Rear diff locks itself.

[Pajnor]

Hello.

I have a 2001 with 210000km on it.
Recently and occasionaly one of the wheels on the rear axle starts to slip when turning. The center and rear locks are not engaged when this happens. Then a lock suddenly unlocks with a loud bang with the rear axle shaking.

On the diff, I have tried to uncouple the hoses for the ventilation and pump with no result in behaviour.
There are sometimes a few short flashes in the rear lock dash light. And quite often this result in wheel slip and a bang.

Either this can be the center or rear lock that does not unlock fully, right? I also wonder how the rear diff lock return to the unlocked position. A spring? Any toughts?

(The small reason i also suspect the center diff, is because there is no difference in wheel slip when turning, with only the center diff locked versus both center and rear locked).

[Pajnor]

Just to say what I ended up doing..


I took a chance and aquired a new used diff.
And It solved the problem!

Curious about what had happened inside the old diff. I opened it up, and found one of the connecting cogrings (the lock) to be slightly uneven worn. There was some sand particels around it! Probably some of the particles has been sitting between some of the cogs, to cause some misaligment and wear.
The particles has clearly come through the breather hose.