keycw

1987 4runner, 22re, 5sp, v6 3rds w/4.56 gears, rear spartan

a week ago i posted about having some grinding noises coming from my driver rear wheel after installing new shafts, bearing, and a spartan locker in the rear diff. i had the shaft looked at by the mechanic that pressed the bearings on and all looked good. the grinding actually feels like it correlates with splines, which got me thinking it was related to the aussie locker i put in the back. i understand that they lock with torque applied to the pinion and unlock when coasting/resting. when i turn the pinion by hand the passenger wheel turns. the driver will not. even with the passenger axle removed, the driver side wheel will not turn with the pinion. i guess my question is, is this because of the spartan? is it at rest and the springs are pushed out inside the locker not allowing the driver side to "lock" to the pinion? i am thinking the "grinding" i got for the bearing was simply the new spartan ratcheting over itself and i was feeling / hearing it at the wheel. keep in mind that this is all from jackstands, the truck is not on the road. bonus question , how much torque exactly is needed at the pinion to make the spartan lock?

keycw

i pulled the 3rd and stuck the axle in the driver side, it turns with the pinion while not in the housing. i put the 3rd back in the housing, and put the passenger axle in the driver side, same results as with driver side so i have established the issue is not with the bearing on the driver axle. i guess now my question is why will this thing not lock on the driver side. i should be able to brace one side and turn the other by hand to lock it correct?

coryc85

My Aussie locker (and I think all the lunchbox style lockers such as the Spartan operate the same way) is locked by default. Which means that turning the pinion will force BOTH wheels to turn. You could unlock one of the wheels by rolling it faster than the other pinion driven wheel and you'll hear clicks as the teeth slide past each other, but as long as that pinion is spinning, both wheels have to spin at the min speed dictated by the pinion speed.

keycw

thanks for the feedback. i have finally solved my issue. the clicking noise was the spartan locker running along the very tip of the axle shaft. i started taking measurements and the shafts i received were for and 85 rear end, thus were too shorts. i did a side by side comparison very quickly and thought they were the same length. the reason the passenger side is long enough i guess is because of the way the carrier sits. at any rate, the driver side shaft is barely not long enough to fit.

coryc85

Ahh yes, IFS is wider. Good find, that one would have gotten me!