Thanks for your replay.
I havent done these adjustments-installations myself.I m not that technically inclined.
On Wednesday I ll go to the mechanic again,since I ll have also a Calmini LSD installed in the front diff.We will check also the torque and backlash for the rear diff.If the set up was loose,does this explains the more harsh sound of the locker when turning (reverse or not) and the vibration I feel ?

And another question.How many thrust washers are per each side gear ?2 or 1 ?
Can someone tell me whats the difference between a thrust washer and a shim when we are reffering to the side gears?
Also can someone give me the torque load for the ring and pinion .....

I don't remember the shims/thrust washers, I
did as little to the setup as I could so as to not
have problems while running, my trucklet is a DD
and I wanted it to be reliable.

I don't know the Suzuki spec for torque on the pinion
nut, but some other diffs with crush sleves go to 250-300
Ft Lbs before the sleve crushes down, then it drops
down to where it's supposed to be, I think the crush sleve
is a weird design, seems strange to have to torque
the thing so high just to crush down a sleve to keep
the pinion at the right preload.  

Backlash is a pinion to ring gear adjustment, has nothing
to do with the locker, however if you get the shims and
thrust washers too tight/wrong in the diff, this could cause
the strange goings on in the rearend.

Pinion preload is around 5 inch lbs rotational. and yes it can take up to 350# to get the sleeve to start to crush but once it starts the preload can increase quick. Pull your rear shaft and check to make sure the pinion nut didnt back off (ie) there should be an area on the nut that could be peened into a flat on the pinion itself. I have seen these come loose generally it has been with a spool though.

A manual locker does add what feels like backlash. There is no way to reduce it because its designed that way. However I cant be sure that what you have happening is normal. I think its worth a double check.

Mike

thank you all for your replies.We ll check it tomorow or maybe even today.I ll post the checking results.

I discussed the problem with my mechanic this morning,read once more the installation guide,and we found something strange with the side gear thrust washers.We remember that the stock side gears had 2 thrust washers each.
On the other hand,Tractech manual and almost every article about locker installation (LockRight or Detroit EZ) I found ,says that the stock thrust washers are to be used and to put one thrust washer on each side gear. Maybe this is the reason (we put the 2 stock per side gear) that the locker was not unlocking easily on close turns (forward and reverse) ?
What is the correct thing to do

Well I went out to get the box that the
locker came in and guess what, no book
for instructions    but here is what's in
the box, 4 spider gears, 2 thrust ?? washers
they are dished and fit the spiders, 1 long
cross pin and 2 half size cross pins, that's
it, so I guess 2 of the washers are in the
diff right now, sorry I can't remember more,
I did this 2 years ago so I''m doing good
to find the box with my old stuff in it  

hope this helps
Darrin

Thanks for your help.I think there's a bit of confusion related with the "thrust washers".(Or I am consfused with the techical terminology) .From a small research on the net ,about installation descriptions of lockers,I found that in some articles thrust washer is called the thin shim that goes outside of the side gear but also the spacer (thick)  that goes with each clutch.The thrust washers I m reffering to,are the ones that go with the side gear.If I understand correctly,what you are saying is that in your diff now ,there should be one thrust washer on each side gear.... So I guess I ll leave one thrust washer on each side gear too.I m also waiting an answer from Tractech.

The steps in both the Detroit and the Lock Rite EZ locker walk you through steps to remove the spider gears, replace them with the locker and reassemble your axle exactly as it came apart. The 1 or 2 washers that you are speaking of I believe are the shims removed from the spider gears or did you install the 5.83's at the same time?
Zig

Well , yes,I m speaking of the shims that go with the spider gears.The 5,83's were installed 5 months ago.And when we opened the diff recently to install the locker,we saw that there were 2 shims on each spider gear( the stock ones).

Well , yes,I m speaking of the shims that go with the spider gears.The 5,83's were installed 5 months ago.And when we opened the diff recently to install the locker,we saw that there were 2 shims on each spider gear( the stock ones).

