, each Wheel and Axle shaft spins independently. When you turn, the outside wheel must turn more than the inside wheel.

When locked, the axle becomes a single unit.
[]---------[]
If you take a turn on pavement, you'll experience wheel hop, horrible tire wear or maybe break an axle component.

The key here is that in order to lock together, the splines in the locker must align.
Until they do, the locker will not connect.
If you're not in a loss of traction situation, the splines may stay out of the alignment needed to achieve lock.
The purpose of waggling the front wheels is to make the rear axles move independently just enough to help those splines align.

So, if you drive in a straight line where you're not slipping, the axle can indeed take forever to lock.
A good question to ask yourself - are you overusing your locker? You really shouldn't turn it on until you need it - aka are losing traction. If you limit usage of the locker to times when you actually need it, you'll find that it'll engage quite easily.

Why do I bring this up?
Well, if you're using it in situations where it takes forever to lock, you may be unlocking too late in the game as well. The axles can create binding force that won't allow the locker to release right away. Doing so can cause wear on the locker and stress on the differential that you don't want.

Hope this helps a bit.

Yep. It will either click in almost immediately, or it won't until there is a difference in wheel speed. It's luck. In my experience, the first engagement is the hardest, but if you engage/disengage a few times it gets faster, and in an actual low traction situation its really fast.

At slow speeds, with no throttle, it's perfectly fine to click the locker just to test or "exercise" it on pavement. I roll along, push the button, then turn slightly until I hear it clunk, then I straighten the wheel. If there is no difference in wheel speed, like during straight line driving, then no wear can occur. I'm not sure why Toyota's engineers have us babying the E-Locker so much. The manual says not to go over 5mph... even though the same locker can be found in 2wd prerunners that are designed for blasting around the desert. Just don't do anything stupid like turn fast tight circles in a parking lot or something.

 

[TCLLC]

You have to be moving.

thanks... lesson learned is not to believe the manual

I really do appreciate everyone helping out here. its also nice to know I am not going crazy

thanks again everyone!!!

 

[Thrasher_S]

thanks... lesson learned is not to believe the manual

I really do appreciate everyone helping out here. its also nice to know I am not going crazy

thanks again everyone!!!

Mine is the first 4x4 I've had with anything fancier than just a 4hi/4lo selector. The first thing I did when I brought it home was try out all the goodies (E-locker, ATRAC, Crawl Control, etc.).

NONE of it worked... until after I studied the manual. Freaked me out at first. It would be super helpful if when pushing the ATRAC button, for example, one of the screens would bring up the conditions and/or procedure to actually get it to work. When I first tried it, nothing happened. It was like the button wasn't hooked up.

 

[TCLLC]

so...

I went home last night, pulled onto the lawn. I put it in 4wd low, N, then the diff lock button. put it in drive and drove a couple feet straight, it locked without issue.

thanks again to everyone for the help

 

[jhguth]

so...

I went home last night, pulled onto the lawn. I put it in 4wd low, N, then the diff lock button. put it in drive and drove a couple feet straight, it locked without issue.

thanks again to everyone for the help

Engage diff lock in 4lo, not N

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[TCLLC]

Engage diff lock in 4lo, not N

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

4 low, then N, engage lock, then D

 

[nevada]

4 low, then N, engage lock, then D

he is saying you want to be in gear and moving when you engage the diff lock.

 

[DesertCanyons]

Locking Differential in 4Lo

I'm pretty sure I've driven faster than 5 mph with the locking diff on. I don't drive over 20 mph in 4Lo so it's always less than 20 mph, usually a lot less. But 5 mph is really slow, depending on the terrain of course.

When driving really tough terrain where I need both rear wheels engaged to keep moving forward, I've used it at various speeds. If I get to a part of the road that's got easy traction and is fairly flat, where all 4 wheels stay on the ground, then I turn it off.

Any comments to the contrary are welcome. I'm not a mechanical expert. :ranger:

 

[jhguth]

the 5mph isn't a technical limit, it's in a safety advisory section in the manual because drivers are morons who will fishtail to their death if you don't tell them not to drive fast with the diff locked (also probably why they don't let you lock in 4hi)

 

[teotwaki]

In my 4th Gen I had installed an ARB air locker so I made sure to order my 5th Gen with the factory e-locker. I went through my own exploratory curve of figuring out when and how to get it engaged because it was not immediately engaging for me when I first tried it out a few times.

I too discovered that rolling slowly forward while in gear and twisting the steering wheel left-right allowed the locker to quickly engage every time. My question was why did it not engage without steering wheel motion? I had thought I needed to go in a straight line because the rear wheels were to be locked together. Examining the mechanics of the locker brought clarity.

So this video shows how the actuator assembly drives a forked arm to move a splined collar in and out to activate/deactivate the locker. Inward is the locked position.

https://youtu.be/zQwsjqA0NRU

So next was to understand what was keeping the locker from engaging if I simply drove in a straight line.

This picture shows where the inside of the splined collar must mate with some larger splines (or "dogs" is the correct term?). I believe initially they might be misaligned and when under pressure it prevents the collar moving all of the way in. So twisting the steering wheel left-right causes the two rear wheels to slightly rotate the splined collar a little and allow it to align the collar's inner splines, slide inward and engage the locker.

As the locker gets more and more use the sharp edges should wear a bit and allow the locker to engage more easily.

This may not be the exact e-locker but it shows the two key parts with numbers

Actuator fork is 41451A
Splined collar is 41453A