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LockRights break... too easy.

CyberSniper

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I broke all the little "stop pins" between the two "drivers" in my front LockRight. It has probably 15 hours of actual trail use on it.


Anyway, that's too easy for my liking. Instead of praising Richmond's LockRight I'll rip on it from now on. It'd be different if they warranteed it since it's barely over a year old. Especially since it's just the little pins. Not like I broke a driver or coupler.
 
Do lockrights come with an extra set ? My EZ came with a spare set . I think the warranty doesn't cover tires bigger than 32's though /forums/images/graemlins/k5.gif /forums/images/graemlins/k5.gif
 
Is this on a 60 or a 44 (10bolt)? I have seen alot of d44 ones brake but not many 60 ones.
 
I got a front row seat to see Russ (BadDog) have his Lock-Right die in Moab last year...the D60 version. Until that time I was seriously considering using a Lock-Right in my D60 front. Now I think I'll just save a little longer and get the Detroit.

Rene
 
I have one in my rear 10 bolt and one in my front 10 bolt.

The one in my front 10 bolt looks like brand new. It probably only has 15 hours of actual use in 4wd... that includes in the snow in the wintertime with my 235x75r15 snow tires. I mean... the driver and coupler barely have any wear on them.

Then I break an axleshaft and the pins sh¡t the bed. Not one but all four pins.

In its current condition it makes a real good very expensive minispool.


The Tech Support guy at Richmond was real helpful. "Here's the part number for the pin kit..."
gayno.gif


If they even NEED to sell a pin kit then apparently they aren't worth a sh¡t.
doh.gif
 
Nope... no extra pins or springs. They are kind enough to not give you a phone number on the literature to call if you need tech support. And the warranty sh¡t has a bunch of disclaimers and junk... but I think if they were a decent company they'd send people their crappy pins for free just to keep them from getting pissed off.

I'm half tempted to go to the auto parts store and find a roller bearing with the same size rollers as the pins and use them. Probably stronger than the junk I broke.
 
Wait wait wait, so you broke an axleshaft?

If thats the case, the the shock load from the broken shaft broke the lockright. Chances are it would have done the same thing to a detroit, that isnt a lockright specific problem. Thats an auto locker problem.
 
The pins are smaller than the diameter of a pencil and are made of something not very ductile yet doesn't look like they have a very high yield strength either.

We're talking about stock 10 bolt shafts with more metal missing due to rust than you can imagine. I could see it if I was running alloy shafts or something but if it can't even hold up to 33s and stock shafts breaking then it only deserves to be a paperweight.

I wonder if the LockRight is going to go the way of the "Gearless Locker" due to large number of failures.
 
Detroits to the same thing when a shaft blows under a high load condition. The shock load rips them apart. ARB's are the only things I've noticed holding up to the shock loads...
 
[ QUOTE ]
I'm half tempted to go to the auto parts store and find a roller bearing with the same size rollers as the pins and use them. Probably stronger than the junk I broke.

[/ QUOTE ]

Just have the emu of death & dispair peck his eye out.
Sorry to hear it bud, I heard a few reviews about lock-rites and decided ARB would be (hasn't been yet) the way to go for me. /forums/images/graemlins/dunno.gif
 
Most places sell them for 11.95 . Not the answer you like , but 11.95 once in awhile is allright if you already have a few 100's into it . I have had my EZ in and out several times now , and its not a hassle anymore to r+r it .

When I regear the project truck ( which is eventually going to surrender its 3.73 axles to my DD , if I get a couple guys over at the same time ) I am going to go spool , or full case locker in the project .

Anyway , first search gave me these guys for the pin and spring kit :

Clicky
 
Yeah, I did some asking around. It seems that Ford guys shear the pins off all the time.

I'd only heard about LockRights wearing out, rarely breaking. Sometimes you hear about the teeth going AWOL under a catastrophic break like Detroits are known for but never about the pins breaking. All they're there for is to locate the drivers for ratcheting...

Oh well, buy a disposable locker get a disposable locker.
 
The spring pins are not supposed to take any shear load. They are there to locate the springs and push the couplers together, that is there only job. The carrier cross-pin is what takes the load. I fully reccomend using new thrust washers and a high-strenght pin. Most lockers puke when punished to the point of axle failure. ARB's and the like are more of a spool so there isn't a directed shock load on the moving parts. I have seen a D44 with an EZ locker take on 5 axle shafts this year alone. And a D60 with a lockright take two stub shafts in one weekend. Both set ups are still in use. I would rebuild it and go a little easier.

just my .02
 
[ QUOTE ]
Then I break an axleshaft and the pins sh¡t the bed. Not one but all four pins.


[/ QUOTE ]

No offense, but I don't really see why you are bad-mouthing the Lock-right so much. First, you are running one in a rear 10-bolt. Second, you broke a shaft first which more than likely was the cause of the locker failure.
 
Blaming the LockRight is like blaming a Ford Ranger for not being able to pull your 5th-Wheel up a grade. LockRight's are cheap and easy. What did you expect for cheap and easy? You wouldn’t marry someone cheap and easy, would you? Sure, you can use them (the LockRight’s) but someday you’ll want to settle down with the real thing.
 
I'm running one in front AND rear 10 bolts.

Yes, the shaft failure more than likely (99.999% probability) caused the pins to shear.

Why would you make something that is weaker than what surrounds it? I read all the warranty crap that they send with the lockers before calling them yesterday afternoon. It seems silly to me to have those disclaimers and such when their stuff doesn't hold together.

It seems to me that they could've made the pins larger or figured out a way to keep them from ever seeing a load.


Are you telling me that my expectations of locker survival with the use of 33s and a 305 is too high? We're not talking 600hp and 38" rubber here.

If it was the rear locker that bit the dust I'd not said a word as it has seen a ton of abuse... but it's the front one within specs and has very limited trail use.
 
If it was weaker than what is arround it, then it would have broke before the shaft failed. Like i said, this is something that all auto lockers do, if a shaft breaks, more than likely it will take the locker with it. On a Lockright and an EZ, you can easily just replace the little pins and be done with it. Full Detroits do it, are you going to say that its a bad product? It doesnt matter how much power you have, or how little your tires are. If a shaft lets go, you have about a 90% chance of the locker going with it. Dont blame your lockright, blame your crummy shafts.
 
The pin and spring kit costs $10.99 from Summit Racing and is drop-shipped from Richmond Gear.


If they break so often, why doesn't the locker come with spare pins?
 

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