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Hey Guys.

I took the Pinz out on what turned out to be a tough trail, well, the toughest I have done yet. While on the trail, I needed to engage both lockers a few times, and to get through one obstacle, I had the front locker on while trying to make a turn. I also had to engage the PB a couple of times to help from rolling back. To make a long story short, the truck ran great, but when I got back onto the road and drove home, it felt like something was dragging or was still engaged. The truck didn't feel as "light" as it should, if that makes sense. I cycled through all the controls to make sure nothing was stuck and they seemed okay. It is almost like there is more rolling resistance.....

My fear is I damaged something with the front locker on while trying to turn. I plan on changing the oil in the diffs just to check for shavings etc. Hopefully you guys have some ideas.

I did have a blast on the trail.....and I see now why guys want power steering.

Just wanted to add that the clutch is working fine and the PB does too.

Mug and gunk inside the drums?

audiocontr wrote:Mug and gunk inside the drums?

The trail was mainly rock. Only one small water hole (10") and it was mainly rock. I will check that though, as I need to adjust the brakes anyway.

I need to find a way to determine if my lockers are actually disengaged. The levers are up and off. I may go ahead and bleed the systems and see if that helps. I am just worried that I may have buggered something up trying to steer up a rock surface with the front locker on. The locker was required to get up as it was slick.

You should definitely feel it and know when the front locker disengages. If you can't notice any difference, I would guess that there might be a problem. If you want to bleed the system, I suggest using a medical vacuum pump or something like that since there can be so much gunk in the lines that it may never flush itself out just by gravity-flow alone.

If your front locker is not disengaged, I suspect you'll know from the steering resistance as well

Simple to check. Just jack that end of the truck and turn one wheel and if the other turns the same direction, you're locked... If it turns the opposite direction you're open. Also on the front if you're locked it will be enormously harder to turn the steering wheel on pavement. Hope that helps.

Thanks guys.

Ya, I know the front is unlocked (should have posted that... ), as I took a slow drive around my block engaging each locker and I knew when the front was engaged/disengaged. Perhaps it is the 4x4 lock that is nit disengaging....

Thanks for the tip on testing, I will give that a try.

Just a side note....While on the trail I was getting kind of worried about the abuse I was putting the truck through (more my mind and inexperience then anything), and I FINALLY came to the realization that I bought this truck to enjoy ON THE TRAIL, not as a commuter. If I damage something, unintentionally of course, I will fix it, but I will enjoy every minute of the ride!!

berger wrote:Thanks guys.

Ya, I know the front is unlocked (should have posted that... ), as I took a slow drive around my block engaging each locker and I knew when the front was engaged/disengaged. Perhaps it is the 4x4 lock that is nit disengaging....

Thanks for the tip on testing, I will give that a try.

Just a side note....While on the trail I was getting kind of worried about the abuse I was putting the truck through (more my mind and inexperience then anything), and I FINALLY came to the realization that I bought this truck to enjoy ON THE TRAIL, not as a commuter. If I damage something, unintentionally of course, I will fix it, but I will enjoy every minute of the ride!!

I hear ya on the trail stuff.....I will learn the hard way to repair this truck as time goes on, but that's inevitable. I didn't buy mine for weekend mall shows and it's certainly having to earn it's keep with mild to semi-aggressive offroading. Nothing stupid of course, you must respect the limitations of any piece of equipment.....but then again, stupid is subjective....

Took the wrong line....

To determine if the first locker (4x4) is disengaged, try this. Jack up one front tire and try to spin it. If the first lever is up (all levers up) and the locker is disengaged, the front tire should be able to rotate.

If that's all okay, you might also unlock everything, and simply lift one tire off the ground at a time and try to spin it. It should be able to spin. If not, you may have located the drag within one wheel unit.

Edited because my first advice was wrong!

undysworld wrote:To determine if the first locker (4x4) is disengaged, try this. First jack up the front end so both tires are off the ground, then engage the third locker so the front axle locks side-to-side, then make sure the transmission and transfer cases are both 'in gear' and the parking brake is engaged. At this point, if you can spin the front tires, the 4x4 locker is still engaged. If it is disengaged, the front tires should be able to rotate.

If that's all okay, you might also unlock everything, and simply lift one tire off the ground at a time and try to spin it. It should be able to spin. If not, you may have located the drag within one wheel unit.

I am a little confused about this still....

At this point, if you can spin the front tires, the 4x4 locker is still engaged. If it is disengaged, the front tires should be able to rotate.

Isn't that the same thing?

On reflection, stupid advice on my part. Please read my edit above.

I am a little confused about this still....

Okay, forgive me for beginning at basics, but here goes. When you operate the truck with all 3 lockers unlocked (levers up), the power is transmitted only to the rear axle, and it's differential is open (which allows the rear tires to spin at different rates when you go around a corner). The front axle is not "driven" at this time, and it's differential is also open similarly.

When you engage "4WD" by shifting the leftmost lever, the front axle becomes "driven". At this point, if the rear axle is stationary (either due to being on the ground or in gear or Ebrake engaged), the front axle cannot turn, However, the front differential still is open, so if you try to turn one tire the other tire will try to rotate in the opposite direction.

Isn't that the same thing?

Yes, again my mistake. It should have said that "if you cannot spin the fronts, it is engaged". My apologies for such brain lapses.

undysworld wrote:On reflection, stupid advice on my part. Please read my edit above.

Okay, forgive me for beginning at basics, but here goes. When you operate the truck with all 3 lockers unlocked (levers up), the power is transmitted only to the rear axle, and it's differential is open (which allows the rear tires to spin at different rates when you go around a corner). The front axle is not "driven" at this time, and it's differential is also open similarly.

When you engage "4WD" by shifting the leftmost lever, the front axle becomes "driven". At this point, if the rear axle is stationary (either due to being on the ground or in gear or Ebrake engaged), the front axle cannot turn, However, the front differential still is open, so if you try to turn one tire the other tire will try to rotate in the opposite direction.


Yes, again my mistake. It should have said that "if you cannot spin the fronts, it is engaged". My apologies for such brain lapses.

No, No, basics are good! Thanks again! I thought I knew what you meant, just had to be sure.

"I thought I knew what I think you said, but what I didn't realize is that what you said wasn't what you meant, anyway."

This is how my mind works!

Unless the coupling dogs in the witches hats are greased and worked occasionally, they "stick". When you pull the levers, all of your force is applied hydraulically to move the dogs, against rust, lack of grease, spline damage, etc. But when the lever is released, the pressure in the hydraulic lines needs to bleed off (could be very slow if the lines have crud blocking them) and only then the spring can try to force the dogs back. The spring is not terribly strong and sometimes the dogs can stay engaged for a long time (many miles and/or weeks or more). But given time and periods of zero torque the spring usually finally gets them dissengaged.