Need Some Locker guidance

[NorCalSam]

Pros & Cons

First of all.....Don't listen to Christo and the boys at slee-offroad.
Their new to the 80 thing.

Just kiding Master Juda

Again I think this is one for the type of wheeling that you are doing. My rig is set up for expedition/Survivalist and its our daily driver. Now I've run steep rocky class IV trails but this is not what the truck is set up for I just wanted somthing that can do this. Running only 285 tires with my setup I feel that the e-lockers are a much better fit for me. If the electronics or e-locker fails on the trail to work I think you could take it apart and manualy engage it. (in-theory) anyway.

If a seal goes or a airline is damaged you are skrewed!
As a carpenter I have to deal with air stuff all the time ...I hate it

totally unreliable. Also myself and many other skill fabracators in the area worked for months on the F-ing remote control kit for the 9000 shocks on my cruiser. New parts etc. Did I tell you how much I hate that kit andleaking air

anyway good luck A

 

[PKP80]

Maybe a set of Bobby Longs is on the list too....I didn't know that the install was SO critical. Cristo is my assumption correct that that you run ARB's in the bus?

You are all terrific, thank you for the info.

Sam

 

[Boston Mangler]

This is by far the reason I will not run elockers again in a hardcore wheeling truck https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=61283
Twisting splines on the rear is becoming a propblem as people are wheeling these trucks harder and harder. And believe me, everyone that has dealt with the above will testify it is major pain to get the axles out and normally means cutting apart stuff etc etc.

That said, most people running smaller tires and not wheeling so hard, the elockers are ok. The front setup works different from the rear, so it is not prone to this kind of failure.

Axle swap and little bit of wiring is by far the easiest to do IF you have the space and tools to do it.

Then comes retrofitting the e-lockers third members, then ARB installs.

One thing to remember is that all ARB's are not the same. You can not compare Dana 44 ARB failures to Toyota ARB failures etc due to different seals and parts that are used in the differnt ARB's.

The most comon problem with ARB's I have seen is if they start pumping oil back up the lines. The reason could be as simple as a blocked breather line or in some cases it is install error or faulty seals.

The air system to the lockers is only as good as the install. Both on the elecrtical side of things and the air side. If done properly, it will go years with proper service. If hacked, you will have an unrelaible setup.

Internal seals and O rings can and will fail sometimes. The new style U Ring (quad seal) on the inside of the locker is way better and I would ensure that is what is in your ARB before installing. The little side O rings can be damaged when installed, or get damaged with contamination in the oil. So with the front of the 80 that is prone to inner axle seal leaks, it is really important the the oil does not get trashed due to bad maintenace.

Great Info As Usual Christo!

Thanks for the insight!

 

[Biff]

I was on a trail with my buddy a few months ago, his ARB compressor blew, wasn't able to feed air to his lockers. No problem we mannualy egaged his locker with my CO2 tank and we were on our way. At the end of the day we disengaged them witht he co2 tank.

 

[LandyLover]

If you're gonna twist shafts/shear splines, what difference does it make if you've got an elocker or an ARB, or Detroit for that matter? Seems to me the weakest link lies in the axle shaft or/and the quality of the ARB install.


Cheers

 

[Cruiserdrew]

The issue is that the twisted splines prevent the removal of the axle shaft which prevents the removal of the 3rd member from the axle housing. That makes it virtually impossible to fix if you think about it.

With an ARB if the axle shaft breaks, it is fairly easy to pull the 3rd member and repair th damage. BTDT

 

[ginericLC]

I was on a trail with my buddy a few months ago, his ARB compressor blew, wasn't able to feed air to his lockers. No problem we mannualy egaged his locker with my CO2 tank and we were on our way. At the end of the day we disengaged them witht he co2 tank.

What? All you have to do is let the air out. You don't need air to release them.

 

[Josh83]

If you're gonna twist shafts/shear splines, what difference does it make if you've got an elocker or an ARB, or Detroit for that matter? Seems to me the weakest link lies in the axle shaft or/and the quality of the ARB install.


