HELP. Broke my front diff at Moab. (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Joined
Jul 15, 2018
Threads
6
Messages
60
Location
Boise, Id
After spending a year building my lx I finally made it out to moab. Easily conquered Hells Gate and on the way out there was a steep detour. The tires warmed up from some burning rubber and then some wheel bounce and snap. The front diff broke. I managed to get out of there using the center locker.

Now to my question. Is there a elocker I can put in? Or should I just go with air? Pros? Cons?

20211118_121515.jpg
 
After spending a year building my lx I finally made it out to moab. Easily conquered Hells Gate and on the way out there was a steep detour. The tires warmed up from some burning rubber and then some wheel bounce and snap. The front diff broke. I managed to get out of there using the center locker.

Now to my question. Is there a elocker I can put in? Or should I just go with air? Pros? Cons?

View attachment 2845620
Oof, bummer. Glad you got out successfully. What year is the vehicle?
 
Many of us running the eaton e-locker. Had Zuk install it, he could take care of your gears as well. Highly recommend him, great rates and he's very professional.
 
Swing by Cruiser Outfitters for the parts on your way back up. I'm about 10 mins north of that in SLC proper—if you've got the time, we can get it fixed up in a day.

Or do the SAS haha. It works pretty well too.
 
Swing by Cruiser Outfitters for the parts on your way back up. I'm about 10 mins north of that in SLC proper—if you've got the time, we can get it fixed up in a day.

Or do the SAS haha. It works pretty well too.

I ordered the Harrop and all the required parts from them and paid a local shop about 1200 to do the remove/replace diff + locker install + wire up. They will hook you up with everything you need.
 
Last edited:
Cruiser outfitters installed arb air lockers and 488s after I blew my front diff. I shipped them my diffs and they set them up for about half the cost of the shops mentioned above. I didn’t get a story though lol.
 
Cruiser outfitters installed arb air lockers and 488s after I blew my front diff. I shipped them my diffs and they set them up for about half the cost of the shops mentioned above. I didn’t get a story though lol.
Ok Ok.. We like Cruiser Outfitters too. Didn't know they were into that. 👍
 
Every locker (air, electric, mechanical) has its pros and cons- Choice these days comes down to availability, and how long you want to wait, then if you want to install compressor or not. Oh and gears, (4.88’s) those have been unobtainium for months.

All things being equal in price and availability- I like TJM Pro Locker over arb and Eaton.
 
I just went through/am still going through all this. Cruiser outfitters is out of diff master rebuild kits (bearings and shims). So is nitro... so is just about everywhere. Two options that still have the unobtanium rebuild kits are west coast differentials and ZUK (gearinstalls.com).

Scoop em up quick. Ive been hunting for weeks...
 
Since you will be pulling the front diff, now is a good time to replace the bushings. That is if you haven't already replaced them.

I did notice a modicum of increased smoothness with the new front diff bearings and bushings.

I haven't noticed the torque steer that I've read about.
 
Since you will be pulling the front diff, now is a good time to replace the bushings. That is if you haven't already replaced them.

I did notice a modicum of increased smoothness with the new front diff bearings and bushings.

I haven't noticed the torque steer that I've read about.
This, I had all the 3 bushings replaced/and a new drive flange when I regeared/got lockers earlier this year, it got rid of 95% of my driveline clunk.
 
Swing by Cruiser Outfitters for the parts on your way back up. I'm about 10 mins north of that in SLC proper—if you've got the time, we can get it fixed up in a day.

Or do the SAS haha. It works pretty well too.

Man I'm overwhelmed with all the replies. Thank you guys. I'll talk to cruiser outfitters. Are you a shop?
 
Cruiser outfitters installed arb air lockers and 488s after I blew my front diff. I shipped them my diffs and they set them up for about half the cost of the shops mentioned above. I didn’t get a story though lol.


With 4.88 gears how was the rpm on the freeway?
 
Electronic for simplicity.
• pros - simple and no air compressor needed
• cons - you have to roll forward about 1/16 or 1/8 rotation so the splines will catch the teeth inside the differential and voila left and right wheels lock
• electronic actuator (just like any other part) will need servicing eventually usually at 90k)

Air for on the fly reliability
• pros - warranted that there is no leak in the line, once line is pressurized no more 1/16 or 1/8 roll to get the differential locked.
• cons - needs air source (compressor) means you need a spot where to put it

Price point: in the same area of 1500 per axle (my guestimate can be wrong).

If tried ARB before, tough as nail. Got the eaton but haven’t installed it yet for the f/r diffs.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom