Fitting an ARB Airlocker

Casper,

Thanks for the reply. I will give it a go. I reckon I do have 'a good deal of mechanical aptitude'. If I get stuck I can always go to ARB with my tail between my legs and ask for help. (It wouldn't be the first time I have found the limits of my abilities!). I wonder though if they have qualified mechanics doing these jobs or not???

Mike.

Ok, some tips then:
- check the runout of the locker flange before you bolt on the ring gear. Runout ought to be within 0.05 mm or so. Check the ring gear too and try to locate the high spots so they cancel. Then when it's assembled check the runout on the back of the ring gear is within 0.05 mm. You might have to rotate the ring gear to another location...try to get the runout under 0.05.
- if the diff is at all old change the pinion bearings and put in a genuine Toyota pinion seal. You'll need to make up something to hold the pinion flange and a 1 m breaker bar. Be very careful when setting the pinion preload. Do it tiny little bit by tiny little bit once the slack is taken up.
- use new carrier bearings unless you've got proper carrier bearing removal tools (you wouldn't be asking if you did!).
- you can use a pin spanner from your angle grinder or make something up to crank down the big adjuster nuts. Forget what the manual says and crank up the preload. You don't want the diff centre shifting sideways under load and opening up the backlash setting. I did mine to the manual first time and when I tore it down later for inspection noticed that the bearings had not worn to the full width of the rollers on the non-load side.
- backlash should vary at most by about 0.05 mm at any point.
- check the contact pattern with gear marking compound or engineer's blue. If the diff is at all old the coast side will give the more reliable pattern. The drive side will probably be concentrated at the root of the ring/top of the pinion due to flex of the gears under load. The pinion height should be ok so if you've set the backlash to spec you're really only double-checking all is well.
- check there are no leaks before reinstallation!
- if a leak develops at the bulkhead fitting after installation coat the o-ring with ThreeBond and hope for the best
- check out the excellent advice on www.pirate4x4.com
Good luck, Casper

Casper,

Thanks for the link, it looks pretty comprehensive, although a bit different to the L/C diff. One question, they say throw away the ring gear bolts - does this apply in my case, should I use new ones? My 'cruiser has done about 50,000kms but is not under warranty due to the three years running out.

Mike.

Mike, I reused my old ones on my LC105 as the manual I have did not say or imply that they should be replaced. They look pretty solid and the torque setting isn't that great so I don't think that they could be stretch bolts. And don't trust what anyone tells you by the way - me included, but especially those professional fellows at the diff shops! Have fun, I think rebuilding the diffs is one of the more exacting aspects of maintaining a 4wd. Casper