Hi, i am new to the forums. I recently bought a 98 disco and i love it so far. I went off roading over the weekend up some pretty steep hills and through sand. I found it tought since my locking differential does not engage, and i was wondering if it had to do with fluid leaking from the differentials. How do i refill the fluid in the differential and is that why it isn't locking? Thanks.

 

All the leaking fluid is going to do is leave your mark.
Eventually when it is empty then you will need new diffs.
You cant lock your CDL because the linkage is seized, crawl under the truck and have a friend wiggle the shifter, then spray the linkage with Liquid Wrench or Deep Creep (made by CRC), keep working the shifter until it works.
If it is totally seized then we need to go another route.
Go to the autoparts store and buy 7 quarts of 85w-140 gear lube and a hand pump, any cheap pump will work.
Then take a 1/2" rachet and on each diff is a square plug, remove the top one, that is the fill/check plug, then remove the bottom one, that is the drain plug.
It will be easier if the back wheels are on ramps.
Replace the drain plug and then pump in new gear lube until it comes out of the fill/check hole.
Replace the plug.
Front diff is the same way.
As for the t-case, the fill/check plug is on the back of the transfer case at about the 10 o'clock position, remove it.
Then remove the drain plug, that takes a standard socket.
Once it is all drained replae the drain plug and then pump the t-case full of gear lube until it comes out of the fill/check hole.
Recycle your old gear lube and you are done.
If it continues to leak then let us know and we will address that then.

 

Worked great! Thanks! Just sprayed wd40 all over the mechanism and pin, worked the shift for about half an hour, now it slides right in. The locking differential light is coming on now. Is there a confirmation that the locking diff is engaged besides the light that comes on, like a clunking sound? Should i just trust the feel of the car and the signal of the light?

 

You are aware that when you move the shifter to the lock position you're locking the center differential in the transfer case, not your axle differentials. It sounded like you had the 2 confused. The Disco uses 3 differentials. Front axle, rear axle and transfer case. By using a differential in the transfer case it allows the Disco to be full time 4x4 without the drivelines binding on dry pavement. When you lock the CDL it is like engaging 4x4 on a part time system. Your traction will increase but it's really hard on the drive line on dry surface. General rule is if the tires can't slip then you don't need the CDL locked.

Make sure to move the shifter through all the positions about once a month to keep the linkage from binding up again. Engage hi-lock, lo and lo-lock. I usually go in a circle pattern. Hi to hi-lock to lo-lock to lo back to hi. Clockwise so that everything gets used. During trail season it won't be a problem since you'll use lo-lock quite a bit.

 

So now go drive it, if you want more traction then it will be time to add 1 or 2 lockers in the diffs.

 

Those kind of remarks are the ones that make this forum so much fun, and I mean it. I really enjoy people with a good sense of humor. Keep it up. I am actually collecting some very good remarks from Mike and AK Rover as well.

 

Great thanks i understand the center differential lock now. What i plan to do next is replace the oil in the transfer case. I need to know the viscosity of the oil and were the fittings are to drain and fill it. Thanks again.

 

85w-140 gear lube.

 

Question: what do lockers do, anyway?

 

Lockers in the axles lock the axle shafts together so that both tires on an axle turn rather than just the one with the least traction. A limited slip uses clutches and only locks when one wheel is spinning a certain amount faster than the other. A locker uses gears and is locked all the time except when a sufficient load is put on it to unlock such as in a turn on dry roads. I'm sure someone else can explain better but that's how I understand it.