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TJ Rubicon Front Air Locker Stuck

[memphis]

Web wheeler
Joined
Jun 6, 2020
Member Number
1867
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701
Had a kick ass weekend thrashing on my stocker rubicon... but ran into a snag on the last leg of the trail. Front locker is stuck on? Dash will flash and the locker will be engaged, if I engage the locker the light will turn on solid. I am pulling the cover this weekend but I assume I'll be pulling the carrier? I am hoping it's just the plunger that is stuck/won't allow the actuator to disengage but I don't think I'm that lucky.... any other thoughts?
 
When you turn the locker off the light will flash until the plunger sensor goes back in and indicates the locker is off. So if if the locker is physically stuck the light is working.

You can pull the air line off and see if it is pumping air when the locker switch is off. Not likely but easy enough to do.

I have never had one stick on like that, hopefully the locking ring just needs a whack because parts for these are unobtanium.

Oh and don’t pull the plunger unless you plan on pulling the carrier because you can’t reinstall it with the carrier in place. Ask me how I know

I’ll get a pic of the “tool” I made to hold the plunger out while I install the carrier. And then pull the tool out after the carrier is in.
 
Just a washer shaved down to fit the plunger and some electrical wire to pull it out.

C0F37F87-A045-4D26-9F84-2BE584B7FAC0.jpeg
 
I have a leaking axle seal anyway so the carrier needs to come out regardless. I do know about the "tooth pick" plunger trick to reinstall the carrier. From my searching the guys that have posted about stuck on front lockers have never resolved the issue. I am hoping it's the plunger that is defective because apparently I can go without it... the light will flash when it's engaged but the locker actuator will still function?

I pulled the diff plug and didn't find any shavings on it... so that's a good start (I swapped all fluids before the road trip since I was driving up 700 miles round trip). Besides the 8274 up front, this baby is bone stock.

I did have to drive it back to the cottage about 25-30 miles with the front locked in 2wd on the highway because I had to... but no terrible noises besides the slight tire chirp on turns. Was able to trailer it home versus drive so... I saved the front end from more wear and tear

Jacked up the front end last night and tried to wiggle the wheels back and forth unloaded but couldn't get it to unlock like that either.
 

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[memphis] said:
I am hoping it's the plunger that is defective because apparently I can go without it... the light will flash when it's engaged but the locker actuator will still function?
Click to expand...
Yep. My plunger stopped working so I took it out only to figure out the problem was in the wires coming off of it. Then I found out that you can’t put it back in without dropping the carrier. I cut the plunger tip off and screwed the sensor back in the housing and still have not fixed it. Locker still works Light just flashes while it’s on.

I made that tool for the rear which was a whole other set of problems.
 
Got a chance to crack into the front diff today. The air line inside the diff is retaining pressure somehow… I slipped the line off the actuator and the diff unlocked. I turned the locker back on and instantly the diff worked as expected. Turned it off and it didn’t release again.

Where do these things dump the 4-5psi when you turn them off? It’s been sitting for two weeks and the locker did not bleed down to turn off so I can say there isn’t a leak in the system…

Is the pressure released right at the pump?
 
If it is a faulty pump the KIA part number 510303E100 is a direct replacement and still available. Not cheap though...
 
[memphis] said:
Got a chance to crack into the front diff today. The air line inside the diff is retaining pressure somehow… I slipped the line off the actuator and the diff unlocked. I turned the locker back on and instantly the diff worked as expected. Turned it off and it didn’t release again.

Where do these things dump the 4-5psi when you turn them off? It’s been sitting for two weeks and the locker did not bleed down to turn off so I can say there isn’t a leak in the system…

Is the pressure released right at the pump?
Click to expand...
The pumps draw air through a vent tube that goes up over the gas tank, I think they are sealed short of the in and out ports so I would imagine it releases pressure back into that tube. For shits and giggles I might make sure the vent tube is clear but it is shared between front and rear so if there were a blockage it would lock both up.

Maybe swap the lines to your other locker pump and see if it works normally. Then you can isolate if it’s the pump not releasing pressure correctly.
 
MigGunslinger said:
The pumps draw air through a vent tube that goes up over the gas tank, I think they are sealed short of the in and out ports so I would imagine it releases pressure back into that tube. For shits and giggles I might make sure the vent tube is clear but it is shared between front and rear so if there were a blockage it would lock both up.

Maybe swap the lines to your other locker pump and see if it works normally. Then you can isolate if it’s the pump not releasing pressure correctly.
Click to expand...
Likely the easiest course of action is to swap the tubes. The vent itself appears to be clear... I blew threw it while I was under there. I was going to shoot a look WD-40 into the air pump tonight and see if I can push any crud out of it. When I pulled the pressure line off the pump the compressor keeps going as it doesn't see any pressure build so at least it is functioning. But I did note that some water came out of it... 4-5 drops.
 
[memphis] said:
Likely the easiest course of action is to swap the tubes. The vent itself appears to be clear... I blew threw it while I was under there. I was going to shoot a look WD-40 into the air pump tonight and see if I can push any crud out of it. When I pulled the pressure line off the pump the compressor keeps going as it doesn't see any pressure build so at least it is functioning. But I did note that some water came out of it... 4-5 drops.
Click to expand...

