Hey guys/gals,

Per my last post I was able to retrofit the newer LT-230 to work in the 87 Rangie.

- I removed the solenoid plunger thing and refit the assembly
- Pulled the speed sensor and filled it with a bolt and silicon
- Pulled the neutral sensor and filled it with a bolt and silicon
- I also had to remove one complete side of the housing, not sure if it was the front or rear output and swap it with that of the older LT-230 because it didn't have the holes for one of the mounting brackets.

Any how, the truck has been put back together and now it seems to be BINDING even with the LT and ZF both in neutral. [If I drop the drive shafts the truck will roll just fine.] I am wondering if pulling the entire output side from the older one and installing it in the new one created the problem??? They both looked the same and there seemed to be no damage to the older one. I am at a loss here...

We are trying to leave for a 6,000 mile expedition to Belize next Friday. Any help or input would be greatly apreciated!

Thanks for the space!

Jason Michaels - jason@get-rhino.com

If you pulled the front housing you may have created a problem. There are shims behind one of the races to set the preload on the bearings.

JP

What do you suggest I do at this point Pendy?

Pendy, I just went over it in my mind and I am 98% sure I pulled the rear...

did you reuse the bolts? there's a slim chance that you could have used a longer than stock bolt and the bolt is binding on the gearing. i can't remember the bolt pattern off the top of my head, but you may want to back a few off to eliminate the risk. of course, someone else might pipe up to say i'm full of it ...

If you pulled the rear housing you are okay. I agree with Searover. The bolts between the transfer case and transmission can contact the gears in the transfer case. The bottom bolts on the passenger side are the suspect ones. Prolly the bottom one. Pull them out one at a time until you find the short ones. And put them in the bottom holes. Look out for gear oil when you remove the bottom one.

They used to put a stud there.

Gluck
JP

Pendy,

I am leaving now, Saturday morning 6:58AM to go work on it. I will let you know how I fair... Thanks for all the support!

BTW, if I put the truck into reverse and moved it about a total of 10 feet could I have damaged anything major? If so, how would I go about repairing the internals? :Gulp: Replace the box again? :(

I JUST WANT TO LEAVE THE COUNTRY! :)

It will just rub the side of the coaster gear. Not worth taking apart to fix a scraped up gear. You could change the fluid again after putting a few miles on it first.

JP

Pendy,

There are 5 bolts that hold the LT to the ZF correct? 3 threaded headed towards the front and 2 towards the rear right? Do you know the "long" and "short" bolt lenghts? I got them pulled and they all seem to be the same lenght.

If I know the correct lenghts I can refit the new ones...

Thanks for all your help!

When installing the Lt230 to the ZF tranny, the bolts installed from the tranny into the t-case (by the front output) must be the shortest two, as at least one of them can contact the counter gear - I've seen it happen. Those two bolts are usually about 1.25" long, and are the only two of the five that are open to t-case oil, so make sure to locktite them.

If you've pulled either fron or rear extension housings, you should also verify that the bolt lengths are correct.

Just my .02

Jeff C.
http:\\jcrover4x4.home.comcast.net

10/4 Jeff, let me run this by you...

With the front drive shaft and the lt in diff-lock mode low or high should the truck still drive in rear wheel? If it doesn't what might be wrong in the LT?

10/4 Jeff, let me run this by you...

With the front drive shaft and the lt in diff-lock mode low or high should the truck still drive in rear wheel? If it doesn't what might be wrong in the LT?

If you remove either front or rear driveshaft and lock the center diff, it will drive through the remaining drive shaft.

If it doesn't the center diff may not have locked properly.

While the diff lock lever physically disengages the diff lock, it does not actually engage the diff lock. When shifted to the lock position it enables a spring to engage the diff lock. The diff lock indicator switch is operated by the shift lever mechanism, not the diff lock.

When you adjusted the diff lock linkage, did you check that the centre diff lock engaged fully?

John,

How would I check to see that its fully engaged?

