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14 Bff Arb

mouse

mouse

1/2 ton status
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Nov 10, 2003
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Location
Great Falls Mt
Time for a locker...tired of using the winch to get out of semi-difficult spots. Has anyone here installed their own ARB in the 14BFF? I don't think it could be much more work than the detroit, but before I jump into it head first, I thought I would ask. Also, since I'm running 4:10 gears, is there any concern if I want to change gearing later?

THANKS!
 
Im still waiting on my ARB, I ordered it a few weeks ago. There is a carrier split in the ARB, well sort of. They only make it for 4.10 down. Im going 4.56, you just need to be mindful to order thick gearsets if your going that route (or numerically higher ratios). Part # is RD114. The cost right now is hovering somewhere around or a little less than $900 :deal: :yikes: And only a few places seem to be able to get a hold of them.

I should be finished the gear and axle swaps in a few weeks, but now I gotta move about 200 miles away from the Blazer. It just complicates things. Ill take a lot of pictures and notes, and post em up when Im done.
 
pics and coments for sure, please. I have a detroit out back and an ARB up front and am considering going all ARB, so i will be waiting for your input on this also. Thanks
 
The ARB should be substantially more involved to install than a Detroit. The Detroit requires absolutely no gear setup (if you are re-using the existing gears), the ARB will because it replaces the entire case. You also need to install the air lines, drill the housing, install the compressor etc...
 
The compressor and such are not an issue for me, I am mostly concerned with the installation at the differential. Please give us a detailed break down of your install....

Glad I have 4:10's now. I definitely wont go to a higher gear (lower number), but I may go to a lower gear............
 
hees talking about the 4.10 and down carrier, you can still run 4.56 4.88 and 5.13 Thick Gears
 
Even though you are replacing the whole carrier you don't have to reset the pinion depth you have to reset the backlash which on a 14b is really easy. From working on a couple of 14b I would say go for it it really isn't that hard. If you are really anal about stuff run a pattern before you take the stuff off and then run another one when you are done
 
Blazinzuk, thats the answer I was looking for. I can guess that I will need a dial indicator to measure backlash...right?

As far as a detroit goes, I like to drive in the snow. More specifically on narrow mountain roads with snow...and corners. I've seen one too many full-time locker put a truck over the side in that situation. I know the ARB will set me back more than $1000 with compressor, etc, but I need the selectability. Plus, snow are on the mountain trails here 9-10 months out of the year. I'm hoping to move to Co in the next couple of years, but until then, I have snow to deal with.
 
did you engage it half way up a torn up hill with shelfs at full power or what?
 
well, if your looking to regear soon, i got some 5.13 for 10b/14b thick :pimp: . jus look in the forsale section.

personally id get a detroit simply because they are pretty much indestructable. but i guess if you got the money lying around, go for the arb.
 
muddybuddy said:
well, if your looking to regear soon, i got some 5.13 for 10b/14b thick :pimp: . jus look in the forsale section.

personally id get a detroit simply because they are pretty much indestructable. but i guess if you got the money lying around, go for the arb.
Click to expand...


+1 on detroit for 14bff
 
darkshadow,

would you kindly point out that the picture you posted is not from your axle, and that you personally have no experience with ARBs, and therefore have no real-world input to contribute in this thread...

mouse, it's not much use posting about ARBs here, most people simply don't get it...
 
o i have no ral world experance but i have read a lot on them as i was close to buying a truck with two in them and they do seem to be inherantly week.

i saved that pic from a member who was drive on the street took off from a stop light (unlocked) and then had this hapin.

i contribut this to the thread because i wouldent want to spent 1000 bucks on something that is weaker that somethng half the price.

still it had options that others dont have so dispite the weekness if I had a real NEED to have a selectable locker and nothing elce would do i would get an arb also.
 
i saved that pic from a member who was drive on the street took off from a stop light (unlocked) and then had this hapin.
Click to expand...


I do have an ARB in my front 60 with a 454 and a 6000lb truck, and I ca't seem to break it in the AZ rocks. but I am also careful not to engage/disengage when the load is unequal on the axles shafts, like around corners and rough hills under power. If this picture was from just driving then i am going to have to think it was a falure due to other issues like bad install or maybe chunking a few teeth off of the ring gear and them getting chewwed up or something
I have a detroit in my 14blt now as there was no ARB for it whe i first did the truck, but in hindsight i would have gone ARB/ARB if it were available. I do love my detroit, don't get me wrong, it's tough as hell
 
it seem like a good product, a knowlageable friend of mine see the arb as a way NOT to brake axles, as the will have even power and one side wont breke loose and then grab, potentualy snapping the axle. seems like a good idea.
i have hurd the arb refered to as "enharently weak" by people who owned them.
but who knows what the member who did that in the pic was really doing, for all we know he was doing 4 wheel burn outs at the mall when it happened, and desided not to play it up so as not to look like an ass ( i dont think that is the case though)
 
I can't get too excited about a picture about a fragged D60 ARB unless I know the whole story.....

Could have been setup up completely wrong for all we know. The internet has always been a great way for a small minority of people to make a LOT of noise.

Making a decision to not buy a product based on a single photograph doesn't sound like very enlightened way to go. There are plenty of people on this site who run D60 ARBs with no issues, and I've never heard people talking about the ARB being a poor choice for a locker. Not the cheapest certainly, but a more elegant solution that a Detroit and with a couple of nice advantages too.


:thinking:


FWIW -> I'd love to try a 14BFF ARB, and if I ever swap out my Detroit for one, I will post it up for sale....CHEAP.
 
that pic isn't what i remember a d60 looking like, or are the rear housing just different than the fronts?
 
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