How To: Lokk and Drop Your Front Diff (Front Lokka and Diff Drop Bushings Install)

robcarync

robcarync

Sliders
Location
Raleigh, NC
I for one am still on the "wasn't worth the hassle" bandwagon.

I understand all the geometry here...but I guess it is hard to tell what physical difference it will make since I have never broken a CV joint before. Impossible to really know how much better it is on wear/tear and axle life since I can't go back in time and un-drop the diff and try to break a CV. Either way, my diff is dropped and both CV axles are brand new...so I should be good for a while.
 
Intender

Intender

Wheeling
Location
Lewisville NC
Did mine last night. Was really easy to drop the diff. I bought a motorcycle jack to drop the diff which made it really easy. I dropped the whole front cross member and I guess I go lucky because mine wasn't tack welded. Also I pressed the threaded bushing into the locker before installing and it was able to get the lokka in the carrier with no trouble. Tonight is reassembly and hopefully it goes back in as easy as it came out.
 
robcarync

robcarync

Sliders
Location
Raleigh, NC
Intender said:
Did mine last night. Was really easy to drop the diff. I bought a motorcycle jack to drop the diff which made it really easy. I dropped the whole front cross member and I guess I go lucky because mine wasn't tack welded. Also I pressed the threaded bushing into the locker before installing and it was able to get the lokka in the carrier with no trouble. Tonight is reassembly and hopefully it goes back in as easy as it came out.
Click to expand...

Awesome, man! I wasn't able to get the Lokka in with the nut pressed in no matter which way I tried...so interesting to hear that you had no problems. It was really close to the corners of the carrier "window"...so a slight difference in the dimensions could allow it to pop right in. Dropping the front cross member was the smart way to go about it...I spent nearly 4 hours FKING with the front diff trying to get it positioned just right and rotating it in place to actually get the install done. The Lokka was the easy part of the project. Getting the diff back onto the frame was the hardest part by far, but of course I didn't have a motorcycle jack either.
 
Intender

Intender

Wheeling
Location
Lewisville NC
i did a test fit without the nut and decided to just go for it. I was on the upper limit of tolerances for the thrust washers so that may have had something to do with it. It calls for .145 to ..165. I was around .158 or so.

The jack worked perfect. Its pads are just long enough to reach both cross members. I caught the harbor freight on sale for $87 and had a 25% off coupon. Its max lift was about 2 inches higher than I need and it was wide enough I didnt have to worry about it tipping over. Only thing I had trouble with was I thought it was hung up on something for about 20 minutes before I realized I forgot to disconnect the breather hose. Also realized after about 5 minutes of banging on the pin that it will only come out one way.
 
footsteps71

footsteps71

Bought an X
Location
United States
Rob, Zach here, the 2wd silver dude from the NOAS run. Wanna come to Greenville and help me install in the diff housing? Itll be easy since the diff housing is currently sitting in my garage. Name your price?
 
robcarync

robcarync

Sliders
Location
Raleigh, NC
footsteps71 said:
Rob, Zach here, the 2wd silver dude from the NOAS run. Wanna come to Greenville and help me install in the diff housing? Itll be easy since the diff housing is currently sitting in my garage. Name your price?
Click to expand...

Honestly man, fitting the Lokka in the diff was the easy part. Unless you don't have tools to use, you really don't need me. No special tools required, and all the stock gears fall out and aren't used.

Grenville NC or SC? I'm flexible as long as I can get gas covered there and back...but I'd probably spend more time driving then fitting the Lokka.
 
robcarync

robcarync

Sliders
Location
Raleigh, NC
By FAR...the hardest part was getting the diff dropped down and re-installing it. Fitting the diff took maybe an hour and a half, and that was with double checking some things and trying to get my punch unstuck from the diff carrier. The Lokka gears were easy. The ring gear was a little tough to get seated back to the carrier, but if you smack it with a rubber mallet, you can get it close enough to thread a bolt on. If you can get 2 bolts threaded on opposite sides of the ring gear, you can incrementally ratchet it down to fully seat it.

