ARB locker knockoff... Temping.

[UnderFire]

just a slight point of contention. an ARB is far from failure proof. in fact, they will almost certainly leak, at the minimum. even properly set up, eventually the seal will leak. its just how it goes with that design.

Fair enough. My preference is a mechanical locker that replaces the carrier entirely, like a Detroit, grizzly, etc. They are the least likely to fail out of anything, but have their drivability drawbacks that turn off a lot of people.

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[Bumbo]

just a slight point of contention. an ARB is far from failure proof. in fact, they will almost certainly leak, at the minimum. even properly set up, eventually the seal will leak. its just how it goes with that design.

One thing I have learned in my days is that high end toys take high end money to maintain. Trucks to race cars… only thing that really gets punished is my wallet. If I can't afford to maintain it properly, I don't buy it.

Slow air leaks and the occasional cycling of a compressor while very annoying, would be far from a catastrophic failure which would prevent operation. If it is a regular occurrence and something that happens with age, then I would look at that from a maintenance and increased cost of ownership standpoint.

 

[TCMach]

just a slight point of contention. an ARB is far from failure proof. in fact, they will almost certainly leak, at the minimum. even properly set up, eventually the seal will leak. its just how it goes with that design.

There are problems with all of them. Elockers get stuck locked, electrical connectors go bad or get corroded. ARBs can leak. Mechanicals can lock up when you really don't want them too. Pick your poison really.

Most failure proof? Probably an elocker with a chilkat cable. I dunno

 

[nevada]

One thing I have learned in my days is that high end toys take high end money to maintain. Trucks to race cars… only thing that really gets punished is my wallet. If I can't afford to maintain it properly, I don't buy it.

Slow air leaks and the occasional cycling of a compressor while very annoying, would be far from a catastrophic failure which would prevent operation. If it is a regular occurrence and something that happens with age, then I would look at that from a maintenance and increased cost of ownership standpoint.

There are problems with all of them. Elockers get stuck locked, electrical connectors go bad or get corroded. ARBs can leak. Mechanicals can lock up when you really don't want them too. Pick your poison really.

Most failure proof? Probably an elocker with a chilkat cable. I dunno

correct on both accounts.
knowing even the quality stuff can fail makes choosing a knockoff even worse.

 

[mesooohoppy]

just a slight point of contention. an ARB is far from failure proof. in fact, they will almost certainly leak, at the minimum. even properly set up, eventually the seal will leak. its just how it goes with that design.

as someone who is thinking about upgrading to a front airlocker in the future (not for a while), this has me worried. i quick google search shows you are not wrong.

are there any e lockers for the front? i did a quick google search and didnt see anything.

 

[Team_Jake]

as someone who is thinking about upgrading to a front airlocker in the future (not for a while), this has me worried. i quick google search shows you are not wrong.

are there any e lockers for the front? i did a quick google search and didnt see anything.

There are no factory e-lockers for the reverse clamshell 7.5" diff. Harrop / Eaton do make an e-locker, but they are $450 more than the ARB. There is also one major mechanical design flaw in that when you change from forward to reverse (or vise versa) the locker disengages for nearly half an axle rotation.

Honestly the most tried and true front selectable locker you are going to find is the ARB, there is a reason it is the most popular out there. If you really don't want to deal with possiblily of leaking air-lines then I suggest you look at a non-selectable Detroit Locker.

Each locker has it's advantages and disadvantages, figure out which are important to you and make the best decision for yourself.

 

[mesooohoppy]

There are no factory e-lockers for the reverse clamshell 7.5" diff. Harrop / Eaton do make an e-locker, but they are $450 more than the ARB. There is also one major mechanical design flaw in that when you change from forward to reverse (or vise versa) the locker disengages for nearly half an axle rotation.

Honestly the most tried and true front selectable locker you are going to find is the ARB, there is a reason it is the most popular out there. If you really don't want to deal with possiblily of leaking air-lines then I suggest you look at a non-selectable Detroit Locker.

Each locker has it's advantages and disadvantages, figure out which are important to you and make the best decision for yourself.

the disengagement part doesnt seem so bad, but at that price it almost seems as if they should have figured it out.

i will have to do more research on where the air locker specifically fails. if its a part of a line that can be easily replaced outside of the diff, i dont think that would be that bad; versus something that requires cracking the diff open.

i dont mind shelling out $$ for a superior product, but if a failing seal is as common as a quick google search makes it look, it makes me question if ARB is really is as good as people praise them to be. again, i havent done anymore research then a quick google and read a couple of threads, so im not well versed in air locker leaks.

