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A YJ Owner on: ARB Front Lockers |
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ARB Air Locker
This review is based on the replacement of a "Detroit" soft locker with an ARB air locker in the front axle of the 1990 YJ featured in the Photos & Rigs section. The YJ has a custom Dana 44 front axle by DynaTrac. The front axle retains the axle disconnect system from the factory Dana 30. The jeep has an automatic transmission which keeps a load on the drive line whenever it is in gear. This made tight turns a real pain. Because the YJ has no front hubs, the "Soft Locker" was back-driving the drive shaft on the highway. It was decided that an air locker was the option to try next. |
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| Our favorite axle supplier, Dynatrac, was contacted to do the differential swap. The electrical and air systems for the ARB were installed before taking the vehicle over to Dynatrac's shop. The unit was setup and the seals and bearing were replaced while Jim @ Dynatrac had the unit apart. The Dana 44 was put back into the jeep and tested. Everything checked out we were on our way. As can be expected, we could hardly wait to try it out. |
| We headed down to Anza Borrego for a weekend of fun. The unit was simple to use and worked flawlessly. It was nice to be able to turn the locker off and steer easily, yet be able to lock it at the push of a button and enjoy the performance we came to expect with the old locker. |
| Was it worth it? Yes! The trail manners of the jeep have improved dramatically and the vehicle is very easy to drive. The ARB does cost more but gives options unavailable with any other locker strategy. The next step is install a manual disconnect switch for the vacuum operated front axle in order to allow two wheel drive low range operation. The combination of the ARB turned off (open diff) and the front axle open would leave the front axle completely open. We'll let you know how we did it and how well it works. |
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| Don't take anyone's word on this, you must get informed and then decide for yourself on the choice of front lockers. Some hate them others love them. We have run conventional and ARB's up front and now the ARB is our personal preference. You may decide otherwise. Remember, the ARB will be more likely to fail because it is more complicated and uses an external air supply for actuation. So far, we have had no air supply failures but had an electrical connector work loose leaving us with an the front diff open at a most inopportune time. |
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| Jeep is a registered trademark of the Daimler-Chrysler Corporation. | |
1997