Gwagen Locker Activation

[nuclearmonkey]

I was wondering if some of you can chime in on the length of time it takes to lock the front and rear axles on the G's. I have an '08 G500 that's probably never been locked before. T-case seems to come on fairly quickly, but front and rear are quite varying. At one point, disengaging the front took off the rear with it. The truck has extended warranty thru the end of the year, but the dealership is telling me that they are working correctly. I am trying to get a baseline for what is normal, and re-test once they give me the truck back. Some of the inconsistency (and rear coming off with the front) may be a result of no use until now, so perhaps a bit more working of them might 'loosen things up', or show that indeed there is something to worry about. Until these, my only other experience with lockers are with air lockers.

Thanks so much in advance!

-Aaron

 

[RBA]

The front and rear lockers require some slippage (difference in rotation) between left and right in order to lock. The easiest way to do that is by turning the steering wheel hard right or hard left after pressing the buttons on the dash. The center will always lock quickly and doesn't require any slippage but needs to be locked before the rear locks and then the front, in that order. Disconnecting the center will automatically disengage all three. Disengaging the rear will also disengage the front.

If your turning the steering wheel to one side and the lockers still take a long time then it could either be the actuators. Perhaps the brake fluid in the hydraulic system needs to be bleed or there's a leak or the vacuum pump is not producing enough vacuum. You can switch the vacuum hoses between front and rear to see if that makes any difference.

 

[nuclearmonkey]

Thanks! I'll play some more when I get the truck back from the shop. So with respect to the system as a whole, is it safe to assume that just because there's enough pressure to activate the lockers, there could be a situation where there's not enough to keep them locked? My conversation with Mercedes was the opposite (which didn't quite make sense to me when I was discussing this). It's difficult in South FL... Most people down here think lockers are added security agains break-ins... :sombrero:

My main concern is definitely the rear dropping out when the front was de-activated...

 

[RBA]

lets see if I can post this image...

 

[RBA]

I'm sure someone else can correct me but I believe your assumption is correct. With a loss in pressure the lockers can drop out.

 

[RBA]

Here's where you can flip the hoses to try and narrow down the issue.

Here's a thread on P3 on this topic. There are many more.
http://www.pointedthree.com/disc/fo...start=1&highlight=vacuum+pump&highlightmode=1

 

[nuclearmonkey]

Thanks for all of the info!! I picked up the truck last night - I'm going to play a bit this weekend to see how they're working. I took your advice with the steering wheel turn, and it locked up incredibly quick (like within a couple of seconds). Now to make sure they don't disengage unintentionally. The dealership said they could find nothing wrong, but the fluid was low. I know they filled the fluid, but they also mentioned to me they couldn't find any leaks... I guess we'll see. There's a possibility since it very well may have been the first time the lockers were ever engaged (in a 6 year old truck), that they needed a workout to get the old bones moving. I'll definitely keep you posted, and for the sake of anyone else that may be in a similar situation that's looking for a potential answer....

 

[nuclearmonkey]

Just a follow up to anyone who may be / have been in the same boat... Tested the lockers again this weekend, everything worked out as intended. There's definitely a huge difference in lock up time if turning the steering wheel. I'm guessing low fluid, combined with being left untouched for so long was the culprit.

 

[koly]

Just a follow up to anyone who may be / have been in the same boat... Tested the lockers again this weekend, everything worked out as intended. There's definitely a huge difference in lock up time if turning the steering wheel. I'm guessing low fluid, combined with being left untouched for so long was the culprit.

Many in the G community perform a complete flush of the hydraulic fluid every 2 years (along with your brake fluid), especially if you live in areas with lots of weather. My guess is the hydro-fluid for your lockers was probably never changed.

Topping it off is ok for now, but I'd recommend a complete flush in the near future.