Yep, if you confirm the pump is the problem it couldn't hurt to try and rehab it a bit, for the price of replacements / retrofits I might even try to open it up and see what is going on in there.

Have you been in any deep water? If the vent line is working correctly it should not have any water in it. Since the vent line is shared if there is water in one there may be in the other.
 
Yeah I was in over 2ft water in a stock TJ rubicon. Malfunction happened half way through the trail so we trekked onward
 
So I am thinking I should fix this about now :D I haven't monkey'd with it since the new baby arrived. Not cheap but I am thinking of retrofitting the smallest ARB compressor and swapping the pressure switch for a 2-6 PSI switch (normally closed)?

Since the switch states normally closed... I am assuming the switch will open @ 6PSI? and it would shut down the compressor?

Anyone think there is a reason this won't work to fix my locker issue? This way I can also independently control the lockers. I was hoping I could use the stock switch to turn the compressor on or off and maybe my dash lights will still function?

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edit: nitrous switch may work

1668019677745.png
 
I think retrofitting a similar pump to the stock one would be better, the ARB pump is way overkill for this and at the same time not useful to fill tires etc.

I may have missed it but does your plan include a way to release the pressure when you turn off the switch?

You could use the ARB pump, regulate down to the pressure you need and then hook solenoid valves to the stock wiring. You would need to add a compressor switch though.
71xysLskC5L._SL1500_.jpg


I use the stock switch to activate the solenoid for my rear ARB.
 
I was going to add front and rear locker switches and the solenoids would be three way to dump pressure.

The stock switch on the dash in my mind would be to power the compressor on and off.

The ARB pump while overkill would also come with a compressor switch now that I think about it… so I could just add a front locker switch anywhere. It’s overkill but it’s small…

Best would be OE style replacements but they are NLA and same with the KIA pumps. And when I do find one the KIA pump is like $400
 
Ah, it was not clear to me from your post that you were including solenoids.

The dash locker lights are tied into either the stock locker switch outputs or the PCM, not sure which. Not sure if the indicator switches at the axle carriers will indicate on the dash without the locker switch being engaged? Might be best to test that.

Sucks about the pumps being unobtanium. In that case I would do like I described above:

ARB pump wired in under the hood running at it's standard high pressure with its own switch
Plumb that to a regulator
Run line from regulator to the approximate location of the stock pumps behind the transfer case
Wire air solenoids off of the stock pump wiring (I have done this on the rear of my TJ Rubicon)
plumb lines from solenoids to axles

you would have 2 switches: A compressor switch and the stock locker switch which would function like stock as long as the compressor is on.
Your dash lights should work like stock.

Edit: there may be a way to tap into the stock locker switch to activate the ARB compressor in my proposed setup but my head is already hurting:lmao:
 
MigGunslinger said:
Ah, it was not clear to me from your post that you were including solenoids.

The dash locker lights are tied into either the stock locker switch outputs or the PCM, not sure which. Not sure if the indicator switches at the axle carriers will indicate on the dash without the locker switch being engaged? Might be best to test that.

Sucks about the pumps being unobtanium. In that case I would do like I described above:

ARB pump wired in under the hood running at it's standard high pressure with its own switch
Plumb that to a regulator
Run line from regulator to the approximate location of the stock pumps behind the transfer case
Wire air solenoids off of the stock pump wiring (I have done this on the rear of my TJ Rubicon)
plumb lines from solenoids to axles

you would have 2 switches: A compressor switch and the stock locker switch which would function like stock as long as the compressor is on.
Your dash lights should work like stock.

Edit: there may be a way to tap into the stock locker switch to activate the ARB compressor in my proposed setup but my head is already hurting:lmao:
Click to expand...
Just to confirm, you have the OE locker switch function like stock one click rear another click front?
 
[memphis] said:
Just to confirm, you have the OE locker switch function like stock one click rear another click front?
Click to expand...
Yes, my front locker is stock, rear is ARB. Everything In the front is stock.

The rear locker light flashes on the dash when engaged because there is no feedback from the ARB but I just deal with it.

Locker switch operates as stock. I also have the compressor switch that I linked.
IMG_1453.JPG


Rear ARB solenoid is connected to the stock locker pump wiring.
IMG_1452.JPG


Air for the ARB comes from my york compressor via a regulator because I run my OBA system at 140psi.
IMG_1451.JPG
 
Thank you for posting that! I was worried those solenoids may not hold up to grime mounted down on the skid plate. I guess the flipside is if I don't swap the pressure switch I could pony up more money and be able to inflate my tires with a better compressor.
 
I was also thinking that if you were going to use solenoid's anyway and you had one stock pump still working you could split the output from that to supply both lockers.
 
MigGunslinger said:
I was also thinking that if you were going to use solenoid's anyway and you had one stock pump still working you could split the output from that to supply both lockers.
Click to expand...
The shitty thing is the rear pump is functional but the square cap rotted off (referencing your pic, the side of the pump is facing the transfer case drain plug). I would not be opposed to having both turn on at the same time and killing air to both at the same time. Would save plumbing and make activation quicker
 
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