Engaging Factory Rear Locker (How to?)

I was playing in the snow yesterday and tried to engage the factory rear locker. I have an automatic. According to the manual, I need to be in 4L and in neutral and depress the locker button. According to the manual it will flash red and will eventually light continuously. I can't get beyond the flashing red and have tried serveral times and have waited serveral minutes. I'm sure this is a case user error, but any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

 

Try rolling back and forth and turning in neutral

 

i have a 01, prerunner (2x4) with the locker in the back.
I just throw it in drive, press the button (All while stopped) then pull forward a bit, then back, all going very slowly. It takes about 8 feet of driving to engage. You will hear it clunk. Same thing for getting out of the locker.

 

The teeth have to mesh up drive forward very slowly in gentle s-turns and it will lock. Brand new I thought there was something wrong w/ my locker - I had to make a couple of low speed S's until it engaged. After 20 or 30 engagement cycles it starts going in/out pretty easily.

David

 

Here is your reminder to make sure your locker and 4WD works before you actually need it.

 

Thanks everyone - I will give the advice a try this week.

 

I had the same issue. I've tried to engage it in sand and got nothing. 4Lo wouldn't engage either. I tried the S turns and everything.

So it seems I need to go out and engage it a dozen or so times to get it to work reliably?

 

it says you have a 2010, has it ever been used do you know since the truck was bought? It might be touchy or stuck if its never been used.

but yes like everyone else said, my teeth are aligned pretty good and when I hit the button it takes a few feet to get it to click in. turn the radio off, and stick your head out the window, you will hear it engage.

disengaging it sometimes can be a bit more tricky. when i want to disengage it, the most sure fire way is to hit the button, turn the wheel sharply to one direction, put it in reverse and give the gas a tap. same thing, stic your head out and you can hear it click out. takes about a foot to get it to unlock

 

I thought this was going to be a tutorial. The title is confusing.

 

I used it successfully last year backing up a snow packed two track. That was the one and only time I tried it. Of course, I can't remember what I did. This time I wanted to practice to make sure I knew how to use it if the ever needed it. Thanks again.

 

Should be a instruction thing on the driver side arm rest. Might just be warning though.

I don't hear it click so much when I engage it, but when I disengage, you hear and feel it. (1st gen pre runner)

 

Tried again tonight on a dirt/gravel road in my 2014.

Went from 4Hi - N - 4Lo and diff lock selected - drove fwd in low for ~6' until it engaged and the 4Lo light stayed on - drove straight forward for another few feet with diff lock light flashing until it locked.

Worked as advertised. Didn't even have to steer to get the diff to lock. Glad I know how to get it done quickly now.

 

Interesting.

I read this thread a few days back and for shits and giggles today, I tried to engage the rear locker because I havent messed with it since I bought the truck.

4w high works, 4w low works, (you can hear/feel them engage/disengage) but I cant get the locker to lock. I tried rocking forwards and backwards, and turning the wheel, but the light just kept blinking.

I was wondering how far I actually had to rock the truck back and forth before it should engage?

:beer:

 

From what I've been reading if you don't use it you..... lose it.

Maybe keep trying to break it free?

I'm digging the MK2 GLI avatar. Watercooled VW is my first love as well.

 

Ill have to mess with it more after work tonight.

Thanks. Thats my fun car.

 

They can get gummed up and need cleaning and the electrical connections are poorly soldered from the factory; there's a tutorial somewhere in this forum that shows you how to disassemble, clean, re-solder the tabs for the motor, re-lube, reassemble and re-install the locker.

 

Thanks. I'll have to look for it

:beer:

 

Yes, just follow the procedure in the owner's manual; but pay close attention. to having the transmission in neutral. I know mine, like to be in neutral to fully lock in.

If it still won't go in, again follow the steps and rock the truck back and forth a bit from drive to reverse; then go back to neutral and turn the engine off.
Sometimes mine goes right in; by doing this. Then start back up, check the 4-low light and the red locker light, it may just go in.

Same thing going back to un-lock and 2WD. Just by turning off the engine and starting it back up, sometimes relieves any pressure on the gears.

It is worth a try.

oldracer

 

Left/right...left/right...up/down...up/down..select...start.


Damn...do I have to throw in some holy water too...lol.


I don't remember having so many problems engaging the locker on my 1st gen.


RJM

 

Well, I got it to work.

My brain hasn't been working all week it seems.

I decided to re-read my owners manual. It seems the clutch needs to be pressed in completely for everything to work. I assumed (something about an ass, you, and me) the truck just needed to be in neutral to be shifted into L4.

Turns out the blinking / beeping L4 indicator means it NOT engaged.

I pushed the clutch in to the floor, shifted it into L4, and behold, L4 engaged.

Wow. So simple.

So...

I pushed the clutch in the whole way again, hit the RR diff lock button, and guess what, the light blinked. I rolled forward about 2 feet with the wheels turn then I heard a small pop outside. The diff locked and the light stayed lit.

I feel dumb, but man am I glad everything works.

:beer: