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80 series, front & rear diff actuator

kamaal hussain

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Dec 20, 2017
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uk
hi guys, Im new to this forum and currently own an 80 series 1997 diesel manual.

I have a problem with front & rear diff locks, I need the front & rear diff actuators as the diffs are not locking, engaged low range and centre locks fine but front & rear not locking, tried offload but sill no luck.

Any help appreciated.
 
How long have you had the 80? Sometimes they just need using if they have never been used.

try doing figure of eights on a loose surface with the lockers turned on. Keep turning them on and off, be patient, they might just come alive again..
 
Pretty much as CG has said, it costs nothing and is successful much of the time. If they still don't work test the electrics to them first before you go spending £££ on new ones.
 
With ignition on and centre locked, operate the rotary dial switch and listen for any clicking or whirring. The 4x4 ecu should engage but if you don't hear 'whirrrzzt' then no matter how much you reverse around Tesco car park, they're not going to lock.
 
thanks for your replies, have tried all that but they don't lock and I've tried them with the ignition on too but nothing... Are the actuators the same as the 90 series for the rear?
 
Welcome.

You would be better taking them off and stripping them down cleaning them etc and re fitting. Be prepared to be buying a pair though.

On another note. Have you sent me a message on eblag regarding a steering wheel?

Thanks karl
 
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Welcome.

You would be better taking them off and stripping them down cleaning them etc and re fitting. Be prepared to be buying a pair though.

On another note. Have you sent me a message on eblag regarding a steering wheel?

Thanks karl

Ak Karl says, unless they are corroded to buggery they can usually be saved. Its worth a shot.
 
I was lucky, the previous owner apparently had not used them. Whilst driving in figures of eight on the beach both forwards and reverse, and at the same time operating the switch.

I cannot remember how long it took, perhaps 10 -15 minutes?

Seven years on and they are still working however, the front can occasionally be slow to engage, this is purely because it does not get used as much as the rear.

@Chris mentioned the whirring sound, mine both whirr but the rear with window open is barely audible, the front makes up for it though, it sounds like a cement mixer! :icon-biggrin:

Regards

Dave
 
As Chris says. The whirring means the motor/s work and the locking pin is armed ready for action. But if it's not armed no amount of driving will let it engage.
 
Armed is a good description. I like that. A tap with a mallet might help but I took one off the other week. IN bits.
The front locker is the same as a rear Colorado locker.
 
As long as the motor is working on the rear locker, you can take off the protective plate, underneath there is the actuator to the left and next to it on the right there is a sensor in a plate with 3 bolts holding it on to the diff. If you take that plate off you expose the bar that the the actuator pushes and pulls, you can now use a lever bar to help it engage, it should slide to the passenger side to engage and the drivers side to disengage. It will have to be helped by the motor in the actuator though as the actuator is spring loaded.

You may need to jack up the axle and turn the wheels to allow the gears to mesh. If it is very stiff and not getting any looser you need to remove the actuator. On mine I took out the bottom two bolts and didnt need to undo the top 2 as the actuator was broken in half by corrosion! Once I removed the broken corroded parts the actuator worked again because it was not being twisted by the corroded parts causing the bar to jam.

Good luck but unless you are going for a temporary repair your are probably going to need to replace both actuators.
 
No idea how similar the diffs are. it would be neat if you could get a rear Collie diff (must be loads around) and slot it into an 80 front instead of having to go for a rebuild when they get noisy. Probably nothing like.
 
Hmmmm.......did not know that, nice tip Chris!

Regards

Dave

You just need to pull the pins out and change their positions to suit the Collie wiring, or pull the pins out and fit them to the 80 plug ( one or the other). I did this on the black one.
 
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