You see this LT came out of a 94 D1 so it had electronic crap on it. I did the following in order to "make" it work in the 87 Rangie:

- Swapped the rear output housing & shaft
- Removed the solenoid and punched out the plunger
- Removed the sensor next to the solenoid, and replaced it with a bolt
- Removed the other sensor on the front output housing and plugged that with a bolt as well

I noticed that there was still one sensor on the unit but I don't know what it's for...

Thanks for all the help so far! We just might get to goto Belize after all! :)

JC,

I hate to be a bother but do you know the lenghts of the rear output bolts? I took them out and layed them down one at a time and am sure I checked them but it's good to be able to confirm... Thanks!

The remaining sensor on the LT230 is probably the diff lock engagement sensor. I fact it only indicates diff locked when the diff is really locked, not when only the lever is operated, but dog clutch has not yet engaged.

Tobias

Should have left the diff lock sensor in. Use a hook tool through the bolt holes in question to determine a maximum length. Then make sure the bolts you use are shorter then that. Take the bolt out of the diff lock sensor hole incase you locked the linkeage in place. i would put the sensor back, but you can put the bolt back just a few threads in the front output housing. Please state again what the problem is after you determine what bolts to use.

JP

h2eater,

When I stated *The diff lock indicator switch is operated by the shift lever mechanism, not the diff lock* in my previous reply, I was incorrect. In fact, the diff lock switch is operated by the diff lock shift fork. But I am aware of some discos where the diff lock lamp illuminates before the diff is locked.

The rest of what I said is still correct. The mechanism from the control lever shifts the shaft on which the diff lock shift fork slides. The diff lock indicator switch is is shifted by a spring.

If the diff lock indicator switch is is adjusted down too far it *will* prevent the diff lock shift fork from moving to the locked position. Fit the switch while the shift fork is in the fully engaged (diff locked) position and adjust it down just enough for the electrical contacts to close (check with ohm meter or test lamp).

As pendy said, if you replaced the diff lock indicator switch with a bolt, it might protude through enough to also prevent the diff lock shift fork from moving to the locked position.

In the diagram attached to my previous post: (1) is the lever that moves the shaft on which the diff lock shift fork slides. (3) is the diff lock indicator switch.

The diff lock shift fork is shown in the fully engaged (locked) position and the switch is above the right hand part of the shift fork (the left hand part of the fork is left of the spring.

Ok all,

We just replaced the front diff and are awaiting UPS Thursday AM with replacement 10/23 front axel. Once I get that in I am going to put the proper 1.25" bolts in the LT and check the truck. If it doesn't move I am going to back out the sensor for diff lock. Can you please confirm with me again the locations of the sensors? I know there are three sensors on there plus the solenoid but I don't know for sure which ones are which. I want to make sure I am working on the right one.

Aside from this the vehicle is all loaded down and ready to leave Friday AM for the Belize Expedition. I thank you all for your HELP! This thread has kept my hope alive, I could write a novel [plan too] on all the things that went wrong preparing for this trip. Thanks again!

Ok,

We got everthing together and it moves in regular and diff lock mode but, it takes high revs to get it going and it doesn't move quickly....

Someone mentioned Transmission problems?

having been in my 230 a couple times this yr, I also would guess bolts. But now it almost sounds like you have you e-brake adjusted wayway tight. JP

I agree, check your ebrake adjustment, or just disconnect the whole thing since youre in a pinch and have an automatic trans. The night before leaving for trans-continental adventures is not the time to be having newbie problems... just hope you dont have to fix it on the side of the road in Mexico.

WE GOT IT!!!! After checking and rechecking everything we decided to check the damn trans fluid! DOH! :)

Belize, here we come! Thank you all for your support!

Bingo. Have fun changing the trans on the side of the road in Mexico.

>> The night before leaving for trans-continental adventures is not the time to be
>> having newbie problems...

because, ya know, you've replaced, like, 80 LT230's yourself :flipoff2:

Jason - glad to hear you got everything together. Last minute problems seem to go hand-in-hand with big trips. I had the same issue with transmission fluid - my hopes sank when I tried to pull out of the driveway for the first time in months. additional 3qts of fluid brought them back up :)

-foreverNewbie

Hip hip hooray :)