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Front lockright locker

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Nobodyjeff5888 View Drop Down
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    Posted: 14 Oct. 2019 at 9:41pm
installed a front locker in my cj2a afew months ago . Had to put it I  and out multiple times until it would ratchet correctly.  When I tried to run in 4 wheel drive today she wouldn't steer. Took her out of 4 wheel but left hibs locked in still had trouble steering.  What could be the problem? Afraid to damage the unit. Where should I start?any help with this will be greatly appreciated!!! Thanks in advance for any help given.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jeeper50 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Oct. 2019 at 9:59pm
I have a lockright locker in the front d25 axle. Installed it 18yrs ago. It is very important to install it with the correct clearance between the halves when installed, hold the clearance to the max dimension. It locks the front axles and allows them to ratchet unload to allow for turning. If you don't have the correct clearance it may not allow the halves to bypass when spring tension is overcome. take off the front cover and check your clearance, I think it's about .153" if I recall correctly. If you unlock one hub and drive in 4WD can you turn?  A front locker does require more effort to turn and removing the interlock pill will allow you to momentarily to shiift into 2LO to allow a sharp turn on a tight trail.

Check your springs and pins are installed correctly. 


Edited by jeeper50 - 14 Oct. 2019 at 10:02pm

Belleview ol skool winch soon.
'48 CJ2A 283 V8 sm 420 granny low, tera low D18, overdrive,lockers

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 3A Steve Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Oct. 2019 at 12:30am

Sounds like it is working right. When you are running with your hubs locked for 4WD (and you are in 2WD) you will get squirelly behavior at speed as the lockers try to keep you going straight. Welcome to the club.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Nothing Special Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Oct. 2019 at 3:24am
Originally posted by Nobodyjeff5888 Nobodyjeff5888 wrote:

....  Took her out of 4 wheel but left hibs locked in still had trouble steering....

That's not right.  In 4WD you'll get some very noticeable torque steer that you might think is wrong.  But with a correctly working automatic locker you shouldn't feel much at all in 2WD with the hubs locked.  I don't have any experience with mis-adjusted LockRights (the only one I ever installed worked perfectly the first time I stuck it in).  But it sounds like Jeeper50 might have the hot ticket here.
Bob

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Nobodyjeff5888 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Nobodyjeff5888 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Oct. 2019 at 3:26am
when I installed as lled it I had to buy extra shims to get the proper clearances. Which I did achieve.  I'm going to pull cover to check it out
Don't want to screw things up. But when I was done each wheel  would easily ratchet like it was supposed to. Also the right side hud didn't want to turn in easily. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote smfulle Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Oct. 2019 at 3:35am
if one wheel is stiffer rolling than another, I would think the issue might be in the brakes or wheel bearings rather than the locker. 4 or 2 wheel drive would make no difference if that were the case.

I had trouble with my steering when I first installed my front locker because my GAO was to large allowing one side to disengage randomly. Once I got the gap dialed in that orobkem went away. 
Stan
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jeeper50 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Oct. 2019 at 12:08am
As for locking in the hubs, it's way easier to be in 2wd then lock hubs and shift into 4wd but then I bet you already knew that. With the front all locked up it should still be able to turn in 4wd, just takes more effort. 

Belleview ol skool winch soon.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Rick G Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Oct. 2019 at 7:31am
If your right side wasn’t turning freely, then I would suspect a wheel bearing issue (perhaps the spindle nut is too tight?) or brake dragging, as Stan suggested.  That really sounds like a separate issue, however.

Concerning the gap between the two halves of the lockright locker, it must be slightly larger than the height of the cogs.  This gap allows the cogs to ride up and over one another, which allows the outside tire to turn faster during cornering.  

 When setup correctly, the lockright will ONLY disengage/ratchet when there is no torque/load applied.  Notice the hole where the center pin resides between the two halves.  It is elliptical.  When under a load, the center pin moves towards the peak of the ellipses and forces the two halves outward and thus positively engages both axles, prohibiting any ratchet effect. When there is no load, the center pin returns to center (the center of the ellipse) and the two halves are free to ratchet as the tire dictates. 

