Rear Diff Lock

[AustHaflinger]

My rear diff lock sometimes does not lock or only just does lock - before I go bumbling around trying to get the linkages adjusted up correctly are there any tricks I need to look at before I start.

Thanks

Garry

[Goatwerks]

2 things, first lube the lever bushing with wd40 or similar light oil. Sometimes the lever binds in the body bushing. Second, make sure the plunger spring is working, they tend to rust and collapse if water gets in resulting in a shorter throw. 3rd, look for worn or incorrect size linkage pivot pins.
Good news is the plunger is repairable and the length is adjustable.

[AustHaflinger]

Jim - thanks for those tips - I will follow them up.

Cheers

Garry

[AustHaflinger]

I finally got to look at this today as all the other work is now complete.

The rear diff lock is just locking and as soon as little weight comes on it slips out of lock and the tries to lock sending a bang through the car.

If pushed at the diff it stays locked so is a linkage issue.

Jim - I do not see a plunger spring and cannot see it in the parts manual so not sure what that is .

The two rods that take the action from just under the cabin to the rear have adjustable ball joints at either end so that they can be lengthened and shortened. The third rod at the rear has an adustable ball joint at one end and a fixed clevis connector pin that goes to the diff lock.

Too easy I thought - just lengthen one or two of the rods by undoing the lock nuts and twisting the rod so its length will increase. Arh but no - Austrian engineering comes to the fore again - the threads at both ends of the rods are both right hand threads not a left hand thread and a right hand thread so the rod cannot lengthen or shorten - you have to take the ball joints off and turn them individually - not an easy thing to do . Why they are not left and right hand threaded so easily adjustable is beyond me.

So these two rods stay as they are then. I will undo the third back rod from the rear diff and wind the thread out the lengthen this rod a bit and hopefully get the adjustment right.

Garry

[kerry460]

if my memory is ok , the ball joints just pop off .
put a screw driver under and lever , spray with something first .

at least being normal R/H threads means you can use normal taps and dies to repair threads .
and buy nuts to lock the joint .

cheers ,
kerry

[heinkeljb]

The ball joints are made with a small >1mm hole very near the hole opening which is designed to take a bent piece of spring wire which acts as safety system to prevent the ball joint coming apart in use.

I'll try and describe it but it might not make sense until you see it:-

If you look at the threaded section of the cup part of the ball joint, there is groove machined into it just there. The wire goes round this circumference until it lined up with the hole, then goes through the hole and out the hole on the other side of the cup. To release this safety wire, you simply find the end of the wire on the threaded section, lift it away from the rod part. You can then turn it over on its axis 180 degrees and pull it back out of the hole.

Fitting is the revers of the above.

When the ball joint is together this piece of wire fits below the shoulder of the ball part and so prevent the cup part from being pulled / popped off the ball.

ALL of the safety wires were MISSING on ALL of the ball joints on Lurch when i bought him. So they have all been fitted now.

John

[AustHaflinger]

Thanks Kerry and John - I just pulled off the rear rod that goes on the diff ands wound out the rod from the ball joint three turns and reassembled - all seems fine now.

Cheers

Garry