Locker opinions wanted

daniresch said:
Now I'm curious, leaking from where?
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Sean K. said:
That would indicate that ECGS may be the problem....good installation is key.
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I've talked at length with Chase from ECGS about this. It is not a set-up issue. It's an ARB issue. Basically the bonded seals have been leaking. ECGS does 75% of ARBs business in the US.

Chase has built a test jig that allows ECGS to look at the leak. If you rotate the seal 180 degrees the leak follows the seal. ARB changed something in the manufacturing of that seal about 16 months ago. That's when the bonded seal started having issues.

If it fully fails it can prevent the locker from engaging. Mine is just a slow leak that causes the compressor to cycle every 6-30 seconds. It's gong back to ECGS at some point but it hasn't stopped my locker from working or me from wheeling.
 
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Great info everyone. I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do. I haven't heard of the air leak issues with the ARB but that's concerning.

I'd consider a e-locker but the age of them is starting to worry me. Maybe I'll just stay open after all. LOL
 
Silver Supra said:
Great info everyone. I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do. I haven't heard of the air leak issues with the ARB but that's concerning.

I'd consider a e-locker but the age of them is starting to worry me. Maybe I'll just stay open after all. LOL
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If you lived closer I would have you pop over. You are going to rebuild the diff if you go ARB and I would do the same if you go elocker. The actuators for the elocker are pretty easy to rebuild and cheaper than a compressor. And you can manually engage them too.
 
theesotericone said:
I've talked at length with Chase from ECGS about this. It is not a set-up issue. It's an ARB issue. Basically the bonded seals have been leaking. ECGS does 75% of ARBs business in the US.

Chase has built a test jig that allows ECGS to look at the leak. If you rotate the seal 180 degrees the leak follows the seal. ARB changed something in the manufacturing of that seal about 16 months ago. That's when the bonded seal started having issues.

If it fully fails it can prevent the locker from engaging. Mine is just a slow leak that causes the compressor to cycle every 6-30 seconds. It's gong back to ECGS at some point but it hasn't stopped my locker from working or me from wheeling.
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This*

Nils at Bull Built Differentials said the same thing. ARB had a bad batch of seals for their lockers. At first, ARB thought they just had some user installation error. But Nils worked for ARB for a number of years, knew the product front to back, and knows how to properly install them. When he installed mine, he threw in a different *known good* seal, and I have had no problems at all.

If you go through someone like ECGS, or someone like Bull Built, they will be aware of the issue and should be able to tell you if it got sorted.
 
theesotericone said:
I've talked at length with Chase from ECGS about this. It is not a set-up issue. It's an ARB issue. Basically the bonded seals have been leaking. ECGS does 75% of ARBs business in the US.

Chase has built a test jig that allows ECGS to look at the leak. If you rotate the seal 180 degrees the leak follows the seal. ARB changed something in the manufacturing of that seal about 16 months ago. That's when the bonded seal started having issues.

If it fully fails it can prevent the locker from engaging. Mine is just a slow leak that causes the compressor to cycle every 6-30 seconds. It's gong back to ECGS at some point but it hasn't stopped my locker from working or me from wheeling.
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Might be an ARB design problem for the Toyota third then. Did ARB change the seals for the ENTIRE line up or just the Toyota thirds?

Not saying it's not the ARB design, but I've run something like 7 ARBs (I think 2 or 3 in Toyotas) in 22 years....no issues other than vibration causing the canister on the compressor to loosen and leak at the oring on the canister....and burning one plastic air line while welding.
 
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Road Bull said:
This*

Nils at Bull Built Differentials said the same thing. ARB had a bad batch of seals for their lockers. At first, ARB thought they just had some user installation error. But Nils worked for ARB for a number of years, knew the product front to back, and knows how to properly install them. When he installed mine, he threw in a different *known good* seal, and I have had no problems at all.

If you go through someone like ECGS, or someone like Bull Built, they will be aware of the issue and should be able to tell you if it got sorted.
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So it was a bad batch of seals or it was a bad design? What was the problem with the bonded seal?....different manufacturer or different design?

So one's built prior to 16 months ago (from the other post) are okay?
 
Sean K. said:
So one's built prior to 16 months ago (from the other post) are okay?
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Exactly. ECGS has "new" seals that they are putting in any lockers that have this issue. So far it seems to affect the RD132 and RD90 the most. Both share the same seal. It could be affecting others as well but I'm a Toyota guy so those are what I have. lol
 
I will give ECGS a call on Monday and make sure this is an issue that has been resolved before I do anything.

I was initially leaning toward the Harrop, but everyone recommends the ARB over it.
 
For someone who doesn't do big rocks, but daily drives and Overlands with his rig, would you recommend dual TrueTrac diffs, or a single rear ARB?
 