If you are in 4wd (hubs locked or flanged) and try to turn under acceleration (or with torque applied via the weight of the jeep going downhill) the jeep will want to continue going straight.  This is very noticeable on pavement or hardpack dirt.  In the rocks or gravel, it just feels like hard steering (torque steering).  To combat this, lift off the accelerator and/or stab the clutch when turning.  It is just the nature of this type locker.  It is mannerisms you just have to get used to.  Many times, I only drive in 2wd LOW range to combat the torque steer.  You must have your interlock pin removed for this, however.

Hope this helps.
Rick
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Nothing Special Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Oct. 2019 at 1:57pm
Originally posted by Rick G Rick G wrote:

....  When setup correctly, the lockright will ONLY disengage/ratchet when there is no torque/load applied....

This is technically true, but misleading (and by the way, the rest of this paragraph that I did not include is spot-on accurate).  People interpret this to mean that it won't unlock when you are on the gas because at that point there is torque applied.  But if you are going around a corner the outside tire is trying to go faster than the ring gear (which is going the same speed as the inside tire).  So while torque is being applied to the ring gear, it's only being applied to the inside tire, not the outside one.  So the outside one can unlock.

As Rick said, it's the elliptical hole for the drive pin that allows this.  The outside half gets pushed forward by the outside tire so it can then move in and unlock.  Meanwhile the inner half is still being held back by the inner tire, so the contact force between the drive pin and that side continues to force it out, keeping that side locked.

Originally posted by Rick G Rick G wrote:

If you are in 4wd (hubs locked or flanged) and try to turn under acceleration (or with torque applied via the weight of the jeep going downhill) the jeep will want to continue going straight.  This is very noticeable on pavement or hardpack dirt.  In the rocks or gravel, it just feels like hard steering (torque steering).  To combat this, lift off the accelerator and/or stab the clutch when turning.  It is just the nature of this type locker.  It is mannerisms you just have to get used to.  Many times, I only drive in 2wd LOW range to combat the torque steer.  You must have your interlock pin removed for this, however.

This is all true.  Many people think this is because the front tires are locked together, but as described above, they aren't.  What's really going on doesn't just FEEL LIKE torque steer, it IS torque steer.  When you are on the power in 4WD, as described above the inside tires are being driven and the outside is unlocked, so it's not being driven.  That means the vehicle is only being pushed on one side.  Think of what happens when you only push one side of a grocery cart.  It turns away from the side that's being pushed.  That's exactly what happens with your Jeep.  You are trying to turn it one way and it's trying to turn the other.

This happens with an automatic locker in a rear axle too, but it's much more noticeable in a front axle.  That's because not only is the front tire pushing the vehicle from off-center, it's also trying to turn the steering wheel back to straight.  Think of what would happen if you jacked up both front tires and had two of your friends each grab a front tire and attempt to move the steering by twisting the tire on their side around the steering knuckle.  They would pretty much cancel each other out and the steering wouldn't turn (or at least it would be easy for you to hold the steering wheel pointed whichever direction you wanted).  But now what happens if one of your friends lets go?  The other one "wins" and the steering wheel gets turned away from him.  That's what your front tires are doing (but they're a lot stronger than your friends!).  With an open diff both sides push the same amount and you can steer pretty easily.  With an automatic locker one side lets go every time you turn (or when that tire gets on ice, or gets lifted in the air) and you get potentially violent torque steer.  As Rick said, this is just a mannerism you have to get used to.

But back to the original complaint, any time you are in 2WD, even with the hubs locked you aren't applying torque to either side.  So it should be free to unlock and you shouldn't be fighting it in a turn.
Bob

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Nobodyjeff5888 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Nobodyjeff5888 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Oct. 2019 at 1:15am
took her off road locked in the hubs and she climbed anything. True on the workout with the steering but nothing I couldn't handle. Thanks for all the comments and reassurances.
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