Why Me? - tales of woe from Salisbury Plain

[Guest]

Hi All,
Many thanks to everyone that managed to make it out to the Plain on
Sunday.
It was also great to John Byrne down there and also the surprise visit
of Bosnia Jon (Jon C-W) at lunch time.
I think it really helps with things like this mailing list to have the
chance to put names to faces, although I must appologise for forgetting
people's names during the day, for some reason they just go in one ear
and out the other!
Despite being very dry I think we all managed to find some mud and
water somewhere. At one point three of our groups converged at the
same watersplash and it reminded me of bush animals gathering around
water holes in Africa.
I don't know what it is about Salisbury Plain, but every time I go out
there I end up having problems. First time out I got completely stuck
and ended up having to get towed, second time out I ran into some metal
that ripped a hole in the side of one of my tyres and this time out my
rear diff lock engaged, but then didn't disengage.
I have come across this problem before where the ECU controlling the
diff locks doesn't recognise that the lock is engaged so doesn't send
the signal to disengage.
Thanks to Marinus for the use of his sprayer I was able to clear some
of the thick mud off the diff lock actuator, remove the panel holding
the actuator sensor and then force the diff lock locking pin out of the
diff and wedge a small 1/4" 7mm socket in there to hold it back until I
can fix the problem. The trick is to manually apply 12volts across the
correct pins to get the actuator to retract the pin, something for me
to do this weekend.
Whilst down on the plain I also met up with some of the members of the
Toyota Surf/Hilux group that were out for the weekend. They seemed a
friendly bunch of lads and among them I met a chap called Dan (?) who
is slowly building a business making lift kits for Surfs and other kit,
much of which will be interchangeable with Landcruisers, so as and when
he brings anything out that might be of interest I'll let you know.
Finally I would like to thank Dick Valentine and Mick Blows for their
patience as we went round in the morning.
--
Regards,
Julian Voelcker
Mobile: 07971 540362
Skype: julianvoelcker
Cirencester, United Kingdom
1994 HDJ80, 2.5" OME Lift

 

[Guest]

Hey Julian
Did Marinus carry this sprayer with him. Cause if it was possible to do that
well its really a good idea.
What would happen if you were like me (mechanically challanged) and this
happened what could I do.
What would happen if you could not do what you did, could you still drive
it although at a slower speed or not.
Can you explain the proceedure in more detail when you have the time please
to do what you did and could a novice do it and what tools would you need to
do it.
Where and how do you apply the 12v to retract the pin.
I found that one of my diffs locks did not want to work but didn't need it
anyway.
So what can I do to inspect or cure it as MR T will only sell a complete
unit.
cheers
john 92HDJ 80 1HDT
SNIP
Thanks to Marinus for the use of his sprayer I was able to clear some of the
thick mud off the diff lock actuator, remove the panel holding the actuator
sensor and then force the diff lock locking pin out of the diff and wedge a
small 1/4" 7mm socket in there to hold it back until I can fix the problem.
The trick is to manually apply 12volts across the correct pins to get the
actuator to retract the pin, something for me to do this weekend.

 

[Guest]

Hi John,
You can pickup small sprayers from gardening shops for around ?10 which are
handy for cleaning off lights, etc - I've adapted mine for other things
(pressurised brake bleed kit) and haven't had a chance to replace it yet.
You would be slightly stuck. This is one of the reasons I always take a stack
of tools to the plain just in case anyone does have problems - sods law it was
me with the problem ;-((
You are OK in a straight line, but will get a lot of tyre scrubbing around
corners - bottom line it isn't advisable - if you have to travel some distance
I suspect that you will end up breaking something at some point.
Possibly. There is a plate on the side of the diff lock actuator that houses
the sensor for detecting if the diff is locked or not. To get to it you need
to remove the guard and will then find the plate right beside the main diff
housing. Once I had removed the plate I used a large screwdriver to lever the
locking pin back and selected a small socket to wedge in to hold in back - I
could have used a stone or something else that isn't crushable because there is
quite a force on the pin which is spring loaded.
As for tools I used a deep 14mm socket and a 12mm socket with a small
extension.
There is a connector on the wires coming out of the actuator just above it - I
haven't checked the manual for the colours/pins but that's the starting point.
This could either be that the actuator is seized (common from lack of use) or
that the wheels didn't slip sufficiently for the diff to need to lock - the
lock only engages in one position during a 360 degree rotation so you have to
have one of the wheels slip upto one revolution whilst the other wheel remains
motionless.
You can check to see if the actuator is working by turning the ignition on,
putting the transfer case in low, your gerabox in drive and then engaging the
diff locks - you should hear a faint wirring noise as they engage - it helps to
have two of you do it - I have found the front actuators to be pretty quiet on
some 80s.
One final things is that your diff could actually be locking but either the
sensor isn't detecting it or the actuator has been incorrectly re-fitted so
that the actuator is pushing the rod in to engage the diff lock, but not far
enough in to trigger the sensor. The only way to test this is to do the above
test, but raise the axle off the ground and then spin the wheels to see if they
are locked.
See above. To avoid problems, check the connections on the actuator and
sensors and spray the contacts with contact cleaner. Allow to dry and then re
-assemble the connections and spray liberally with some of the spray grease you
can get, this should keep any further moisture out of the connections.
--
Regards,
Julian Voelcker
Mobile: 07971 540362
Skype: julianvoelcker
Cirencester, United Kingdom
1994 HDJ80, 2.5" OME Lift