Mitsubishi Factory rear air locker

[jessef]

Unfortunately, someone on the assembly line was sleeping and forgot to install Mitsu factory air lockers in the L300/L400 rear diffs.

Fortunately, there are alternatives.

1. ARB makes aftermarket lockers if you have the $$$ for both the purchase and $$$ install/setup :

http://www.delica.ca/forum/arb-differen ... -3622.html

2. Some Mitsubishi Montero/Pajero's came with factory fitted rear differential air lockers

- 1994 to 1998 Montero 'SR' Model with 3.5 DOHC V6 came with factory locker
- 1998 to 2001 Montero Sport Model - Only a few of them. I've only seen/heard of two. Ever.
- 1992 to 1998 JDM Pajero SWB/LWB - 50% of them (guesstimate) came with factory fitted rear locker.

All of the above have a few things in common :

-9.5" differential carrier
-hub to hub identical parts (except Montero Sport model has leaf springs as opposed to coil springs)
-Same ECU
-Same wiring
-Same switch / 4x4 diff lock display
-Same compressor

The Delica L300 has an 8.5" rear end, so this would not work.

Some Spacegear L400's have a 9" rear end, so this would not work in those.

The only Spacegear L400's that this factory swap would work in, are the Royal Exceed's and some factory option installed Super Exceed's with the open or limited slip differential (LSD) that is 9.5".

So I've been hunting high and low for a parts Montero that has the rear locker. This is difficult to do in Canada because they were never imported via Mitsubishi. However, there are a few around since they are as common as Coke bottles down in the US.

What you needed from the donor vehicle :

Complete 3rd member
Left hand side axle shaft (it's shorter than the stock open diff axle shaft)

To complete the whole setup, I took the following as well :

Air compressor (under the rear seat/passenger side)
Electric/Air cabling/hose from diff to the compressor
Electric cabling from air compressor to the ECU
ECU (control unit / left side behind jump seats)
R/D (rear locker toggle switch - beside cigarette lighter in center console)
Dash cluster (will remove the small Superselect 4WD indicator and put it in place of the non-diff lock one in the L400)
Wiring between ECU (rear of the vehicle) R/D switch (front of the vehicle) * if I can get it all out. If not, I'll color code it.

Luckily, I was able to get the entire rear axle assembly from hub to hub.

Initially, I thought I would just bolt it all up as a straight axle swap but it won't. The perches, links and coils are different so the only option is to swap out the 3rd member, ring&pinion gears and the left side shorter axle shaft.

I will be removing the 3rd member as I have to swap out the ring gear (Montero - 4.632 vs. L400 - 4.90) to have the front differential and rear differential gear ratio identical. This is mandatory to operate the 4WD system safely.

I'm still nursing a broken ankle, so it will be a few weeks before I will tackle this project.

Because the L400 has the same driveline as the Montero, all of the components I am swapping over are factory Mitsubishi, so technically, this will be a factory optional rear differential locker for the L400.

I'll post pics/update when I get started.

[mararmeisto]

Sorry, so if I understand your post correctly your trying to put a diff-locker into your L400? And that's just in the rear? Can the front be locked as well, say with an ARB setup?

[loki]

Sorry, so if I understand your post correctly your trying to put a diff-locker into your L400? And that's just in the rear? Can the front be locked as well, say with an ARB setup?

I remember seeing people talking about that on the auz forum, it seems it is possible but I think it was pretty damn expensive, might have to swap out a ton of stuff.

edit:

here are a couple posts from the auz site.

Hi Mark,
I had ARB Lockers fitted in November on my 98 S2 LWB Diesel.

They took an educated guess on the lockers, they pulled out the front shaft and had guessed right.

When they pulled out the rear centre they found the diff was from a much older Pajero and had to get one up from Melbourne (one day delay).

I was very happy with the service and the result is awesome.

Parts
ARB front locker S/No. 09110492
ARB rear locker S/No. 09110767
Total cost $3,701.00 including compressor, air line and fittings to pump up the tyres.

It was fitted at Gold Coast 4x4 Accessories 07 5535 9223 contact Tony.

If ARB are fitting the lockers then they will sort it out when they pull the diffs.

Cheers
David

Hi Mark,
Here is some more info on my diff installed November 2009.

Mine is a 9" Diff (going on the pictures from the thread)
Rear RD46
Front RD110

Jason at Gold Coast 4x4 said it depends on the splines on the axles as to which locker they use.

Hope this helps

Cheers
David

i have a an ARB front locker in mine.
most delicas come factory with a 7.5 inch front diff, stamped KN4.

a NH Pajero front diff is stamped KN5 and is 8 inch , and lockers are freely available for those.
these will bolt into the Deli no problem , you will need to shorten the front propshaft by 10mm to make it fit.

be aware Pajeros come in 4.875 and 4.636 , you will need 4.636 most likely , check your compliance plate for diff ratio.