If I remember correctly, the shims should be placed on the locker gears before you install them (according to instructions ) But on my lockrite we had to use one of the two shims to make it fit (to tight with both). I had never had a rear end apart when I installed mine, went by the directions, and it is still working fine after many years. I do remember thinking that something was wrong due to the bucking (unloading) effect you get when turning. Then I learned how to drive with a locker and it's fine.
When you are turning, try to keep a constant throttle position, on gas or of gas, throughout your turn. If you try to neuteal throttle, or change from on to off the gas is when you get the bucking from the locker unloading.

HTH,
Zig

If I remember correctly, the shims should be placed on the locker gears before you install them (according to instructions ) But on my lockrite we had to use one of the two shims to make it fit (to tight with both). I had never had a rear end apart when I installed mine, went by the directions, and it is still working fine after many years. I do remember thinking that something was wrong due to the bucking (unloading) effect you get when turning. Then I learned how to drive with a locker and it's fine.
When you are turning, try to keep a constant throttle position, on gas or of gas, throughout your turn. If you try to neuteal throttle, or change from on to off the gas is when you get the bucking from the locker unloading.

HTH,
Zig

Thanks Zig.Yes first the shims were placed on the side gears.
Well,I also learned how to drive with a locker and still learning.When turning I m trying to keep constant throttle position.I saw that whenever I change the throttle position inside the turn,I have that bucking.Now when its not possible to keep it at a constant position (90' turns in city with much traffic for example) I m disengaging the clutch.Now with the  bucking effect,I m still having some difficulty when I m trying to park or turn on reverse,since I  try to keep a balance between throttle and  clutch  here.So when I m ready to park and finally disengage the clutch when the truck is still moving slightly,here I have that bucking effect.But this is normal,as you describe.
The problem is that I dont have the same "clicking" sound on both sides everytime ,when the locker unlocks.Furthermore as I mentioned in a previous post,I can feel that backlash has increased or at least something is more loose than it was in the past.My mechanic agrees.We will check it tomorrow finally.But his theory is the following: We installed the 5,83 r&p's 4 months ago aprox.and we used new crush sleeves,bearings,e.t.c
Recently we installed the locker with 2 shims on each side gear instead of 1.From the begining the locker was operating well but sometimes under increased throttle it produced a more hard "clicking".My mechanic thinks that 1.After a period of operation ,the new parts,bearings,e.t.c got slightly loose which is normal.
2.The locker with the 2 shims on each side gear was operating under stress(periodically or not) ,and thus passing the stress to the side bearings of the diff,
with  the final result of some more loosening in the diff/parts.I dont know if this affects the ring.
Anyway,he told me something like that as he tried to describe the cause of the problem.I m not a mechanic.Furthermore ,he doesn't think that there's any damage ,since the diff ,under normal driving conditions (or when driving on a straight line) produces no strange or loud sounds,and the locker when the truck is lifted engages and disengages smoothly.We ll know by tomorrow.One question that I have is this: the 2 shims that are now on the side gears are not of the same thickness.Which one should I leave on each side gear,the thicker one?

I have none of the bad driving problems you
are having with your locker, and my settings
have not changed for over 2 years, I think you
got the shims in wrong or have too many, under
no power the side gear is allowed to ratchet, that is
the locker part moves inward to allow the teeth
on the locker and the sidegear to slip, but only
one side at a time is able to do this, when power
is applied the cross pins push the locker parts out
and into the side gears, not allowing the gears to
slip and locking the axle as if it were a spool, you
got somthing a little off, I wouldn't worry about the
health of the locker, but I'm worried about your
vibration and the Ring and pinion.  Let us know.

Darrin

Yes,I m also worried about the ring and pinion....
I think that the cause of the problem might be a combination of the following:
1.2 shims per side gear installed.wrong.
Maybe the 2 shims during turns for example dont allow the locker part to move inwards and get the space it needs and thus the lockerpart teeth and sidegear operate under stress and very-very close close.Cause I dont have problem when it locks,but when it tries to unlock one wheel or another especially at 90 turns or very low speed.
2.Maybe the stress produced by the bad operation of the locker (due to mistake during installation) passed to the side parts in the differential and gave this "loose" effect..I dont know.....
I ll know tomorrow and I ll tell you.I just hope that everything is o.k in there,and that all it needs is the one extra shim to be removed and to re-adjust the ring.