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91 carry front axle lock

Discussion in 'Suzuki Carry' started by jasondyck, Mar 20, 2014.

  1. jasondyck

    jasondyck New Member

    have a 1991 Suzuki carry and the front axle lock light stays on all the time on the switch but when pushed in/out the front diff does not lock....any ideas on what to check? switch? vac lines? big question is...why does the light stay on all the time?? any suggestions? thanks in advance!!
     
  2. Jim Nelson

    Jim Nelson Active Member

    The axle lock is not a dif lock it just locks the axles like the old locking hubs.Normally it activates and the light comes on when you shift the transfer case into 4 wheel drive then when you shift back to 2 wheel you have to push the button to turn it off.If you have dif lock that is only the rear end.
     
  3. Jake Brey

    Jake Brey New Member

    My truck does the same thing. I got it stuck in the snow yestarday and i had it in 4WD and only one back tire was spinning. Light for diff lock was on... Any help would be great. Thanks
     
    Merch likes this.
  4. Jim Nelson

    Jim Nelson Active Member

    Ok I'll try to clear this up,Suzuki has" axle lock", this is not dif lock, it just engages the front axles when the transfer case is shifted into 4 wd but does not lock the differential on either end of the truck.If your truck is equipped with "dif lock" it will lock the rear differential if you push the button labeled "dif lock". A lot of people including dealers think that axle lock is dif lock.The only thing the axle lock button does is turn off the axle lock after you have shifted out of 4 wd. It is really confusing to nearly all new owners and would be better if the factory would have labeled the button 4 wd and never mentioned lock at all.
    Now if you have dif lock in addition to axle lock and it does not lock the rear wheels when turned on it will most often be a vacuum line.
     
  5. jasondyck

    jasondyck New Member

    Thanks ken but I understand what the difference is between axle lock and diff lock..part I cant figure out is the axle light on switch stays on regardless of pushed..or in 2/4 wd....tested the switch..works..tested the actuator. .works...but light never goes off and no sound at actuator regardless off everything tried...trying to figure out why it wont engage or disengage is all....???
     
  6. Jim Nelson

    Jim Nelson Active Member

    You're ahead of the game if you understand that, has this always acted this way or is it something new? Any rodent activity or corrosion?Electrical can be a lot of things and trouble shooting is the hard part.Start with the simple things as that is usually what it is.
     
  7. jasondyck

    jasondyck New Member

    Cant find any broken wires..vac lines all look good. ..tested the cylnoid. Tested the switch itself..lost as what to do next..
     
  8. spaner

    spaner Well-Known Member

    Start at the beginnig,
    If the axle ring (crown locking ring) does not actually lock, as in no front drive, than you have already found the problem.
    The next step is to MAKE the front axle (crown locking ring) LOCK. Hammer, compressed air, hand vacuum, screw driver??
    You're there, we're not.
    Make it move, make it do what it's supposed to, then you'll know "why", then you'll know how.

    At the moment, for trouble shooting, who cares what the light is doing...it's the crown locking gear that's important.
    Indicator lights are nice, when the 4wd actually works...:sly:
     
  9. Jake Brey

    Jake Brey New Member

    Thanks for clearing that up Jim. I have axle lock switch. So that explains why I have a one wheel wonder. That sucks d**k. Wish I would of known that before I bought it. Can a guy get lockers or limited slips for these and are they hard to put in? Thanks
     
  10. Jim Nelson

    Jim Nelson Active Member

    Hey Jake as far as I know at this time the only way is to find a junker truck and swap the dif lock rear end and I've been looking for 2 years with no luck. There used to be a guy marketing a posi trac deal but he disappeared. The only other option is a Lincoln locker but that's not ideal especially if you're driving on hard surface at all.
     
  11. jasondyck

    jasondyck New Member

    thanks Spaner....great advice!!
     
  12. Jake Brey

    Jake Brey New Member

    Thanks for the help Jim. ya im really considering welding it but i hate to do it an then in time is goes to hell ya know....but i probably will end up welding it. i have no plans of taking it on the road at all.
     
  13. KCCats

    KCCats Active Member

    I'd like to know how it actually works?
     
  14. Inane2

    Inane2 Member

    Not to stray off topic but .....

    I remember back in the day when this forum was really active, the whole "axle lock" thing was beat to death. Posts #2 and #4 clear it up wonderfully. Think of it as keeping you from having to get out of the truck to lock the hubs before you put it in four wheel drive.

    Suzuki is the only truck where the whole "axle lock" feature comes into play. You can look around (especially at the 550 trucks) and find some Carry's without the infamous axle lock, aka manual locking hubs.

    On the Hijets, the rear diff lock is simply markets as "Super Differential Lock". This can be found on regular Hijets outside of the old Climber models.

    Shame of it is, it's very easy to see dealers, past and present, using a play on words with the axle lock feature. It's easy to see how potential new owners would thing they are getting diff lock. The recent surge of 25+ year trucks has really exaggerated this problem, especially since the Carry is the most popular model. There is even a dealer who regularly will advertise his Hijets that have front and rear diff lock when in reality, they only have rear.
     
  15. KCCats

    KCCats Active Member

    So how does it work?
    Is it an electric Magnet type thing like Electric trailer brakes?
    Or more like a PTO on a mower deck?
    Or a A/C clutch?
     

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