[loki]

here is a good post on how to identify which size rear diff you have.

http://www.delicaclub.com/viewtopic.php?p=147699#147699

The purpose of this thread is to help in rear diff identification for those considering putting a diff locker in, a special thanks and acknowledgment goes to club members V6, Strangerover and RT who have done all the hard work on diff locks and all have one or two.

There are two size diffs in the L400, an 8"diff (smaller) and a 9"diff (larger).
It is generally accepted that the following observations about which models have which size diff are reliable (should still be checked though).

Series 1
All V6's have 9"diff
All LWB's turbo diesels have 9" diff
All SWB's turbo diesels have 8"diff.

Series 2
All V6's have 9"diff
All LWB's turbo diesels have 9" diff
All SWB's turbo diesels have 9"diff but this needs to be confirmed.

It would be very helpful if owners of S2 diesels esp SWB could post some pics of their diff to confirm or otherwise the thought that S2 SWB may have migrated to the larger 9" diff.

There are two guaranteed ways of correctly identifying which diff you have.

First method is to measure the physical diameter of the circle drawn on the diagram, the smaller diff is 240mm and the larger is 280mm.
Smaller diff on a S1 SWB T/D is approx 240mm (Bear's diff)

Larger diff on a S1 LWB T/D is approx 280mm (Bubble's diff)


Second and perhaps the easiest method is to physically observe the termination point of the ribing on the axle assembly.
Smaller diff on a S1 SWB T/D the ribing terminates before the outer edge (Bear's diff)

Larger diff on a S1 LWB T/D the ribing terminates at the outer edge (Bubble's diff)


Once your diff is correctly identified the following rear lockers are available for the Delica.

All 9" rear diff's are 28 spline, 30.5mm axle dia, 12 bolt on 175mm PCD Ring Gear with 145mm ID. They definitely take the ARB RD46 Locker.
All 8" rear diff's are 28 spline, 30.5mm axle dia, 10 bolt on 150mm PCD Ring Gear with 124mm ID. This has been confirmed by WA member Bluedream who has an ARB locker (RD05) in his 8"diff)

A front locker is available from ARB RD110 which suits 28 spline, 28.8mm axle dia, 10 bolt on 150mm PCD Ring Gear with 124mm ID, but this requires getting a donor front axle from a Pajero. Club member V6 is the resident authority on front diffs.

[strangerover]

Just to help here....

The information on what diff is in what model is not always correct....

I tried to fit a front locker into mine... a 1994 Japanses model imported into the UK
It was a 2.8 TD with the 4.875 rear axle ratio and was a SWB..

I ended up giving up on it as I could not find the correct front axle anywhere in the UK !

[Spade J]

Did you started your rear locker project yet? I was curious how it turns out. I got back from 4x4ing at Vedder Mountain ATV trail today and I have been at tough spots where I wish I have all wheels locks to cruise out. With good spotters and bit bashed bull bar, I managed to get her out of tight spot.

So it wont work on SWB with 9" diameter, can it swap with 9.5 or it wont fit? I'm still learning lot of new stuff and really appreciated a lot.

[jessef]

I haven't had time to tackle it yet. Camperizing and veggie irst. Will update when I get on the locker project.

[Mr. Flibble]

Any word on the locker?

[jessef]

RD46 for the LWB with the 9" rear diff. Do it

[tonydca]

Anybody ever put one on a "regular" L400?

http://store.arbusa.com/ARB-Air-Locker- ... P3470.aspx

[pajerry]

I think you would need this one Tony

http://store.arbusa.com/ARB-Air-Locker- ... 3542.aspx


I've been toying with the idea of a front locker if I don't SAS it.

[tonydca]

Non-royal-exceeds (mine is a plain ol' Exceed) have the smaller 8" rear diff, like the uppers of the two sets of pics in the previous post, so the RD46 would not fit.

Just curious if anyone in NA has done the install on the smaller diff like mine.

[pajerry]

Thanks for clearing that up. Im not always down with the deli.

[jessef]

I put an rd05 into an L300 rear diff (same as the 8" rear diff on the L400).

If I were to do it again, I wouldn't. Too much hassle and trail/error work.

PM joe. If memory serves me well, he has an L300 rear 3rd member with an ARB locker already installed.

I would go and buy an open diff 3rd member for 100 bucks from a wrecker and take it into a diff shop to have them shim it up, drill&tap the air line and set the backlash all in one sitting. In the meantime you can route the air line, hook up the compressor and still be driving the van. When the diff is ready, pick it up and install it. Boom.

[tonydca]

PM sent.