Nothing was difficult or confusing in the sense that you need special knowledge or skills to get it done. Just a few things were tedious or difficult as in took a few tries to get it lined up perfectly.

if you have questions, feel free to post up. I spent a lot of time doing this install very thoroughly. If you have a question that isn't covered in the actual write up...I can probably tell you what I did.
 
Intender

Intender

Wheeling
Location
Lewisville NC
Its easy. Just remember the pin that yoi have to punch out only goes one way because the hole is tapered. Drop the crosmember for the front diff and its a lot easier.
 
Intender

Intender

Wheeling
Location
Lewisville NC
Also get /borrow a motorcycle jack. I used one for mine and it took all of about 30 seconds to lift it in place and stick the bolts through the holes. if you use a motorcycle jack you will have to remove the back bolts first because the rear sits just high enough to make it unstable on the jack if you try the front first. If you have any questions feel free to ask. I followed roba write up and did the lokka by myself in about 4 hours total including eating a meal and installing manual hubs in the middle one day.
 
robcarync

robcarync

Sliders
Location
Raleigh, NC
I believe he has a diff in his garage he just needs to fit the Lokka into...his truck is 2WD and awaiting a 4WD conversion, so maneuvering the diff into place is a little ways out, if I understood correctly.

One thing to note...I had difficulty getting the ring gear bolts out of the carrier. Not because they were super tight or anything, but because you need a huge bench vise to hold it steady so you can torque the opposite direction. I ended up using an impact wrench that could break the bolts loose, but I was unable to loosen them with a regular socket wrench when I first tried. You would probably need a huge vise or another friend to try and hold the carrier steady if you don't have an electric or air impact wrench.
 
footsteps71

footsteps71

Bought an X
Location
United States
robcarync said:
I believe he has a diff in his garage he just needs to fit the Lokka into...his truck is 2WD and awaiting a 4WD conversion, so maneuvering the diff into place is a little ways out, if I understood correctly.

One thing to note...I had difficulty getting the ring gear bolts out of the carrier. Not because they were super tight or anything, but because you need a huge bench vise to hold it steady so you can torque the opposite direction. I ended up using an impact wrench that could break the bolts loose, but I was unable to loosen them with a regular socket wrench when I first tried. You would probably need a huge vise or another friend to try and hold the carrier steady if you don't have an electric or air impact wrench.
Click to expand...
You hit the nail on the head. Everything is in the garage.

The Southeast Xterra mod day for this is February 21st and 22nd if anyone wants to join.
 

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footsteps71

footsteps71

Bought an X
Location
United States
c406f13c683907785fec36afce3cb2e3.jpg


Left is Lokka, right is original axle gear. That ain't right is it?
 
robcarync

robcarync

Sliders
Location
Raleigh, NC
It looks right to me. Since the Lokka doesn't have the spider gears rolling around on the cross shaft, the Lokka gears are a bigger diameter and take up more room in the carrier. Assuming it fits on the splines and fits in the carrier, I am thinking that it is correct
 
O

OVRLNDR

Test Drive
Location
Fall River, NS
I just did my Lokka. I had a few bumps in the road due to a rusted out breather pipe, and a couple of broken bolts. Having said that, it's a fairly simple install.

I'm now struggling with getting that heavy chunk of metal back in. I know some of you use motorcycle jacks....but was that with the front crossmember removed?

Here's some pictures

ovrlndr.blogspot.ca/2015/03/lokka.html
 
K

KBC

Bought an X
Location
BC
I had my dad help me put it back in. I removed the crossmember and then lifted the front in first on a bit of an angle. Try and slip a bolt or pin in the front mount to hold in in place then you can swing the back end up and attach the crossmember.
 
robcarync

robcarync

Sliders
Location
Raleigh, NC
It is a complete pain. As mentioned in my original posts...I had to modify my stock scissor jack and it still took me 2+ hours to get it in place with the front cross member in place. Note that I mean the front cross member between the two frame rails that had a bushing bolted to it...not the rear cross member that has the two bushings on it. The rear cross member I had already bolted to the diff. The front cross member I left in place between the frame rails.

