Diff Lock - High Range

[G-MAN]

"PING" "PING" "PING" I ka#*! myself the first time i heard it.

[Gerrit Loubser]

On my Patrol, the rear diff lock deactivates automatically just after the warning gong sounds around 25 km/h. This feature is not described in the owners manual, though. Do your vehicles do the same?

I don't really like electronic nannies deciding when I am allowed to lock the rear diff , but I assume it is a safety feature (the locked rear diff has some effect on vehicle handling).

[tour de frans]

Hi Gerrit,my patrol does the same,diff lock fall out after the noise or alarm.Yes the handling change to.I know I locked the diff and drive the car arround a sharp turn in the sand,making a u-turn around a bush,the back spin out very nice.Then when I drive to the next obstacle over 25kmph,to do the same,diffirent car.I am not sure if it is suppose to work like that or not, and find it some time annoying when the lock is off and I did not turn it off.The alarm is a good thing to remind you off the lock,but it should not turn it off.(I think so)I have a question to.How strong are the std lock on the patrol?If you turn it on driving around a corner on the throttle.I know nissan do not recomend it but some time you need the locker while you on the roll.
Rdgs
Frans

[G-MAN]

Looking at the size of our diffs, m*!#se strong! I had a 3.3 v6 d/cab Hardbody and i did plenty of donuts and drifting with my difflock on, on the tar!!! 115000 km's later still 100% fine, lots of tyres too....

[Pieter du Toit]

Hi Guys,

A while back while attempting the "Chuck Norris se balle" at the Vaatjie trail (on a wet rainy day) I engaged my diff lock - but when I went up the hill (muddy slope), the rear wheels started spinning and I heard a terrible "grr grr grr" noise - like gears not engaging and slipping!!

Long story short - the Monday my car went off to Clyde's Auto & Diff specialist - they put my trol on "bokkies" and I had to engage 4wd and diff lock - the results were not good!! The light on the dash indicating diff lock engaged was flickering and they managed to stop the one back wheel while the diff was supposed to be in the locked position. In forward motion that same "grr grr" sound could be heard - very troubling!!!! However when in reverse gear they were not able to stop either one of the back wheels and the diff lock engaged light on the dashboard also came on, indicating that the diff was indeed locked.

Another long story short - the diff was stripped and with the diff lock removed, they found the following - see images:





Note the chipped away part on the two sets of teeth opposite each other. That at least explained the diff lock engaging in reverse but not forward motion - but still not good news!!!

I did not want to take changes of having it rebuilt and hardened - so I decided to go the new parts route - almost to my own bankruptcy!!! R8 267-02 later I drove the Patrol out of there again - luckily I have a Motorite warranty - and they paid 50% of the costs!!! However - NOBODY really knows what happened there - but at least my Patrol now has a brand new rear diff lock - so I can go do some serious again

Long story short - I think Tjaart or someone else also mentioned - do not use your diff lock unless really necessary and only engage it when the vehicle is not moving (or at least within manufacturer specs)!!! No matter what failsafe features are installed in a vehicle - failsafe systems can also fail - the "unexplainable" can happen - which could lead to detrimental effects and costs - which we all would rather avoid!!!!


- for what it is worth!! - Hope anyone can learn something from this!!

[Gerrit Loubser]

Pieter, I would guess that the difflock must have been engaged with one wheel spinning wildly at some point in the vehicle's past. It should be OK to lock the diff when the vehicle is moving. In fact it might be essential to steer left and right slightly to enable the dog teeth to align and the dog clutch to engage. The killer is to try to engage the lock when there is a huge rotation speed difference between the lefthand and righthand rear wheels.

[tour de frans]

Dankie Pieter ek sal my diff lock mooier gebruik in die toekoms. Ook waar wat Gerrit se,wees maar mooi met die locker skakelaar en die regter voet.
Groete
Frans