Lockers: Air or Electric?

[suicideking]

My 4yo woke me up and I can't get back to sleep because I'm thinking about lockers lol.

I'm looking to get a selectable locker for my rear D44 in a '12 JKU Sport. I already have a Rubi D44 front, so have an OEM Electric locker.

I'm leaning towards ARB, but like the price of an electric like Eaton. They end up being about the same price, but the ARB would require OBA which I don't have. So that would add around $600 - $700. This added cost would set me back for maybe a few months unless I do well in Vegas this weekend.

If I do the Eaton, I can afford it RIGHT NOW and I'm not a patient person... I've also heard the Eaton doesn't work as well as an ARB would because of the 2 pin design. I want to do this right the first time and not regret it.

I made a few calls to shops today. One guy told me he's taken more ARB's out than he's putting in and recommended the Eaton. Also I ran Calico 2 weeks ago and one guy had an air leak so his ARB wasn't working.

What are you running?

[dirtman13]

Been running my ARB's for over 3 years now and have had minimal issues. Biggest issue was a bad pressure switch which is an easy fix. I went with the HD pump. It not only works my lockers it fills my tires. Everyone I know with ARB's loves them. If had to do it again it would be ARB.

[aw12345]

ARB for the win, have them in both my Jeeps

[brokenujoint]

sounds to me like a GREAT reason to get OBA. More reasons than just for the locker. And ARB's rock! But if I were you I'd just get a Detroit and forget about it!

[Ol Man]

My 4yo woke me up and I can't get back to sleep because I'm thinking about lockers lol.

I'm looking to get a selectable locker for my rear D44 in a '12 JKU Sport. I already have a Rubi D44 front, so have an OEM Electric locker.

I'm leaning towards ARB, but like the price of an electric like Eaton. They end up being about the same price, but the ARB would require OBA which I don't have. So that would add around $600 - $700. This added cost would set me back for maybe a few months unless I do well in Vegas this weekend.

If I do the Eaton, I can afford it RIGHT NOW and I'm not a patient person... I've also heard the Eaton doesn't work as well as an ARB would because of the 2 pin design. I want to do this right the first time and not regret it.

I made a few calls to shops today. One guy told me he's taken more ARB's out than he's putting in and recommended the Eaton. Also I ran Calico 2 weeks ago and one guy had an air leak so his ARB wasn't working.

What are you running?

Not being a smart aleck, but why didn't you just buy a Rubicon?

[RAT]

ARBs all the way. Mine have been in use for over 4 years. Never an issue with the locker. Keeping air to them can be problematic if you don't route the lines correctly or use cheap fittings. Leave plenty of slack in the line to the axle to account for the flexing.

[mkjeepers]

I've had ARB's in front and rear for 8 or 9 years w/o any maintnence to them. My pump will stay on all night w/o cycling. The key is to have someone that knows how to install them properly, so there won't be any air leaks.

The biggest problem with an ARB is air leaks. As far as a compressor, have the small one for the locker and get another for the tires - at last that's what I've done. Mine has the old style low output comp. which wouldn't fill the tires anyway.

All 4 Wheel in south Corona put mine in.

[Jerry Bransford]

There's nothing quite like the soft whirrrrr-clunk of an ARB Air Locker engaging. :shades:

[aw12345]

Mine just go psst when you turn them off no whirring involved. I like them to run of the OBA with an air tank included. Most days I can wheel most of the day and the compressor kick on once or twice. With the York it takes like a whole 5 seconds and the tank is back up to pressure. MV50 is great for airing up tires, but isn't designed to have a head pressure of over 90 psi.
When I stuck the ARB's in my little Jeep I looked hard at my lil MV50 seemed like such a good solution to air the lockers and it didn't cost anything, but for the sake of reliability I bought a Via air continues duty compressor. This setup has worked flawless for 5 years for me. Never once messed with the air system after I installed it 5 years ago

[alittleoff]

Almost 10 years with my ARB's in the Dana 60/44 axles. And of those, 9yrs. with Teflon lined Stainless Steel Flex brake lines for the air supply. Zero leaks.

Steve

[TipsE-Z]

I'd have to agree with everyone else... While I now have a Rubi, and thus E-Lockers, the ARBs are far superior. I've already learned that an ARB takes ~ 90psi (I think) to engage, thus it will engage no matter the angle, and as such disengage no matter the angle; with my Rubi I have to either drive straight or reverse sometimes to get the lockers to disengage. Simply put PSI is better than a weak electromagnet.

[suicideking]

Not being a smart aleck, but why didn't you just buy a Rubicon?

It's a valid point -- When I bought my Sport it was at the top of my budget. Plus, I had no intention to lift or mod. Figured I'd maybe hit a few fire roads. Sure enough, over $10K later and I'm looking into lockers. When I bought it, I didn't even really know what a locker was.

So after reading the responses and doing some additional research on Eaton lockers vs ARB, looks like I'm going to have to suck it up and save the money. I have a technical background (work in IT) and do have an appreciation for what works best. I see the rear locker as one of the most important components that I'm going to add.

[Jeeper Creeper]

I have ARB's with the blue airlines. The lines have gotten cold and cracked on me when wheeling, punctured one from driving over some brush and burnt a hole once from an ark welder. I've heard that the braided red ones are much more durable but if our line gets caught on something.... instead of breaking it will rip the fitting out of the differential. My buddy has E locks and swears by them. As far as onboard air look at the Superflow MV-50. It's under a $100 and works fine for the arb lockers and airing up tires.

[Jerry Bransford]

ARB's FAQ specifically recommends against using their heavy-duty airlines for the reason given above by Jeeper Creeper. That if their heavy duty air line snags something, it will rip out a fitting that won't be field repairable. If something snags their standard air line, on the other hand, it can be repaired in 30 seconds using ARB's quick splice kit.

I was in an ARB dealer meeting conducted by ARB & they left no doubt that they only recommend their standard blue airline. When asked why they carry the heavy duty stuff if they don't recommend it, they laughed & said it's only for those who insisted on something heavier because they can't believe that a standard-duty anything is strong enough for what they do.

[suicideking]

ARB's FAQ specifically recommends against using their heavy-duty airlines for the reason given above by Jeeper Creeper. That if their heavy duty air line snags something, it will rip out a fitting that won't be field repairable. If something snags their standard air line, on the other hand, it can be repaired in 30 seconds using ARB's quick splice kit.

I was in an ARB dealer meeting conducted by ARB & they left no doubt that they only recommend their standard blue airline. When asked why they carry the heavy duty stuff if they don't recommend it, they laughed & said it's only for those who insisted on something heavier because they can't believe that a standard-duty anything is strong enough for what they do.

Definitely good info Jerry. I'm the type that would probably want the heavy duty lines. Makes sense that it could cause more problems than it will help.