Cheers

I *think* the difference is that the elocker axle uses different shafts. The elocker shaft only has 2" of spline on the short side, wheras the non elocker short side has 4" of spline. More spline means more surface to transfer the power.

 

[Arya Ebrahimi]

If you're gonna twist shafts/shear splines, what difference does it make if you've got an elocker or an ARB, or Detroit for that matter? Seems to me the weakest link lies in the axle shaft or/and the quality of the ARB install.


Cheers

My understanding is that the nature of the design of the rear e-locker locks the broken shafts in the housing, 'causing all kinds of problems. Check the latest thread from "NW-sickboy" about his rear axle shaft carnage.

Ary

 

[ryanjl]

What? All you have to do is let the air out. You don't need air to release them.

I think he meant that they used his CO2 tank to lock the lockers for the remainer of the trail instead of the compressor.

I've heard of people intending to do this all along, and not even using a compressor at all.

 

[Boston Mangler]

The elocker shaft only has 2" of spline on the short side, wheras the non elocker short side has 4" of spline. More spline means more surface to transfer the power.

Actually, its just the opposite, the elocker shaft has MORE splines (about 4") and the non elocker shaft has less (about 2"). The splines are what the locking mechanism slides on to lock and unlock the 3rd.

 

[Josh83]

Actually, its just the opposite, the elocker shaft has MORE splines (about 4") and the non elocker shaft has less (about 2"). The splines are what the locking mechanism slides on to lock and unlock the 3rd.

Hmmm. Maybe the sliding collar engages less of the spline than the side gear of a non elocker carrier. Anyone know?

 

[mmcinnis]

Lockers

I had a 94 fzj80 with factory lockers front and rear. Bullet proof. with OME's 35 inch BFG's. I wheeled the truck hard at GSMTR. I had a factory locker in my 100 series wheeled it hard never had a problem with 35. I have an ARB in my FJ 40 with 40 inch tires and I have had issues with the compressor several times wheelin hard. I say go for the factory stuff if you can.

 

[NorCalSam]

If it took a locker to get in it will take one to get out.

 

[Boston Mangler]

Hmmm. Maybe the sliding collar engages less of the spline than the side gear of a non elocker carrier. Anyone know?

Not sure i know what your saying, but i assure you the elocker shaft has twice the splines of a NON elocker shaft!

It needs more spline to engage and disengage. With the NON locker, the only splines needed are to mate the shaft to the spider gears. With the ELOCKER the splines needed are for the shaft to mate to the spider gears and for the locking mechanism (big cog) to slide away from the center to "Unlock" it. Hard to explain, but i have had a few of these apart and that is how they work.

 

[ryanjl]

Josh83, the reliability concerns that Christo expressed didn't necessarily have anything to do with the strength of the OEM lockers vs. the ARB ones per se, it was more of a "if you break the OEM locker you are fawked in the field" because the broken parts are a PITA to remove. Much easier with the ARB.

See the thread Christo referenced for... err... reference.

 

[sleeoffroad]

Christo, what's your take on getting rid of the blue line and replacing them with stainless braided lines? Seems like it would be worth the expense for the added reliability.

Personally I do not like them. If you snag it and rip the bulkhead fitting out of the diff, you have major work to replace. I always cary spare blue line and couplers. Easy to fix on the trail if needed.

 

[sleeoffroad]

The problem is not the amount of spline engagement. The problem is that the splines twist, but the locking collar is on the the wrong side of the twist, so it will not come of the axle shaft. (can't move past the twisted section). The collar is locked to the actuator by the shift fork. So the only way to get it out is to destroy either piece, which is not easy to buy on it's own.

You can still twist the shaft on the ARB'ed 80 rear end as well, but you can remove it easy.

We are working on Chromo rear 80 series axles. Month or so before they are ready.

 

[PKP80]

We are working on Chromo rear 80 series axles. Month or so before they are ready.

Is it going to be an exact duplicate just Chromo?

 

[RavenTai]

Will these be splined on both end axles so you can run drive plates or better yet Aisin hubs? of course the short side will have long splines right?