Locking rear differential?

[JAMMAN]

Whats up with the rear differential on my dodge? Has anyone got a breakaway or diagram of this mechanism?

Never noticed it before but when you put it in 4wd some sort of solenoid must lock the differential making it like a solid axle. Mine sticks (after switching transfer case to 2wd) and stays locked till you make a hard turn and hit the gas so there must be something wrong. Couldn't find a breakaway to see what might be sticking.

 

[GoldDot]

You may want to mention what kind of dodge you have.

 

[JAMMAN]

You know I have typed like 8 things in this black box, and deleted every one of them because they didn't sound nice, and this has always been a nice forum so I'll restrict myself from polluting it with my sarcasm.

 

[JPT]

Did you buy it used? If so, someone could have installed a lunchbox locker, or a full detroit locker. But, I'm not sure there are any automatically locking differentials from the factory, it would require a switch...

 

[justin13703]

Have you tried putting it in reverse after switching to 2wd? Sometimes you will need to back the truck up a foot or so to fully disengage it. Basically you need to take all the load off of the driveline to get it to disengage.

 

[JAMMAN]

Yes JPT, used. There are wires going to the rear end. Can't tell if it looks stock or aftermarket. I know it did have larger tires on it at one point because when I had normal tires the speedo was way off. I have access to the scanner to adjust it but chose to buy bigger tires instead.

Justin I will try the reverse trick today, thanks for the tip.

 

[JPT]

If it is factory, it could be malfunctioning. There is no reason to have a locking rear diff on the road (if selectable). Limited slip, sure, but locking, no.

 

[JPT]

Have you tried putting it in reverse after switching to 2wd? Sometimes you will need to back the truck up a foot or so to fully disengage it. Basically you need to take all the load off of the driveline to get it to disengage.

I think you mean the transfer case, not a locking axle. I've never had an issue with a selectable locker not disengaging because they typically require some type of load to stay locked (air for ARB, cable for OX lockers, and electricity for others).

 

[justin13703]

I think you mean the transfer case, not a locking axle. I've never had an issue with a selectable locker not disengaging because they typically require some type of load to stay locked (air for ARB, cable for OX lockers, and electricity for others).

Yeah you're right, I must have missed the part where he said it was his rear axle locking. For some reason I was thinking his 4wd was getting stuck on.