 

[Bumbo]

as someone who is thinking about upgrading to a front airlocker in the future (not for a while), this has me worried. i quick google search shows you are not wrong.

are there any e lockers for the front? i did a quick google search and didnt see anything.

I wouldn’t be worried unless you are going to cut-rate shops or installers. I work with a very reputable gear shop that has experience installing these. I would find a good shop, make sure they warranty the install and are accountable for the quality and re-work if there are any issues. I would even negotiate an extended warranty on labor if you were worried.

From my experience many shops don’t provide a labor warranty on customer supplied parts. Make sure you know their policy in this regard. I don’t go out of my way to source my own parts, I get it from the shop, and expect them to take care of me.

The ARB lockers are pretty popular… I also keep in mind that the volume of problem threads per units sold is probably well within reason. People tend not to write threads about when things work as expected.

With all the research I have done myself, its still the best option for a selectable front locker if on a street truck. If I wasn’t going to get that, it would be the Harrop, and then a Torsen style mechanical LSD which be a great option as well depending on what type of off-road you do.

I would avoided a mechanical locker on a street truck, especially up front.

 

[APhelps]

The ARB lockers are pretty popular… I also keep in mind that the volume of problem threads per units sold is probably well within reason. People tend not to write threads about when things work as expected.

Also to note a lot of people complain about things when they don't have a clue what they are doing when installing.

 

[Bumbo]

Also to note a lot of people complain about things when they don't have a clue what they are doing when installing.

I get what you are saying… I think a lot of ARB bad press might come from a poor or botched install. I’m not saying things can’t go wrong over time, I am sure there is maintenance related issues which are age related, but that might apply to a lot of things too.

Totally unrelated, but your comment reminded me of some bad reviews on Amazon for some jumper cables. Someone left a 1 star review because their jumper cables did not include instructions. I thought that was pretty entertaining.

 

[APhelps]

I get what you are saying… I think a lot of ARB bad press might come from a poor or botched install. I’m not saying things can’t go wrong over time, I am sure there is maintenance related issues which are age related, but that might apply to a lot of things too.

Totally unrelated, but your comment reminded me of some bad reviews on Amazon for some jumper cables. Someone left a 1 star review because their jumper cables did not include instructions. I thought that was pretty entertaining.

Exactly. I really wish people wouldn't post information on things they don't understand. A good example of this is the retainer flipping on rear axle seals, while it helps to give you some press room it doesn't actually solve any real problem. I'd imagine a lot of people who install air lockers don't check their fittings and air lines with soapy water to verify tightness.

If you need instructions with jumper cables, jumper cables aren't for you.

 

[nevada]

I get what you are saying… I think a lot of ARB bad press might come from a poor or botched install. I’m not saying things can’t go wrong over time, I am sure there is maintenance related issues which are age related, but that might apply to a lot of things too.

Totally unrelated, but your comment reminded me of some bad reviews on Amazon for some jumper cables. Someone left a 1 star review because their jumper cables did not include instructions. I thought that was pretty entertaining.

hopefully not to derail the thread too much further..

I read a review for something, they gave it one star. then explained why. they admitted to using it wrong, and then it failed. thus, one star. lol. dummies.

 

[TCMach]

If its a google review I like to look at their other reviews and then see what I think about them. Usually 1 star reviewers have a history of being a sad sack.

Also FWIW my front ARB has never leaked. Fingers crossed. Almost 2 years in now.

 

[APhelps]

If its a google review I like to look at their other reviews and then see what I think about them. Usually 1 star reviewers have a history of being a sad sack.

Also FWIW my front ARB has never leaked. Fingers crossed. Almost 2 years in now.

I'd imagine it isn't going to leak unless something happens.

It is mind blowing though the amount of people who don't check their fittings/lines for tightness during and after installation. I'd imagine a lot of people have pin hole leaks and just assume everything is fine. Kind of like the people who hear noises and then just assume everything is fine until they grenade part of their vehicle and then wonder what happened.

 

[JWaldz]

Also FWIW my front ARB has never leaked. Fingers crossed. Almost 2 years in now.

7 going on 8 years and no issues from my front ARB/geared diff. It was built by ECGS.

 

[TCMach]

7 going on 8 years and no issues from my front ARB/geared diff. It was built by ECGS.

Ditto