Lindenwood said:
For someone who doesn't do big rocks, but daily drives and Overlands with his rig, would you recommend dual TrueTrac diffs, or a single rear ARB?
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I would recommend a single rear TruTrac, that's what I have and it's very competent. Plus it's half the price of doing both, unless you plan on also re-gearing at the same time. I like that it's "always on" and does not hinder pavement driving at all. In fact, it makes pavement driving even better.
 
gamefreakgc said:
I would recommend a single rear TruTrac, that's what I have and it's very competent. Plus it's half the price of doing both, unless you plan on also re-gearing at the same time. I like that it's "always on" and does not hinder pavement driving at all. In fact, it makes pavement driving even better.
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How big of an improvement over the stock rear is the TT ?
 
theesotericone said:
Exactly. ECGS has "new" seals that they are putting in any lockers that have this issue. So far it seems to affect the RD132 and RD90 the most. Both share the same seal. It could be affecting others as well but I'm a Toyota guy so those are what I have. lol
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Are they putting the new seals in before end user buys it or after when it starts leaking and user has to pull it and send it back?
 
D'arce said:
I like the idea of eventually converting my e-locker to manual. Pretty much eliminates all the failure points except the locker itself lol. I just don't like the lever that gets mounted in the cab. Freaking ginormous.

https://www.chilkatdesigns.com/E-Racer.html
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Ox lockers have used cables for years....as did the old overseas version of the FJ40 cable lockers....and they can still fail to engage/disengage due to cable adjustment issues.
 
Sean K. said:
So it was a bad batch of seals or it was a bad design? What was the problem with the bonded seal?....different manufacturer or different design?

So one's built prior to 16 months ago (from the other post) are okay?
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I believe it was just a bad batch of seals. I don't know too many more details about it. ECGS should be able to tell you a bit better as they deal in high volume and have a vested interest in not having a bunch of their built diffs coming back to them. From my understanding, ARB took steps to address the issue, but I can't say much about any details as I don't know.
 
I just wanted to update this thread.

I ended up going with an E-locker swap with 4.30 gears which replaced my 4.10's. I have to say that the 4.30's feel quite a bit better than the 4.10's I didn't expect it to be as noticeable as it is.

Swapping the front diff was sort of a PITA, but [MENTION=120071]mtbtim[/MENTION]'s video really helped.

I also had to put new boots on my CV's since they tore shortly after lifting.
The combination of new grease in the CV's and new fluid in both of my diff's has really made a big difference in vehicle vibrations. It's much smoother than before.

I was going to try and use OEM harnesses but my 4R wasn't pre-wired so I used the Low-Range Off-road harness which is awesome. It was super easy to install and works perfectly. My only complaint is that I think it should have a relay, which I am going to add - so that it isn't hot all the time. I LOVE being able to lock the diff anytime I want, even in 2WD.

I've been playing with the locker and noticed it takes a little time to engage and disengage, just like 4WD - esp when it has load on it. I assume this is normal. If I were wheeling I think I would need to lock the diff before I get into the gnarly stuff.

Overall I'm super happy with it and love that it's OEM stuff under the truck.
 
I've run ARB's lockers front and rear on my 04R since 2005. Supplied by ECGS. Never a problem. ECGS did my ARB while installing my 4.56 gears.

My new axles (Dana 60's) will run 5.39's and ARB's also because I have been completely happy with these lockers.
 
Silver Supra said:
I just wanted to update this thread.

I ended up going with an E-locker swap with 4.30 gears which replaced my 4.10's. I have to say that the 4.30's feel quite a bit better than the 4.10's I didn't expect it to be as noticeable as it is.

Swapping the front diff was sort of a PITA, but @mtbtim's video really helped.

I also had to put new boots on my CV's since they tore shortly after lifting.
The combination of new grease in the CV's and new fluid in both of my diff's has really made a big difference in vehicle vibrations. It's much smoother than before.

I was going to try and use OEM harnesses but my 4R wasn't pre-wired so I used the Low-Range Off-road harness which is awesome. It was super easy to install and works perfectly. My only complaint is that I think it should have a relay, which I am going to add - so that it isn't hot all the time. I LOVE being able to lock the diff anytime I want, even in 2WD.

I've been playing with the locker and noticed it takes a little time to engage and disengage, just like 4WD - esp when it has load on it. I assume this is normal. If I were wheeling I think I would need to lock the diff before I get into the gnarly stuff.

Overall I'm super happy with it and love that it's OEM stuff under the truck.
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lock it in while moving. maybe even rock the wheel back and forth a bit. it will take longer to engage if the gear teeth aren't aligned. you need to let each axle rotate a bit differently to let them mesh correctly.
 
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