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Just how relaible are ARB lockers?

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**DONOTDELETE**

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One of my good friends works at Preformance Fabracation and I mentiond that I was looking into getting ARB's and he said that all they do is repair those things. So how reliable are they? Does anyone know when ARB is coming out with their locker for the 14 Bolt? Thanks 80K20
 
Every one of my friends with ARB's have had seal problems with them, but that may be due to lack of maintance , also ARB reccomends that you put a magnet in the drain plug to catch all the metal shavings. Personally im going with the OX trax.
 
Quite a few people in our club have ARB's and for the most part they seem relatively trouble free as long as they are installed correctly and have at least normal maintenance. I have seen one compressor fail on the trail which essentially makes the lockers inoperative, but it had been on a vehicle for several years and had very poor maitenance. The only other trouble was a leak in one of the lines on another vehicle, the locker would still engage but the compressor had to run a lot to keep the pressure up.
 
The oil in the diffs is supposed to be changed often. I heard, but have not experienced the seals inside the diff tend to leak. I have had my ARBs for (I think) five years now. I have not changed the oil yet. Hmmmm (sigh) another projects

I seem to have problems with the blue lines, especially the ones near the exhaust. I have since replaced the blue lines with copper.

I have also had problem where the blue line mounts into the adapter at the axle itself. Apparently these lines aren't really that flexy and most of the damage/flex stress happens right at the mount. I think a swivel adapter will really help here..

Regarding the pump turning on and off alot, I first experienced that one time, then I added a five gallon tank. This tank (if I have no leaks) lasts about one hour hitting the buttons on and off.

When I was on Snow run (~3 feet of snow) the lockers seemed to work intermittently. I think the lines get REALLY cold, and cannot develop the pressure required when the snow is hitting the axle. /forums/images/icons/frown.gif Then again, our trail boss had ARBs in his front, and he had no problems.
When I got home ~60 degrees. They worked fine.

With all the above said,

I really LOVE the selectable lockers. I go to Tahoe often in the winter for skiing. I am SO HAPPY that I don’t have a full time locker in the rear. The truck is much more stable on the street snow. Just for fun, while I was going to Tahoe on the street snow, I tried the lockers and they worked…. Go figure. I guess the ARB’s don’t like the EXTREME snow.

Also, it is much easier to steer on the trail with them off, and then when I need it for a tough spot, I hit the button. It's kinda' fun to tackle a spot with both open... then when I determine that I am either holding up the line, or that this spot on the trail will take some aggressive throttle, I just hit the rear (or front) and walk over it.

Oh yeah, if there was an electric (or other mechanical actuated) locker available for my axles (or future axles). I would go with those. But then again, I will always have an air pump on board in some fashion.

Any other Q's let me know....

Sorry for the bandwidth.
 
ARB in the rear 10 for 3 years, mild to medium trail use; no problem with the locker, but I change oil in the diff rather frequently (at every second oil change, and after a trip w/ water crossings), and I have an aluminum diff cover with higher oil capacity (and cap support) to reduce heat.

About half a year after the initial install, my compressor was coming on frequently; reason was a leaky rubber O-ring/gasket at the little air tank right on the compressor. A new rubber O-ring and some vacuum grease solved that - no more leaks, and no more erratic compressor behavior.

I had to patch the blue air line recently - problem is related to my installation of headers. It had gotten very hot where the pass side header passes by the frame rail, and that radiant heat melted the line. I have the line routed to the outside of the frame rail for now, until I get around to install a heat shield.

Ditto on the ease of driving in various conditions with a selectable locker. And I truly enjoyed my first donut in the desert sand out in the Anza Borrego, 2WD, rear locked...../forums/images/icons/cool.gif ...of course, here in Nebraska, I don't really need the ARB anymore /forums/images/icons/frown.gif
 
Well, it is obvious they work well but are prone to maintenance issues and/or failure. They are the 'best of both worlds' but I'll keep my Detroits............
 
I bet a larger line, something like the common semi trucks use, may help with the winter operation.
less prone to ice blockage
 
Interesting, do you think the line itself (insides) is getting ICED!

I keep thinking my little leaks at the fittings ends just leaked more when everything got cold....

Hmmm... someday, I will look into it more.
Thanks for the insight!
 
when you compress air you get water.
I am not familiar with the ARB set up but doubt it has a dryer
 
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