I had to lift it upwards at an angle, front first, and rotate it to get the front bushings installed. I loosened the mounting bolts on the bolted bushing so I would have some wiggle room to lock a bolt in place. I basically lifted the front of the diff some, supported the rear cross member on jack stands on each bushing, shifted the jack again to lift it some more, re-adjusted the rear cross member and jack stands, etc and repeated inch by inch until it rotated into place.

I hope I never have to do this again!
 
O

OVRLNDR

Test Drive
Location
Fall River, NS
yeah, that sucks!!
the cross member I'm thinking of is where (A & B) mount

I'm hoping that sucker will come off since the garage that replaced my oil pan siad they had to remove it.
diff-mounts.PNG
 
K

KBC

Bought an X
Location
BC
I removed the rear one and with help it wasn't too bad to put back in. The three bolts marked "E"
 
T

TJTJ

Skid Plates
Founding Member
Location
NJ
You guys just need to work out more, sheesh.

Put the cross member on your chest, INHALE, and bolt it up.

:D
 
O

OVRLNDR

Test Drive
Location
Fall River, NS
LOL TJ

Cross member is off - it took some hammering on the hangers to bend the metal into shape so I could drop the cross member




Cross member re-installed to the differential



Used a boogie board to stabilize the lift...it worked perfectly :)



Diff is in place


And it's in!


I REALLY should have removed the cross member with the differential. It was so much easier!!


Along the way on the final installation section I had 2 OH S**T moments;


1 - I left the input shaft to the last possible moment. Everything was bolted hard in place, then I realized the bolt that holds the input shaft plate in place sticks out half and inch, so I was unable to slide the U join over it. I had to use the jack to force it over the end of the bolt.


2 - When I took it for a test drive on the road in 4HI & locked the hubs, it drove horribly...I mean really bad, clearly the front wheels were locked up and no clicky click from the Lokka.
So I tried it in 2WD and all was well. I'd forgotten that power to the differential center shaft forces the Lokka into locked mode. As soon as no power is applied, the Lokka plates have chance to rotate.


No clicky clicky tho...it's quiet, and locked :) !!!
​
 
robcarync

robcarync

Sliders
Location
Raleigh, NC
Very nice! Awesome idea with the boogie board!

Working out more? Man...sure I could bench press the diff straight up, but I don't know how I would get the bolts lined up and installed with both arms pushing the diff up. Especially paired with diff drop bushings like I did where there was no way to know if the bolts would line up.

I have manually locking hubs...so I can lock my hubs but keep the transmission in 2Hi to test the clickity click. Very quiet ratchet noise. Almost unable to hear it.
 
O

OVRLNDR

Test Drive
Location
Fall River, NS
yeah I have the Warns too - I wasn't able to hear mine clicking locked in 2HI, but they were unlocking for sure. Maybe the grease on the teath hasn't worn off yet.
 
footsteps71

footsteps71

Bought an X
Location
United States
Hey guys. Installed lokka in my 2002. (I've also completed my 4wd conversion) and I have an interesting predicament. My front driveshaft is spinning in 2wd. I have manual hardbody hubs. What do you guys think could be happening?
 
robcarync

robcarync

Sliders
Location
Raleigh, NC
footsteps71 said:
Hey guys. Installed lokka in my 2002. (I've also completed my 4wd conversion) and I have an interesting predicament. My front driveshaft is spinning in 2wd. I have manual hardbody hubs. What do you guys think could be happening?
Click to expand...

Remove the outer hub covering on both sides just as a test (you don't want dirt and dust getting in there!)

Drive forward in your driveway or in the parking lot or on your street/block whatever and re-check if the front drive shaft is moving. Point is, the hubs can't lock at all without the outer covering, so that will immediately tell you if it is a locked hub 100%...which it sounds like it is.

I had a similar thing when I installed the Lokka. It ended up being a sticky auto hub. I thought at first it was an issue with the Lokka until I removed the outer hubs and re-tested. Turns out with an open diff, you can have a stuck auto hub and not know since the other side will just free-wheel around it. No longer the case with the Lokka.
 
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