Lock Right clunking in a straight line?

[Desert Yeti]

I just put a lock right in my 12 bolt rear axle and I'm concerned about its behavior. It seems to be working correctly around corners and the parking lot test described in the install instructions works fine.

The problem comes when going straight down the street under steady cruising throttle. About every 3 to 5 seconds (randomly) it clunks. Is this normal or does it indicate some problem with my axle like a bent shaft, tracking problems with the truck, or slightly different diameter rear tires?

I fully expected the "weird" road manners. Although I've never driven a locked truck before, all the reading on here fully prepared me for it! It's louder than I thought it would be, but I'm running pretty thin gear oil and I'm going to swap it out with some thicker stuff tonight (after searching on here and discovering most guys run heavy (85-140w) or even the super gooey synthetic stuff to quiet these things down. I also have no top and no doors which make the noise level worse.

Anyway, I'm ok with the squirrely rear end and the noise in parking lots, but going straight down the road at constant throttle...? Is this normal?

 

[pauly383]

If its a real Lockright , then make sure both tires are same diameter via tire pressure . Real ones have a good warranty .

Also , you did use a new hardened crossshaft/pinion pin ? Thats the part that does the work of pushing the pieces together , if its stock it could wear prematurely .

If its a Quic Loc , or a Detroit EZ , then it may be stripped out early , and if it came from 4wparts , they want to remove it and charge you for oil regardless what the owners manual says .

 

[Desert Yeti]

Real Lock Right. Put it in myself. Pretty sure I did it right, although never done one before.

I read on that "other" board that if the rear axle doesn't track straight for whatever reason it plays hell with these things because they think they're turning all the time. I have pretty badly f*cked up bushings on my driver's side rear spring (to the point of the spring being able to shift back and forth a good inch probably) and I'm thinking that's what's causing the locker to engage/disengage going "straight" is that the axle not tracking right is changing up the wheel speeds relative to each other at random intervals even when I'm driving in a straight line.

Anyway, I'm going to replace all the spring bushings (which, obviously, has to be done anyway), put in some thicker gear oil, carefully check the diameter of the rear tires relative to each other, and then test it again!

Thanks for the input Paul!

 

[buefchris]

If this is your frist time with a new locker on the street, check the tires,alinement,etc,but it may still make noises your not used to. My DETROIT did and sometimes still does. It's a little unnerving at frist but,you'll get to be numb to after a while.

 

[Desert Yeti]

buefchris, thanks man! Yeah, I've read that they'll occasionally make you think you've busted an axle shaft, but this thing is clunking pretty hard every 3 or 4 seconds at steady speed, on smooth pavement, in a straight line. I was fully prepared for the bone jarring clunk now and then and the odd manners around corners and in parking lots, but I think there's something else going on here.

It's not my daily driver, but I do use it as a backup vehicle (and sometimes like to tool around town in it just for sh*ts and giggles) and I don't have a trailer, so it's got to get me out TO the trail, so I'm trying to keep it at least somewhat streetable.

 

[pauly383]

Your carrier , or housing may be out of spec then . OR you didn't put the thrust washers under the side gears .

I have had good experience with the actual Lock Right ones . Even with bent shackles in the rear .

 

[Thunder]

Gid you check/ measure the clearance as said in the instructions? Also as said above. Are the the thrust washers are not in or worn. I like to replace the thrust washers with new ones when installing a lockrite. Also the hardend pinnion pin is a good idea. Lockrites will wear out a stock one fairly fast when used hard.

 

[Desert Yeti]

The thrust washers are in (although I had to pull one side gear back out, having almost forgotten it during the install!) I just reused all the old parts though, so I may go get a new shaft and thrust washers to see if that takes up some slop that may be causing the problem.

Well if a bent shackle didn't freak it out, then maybe my blown out bushings aren't what's freaking mine out either. Well no matter, need to fix it anyway

Thanks again for all the input guys! If you think of anything else, let me know!