Rear locker for 3rd gen?

Not to mention you now have an air compressor on board which is always handy in the bush

 

@MADSTEEZE what did you pay for yours

 

yep. nice added plus side too one.
But you can have that either way. I already got the dual arb compressor.

 

With the dual air compressor, is that intended for one compressor to each differential. or do you have 1 compressor for both differentials and then a backup compressor that can be used for whatever. How does that work?

 

The

$250 CKSA12 Air Compressor Compact On-Board 12 Volts DC, Designed Exclusively for ARB Air Lockers Locking Differentials

CKSA12 is good to air up 2 lockers, and nothing else. It's not intended for airing up tires or anything.

The

$338 CKMA12 On-Board Air Compressor High Performance 12 Volt for Air Locker Differentials and Tire Inflation

CKMA12 can air up 2 lockers and you can add an inflation kit to air up tires.

I waited for ARB to have the free compressor deal and I ended up getting 2 lockers and the CKMA12 for around $1650. It was worth waiting for a deal.

 

to start i am not that knowledgeable when it comes to the read end. i have 2WD and find the traction control a joke, can not go over 5MPH. what ever happened to a posi-traction rear end like i once installed in my 1959 348 chevy back in the 60's. all i want is true 2WD all the time. can i get a posi-traction with lower gear ratio installed and do away with the buttons of the roof console?
or am i missing something?

 

Definitely a lot of things to take into consideration. I thought I might reply to everyone at this point. I have no idea how to work any of the tools to do anything myself, but also I have never tried and never been exposed to this sort of work. There will be a learning curve for myself and I want to put in the time to learn everything.

As for time to get things installed, I have all the time in the world, I'm still paying it off right now so I can be patient with everything.

Thank you for the insight on waiting for deals on the ARB compressors I'll keep an eye out.

 

Thank you for the info! I'm going to be patient and wait for deals and such.

 

Automatic ('full-time') lockers are a much cheaper option than a selectable ARB air locker, but of course you lose the ability to turn it on/off on your own.

I had a full time Lockrite locker in the rear of my '99 Prerunner several years ago, it worked well and did it's job like it was supposed to. You have to careful driving around town with it though, as it will lock up the rear end anytime it senses that you need traction. So if you're taking a turn and one wheel starts to slip, it will lock up and you could end up swinging the rear out even more. Would be worse yet if the ground was wet or slick. Off-road they're great, they lock up instantly when one wheel starts to lose traction.

When they're disengaged, you can hear the very audible "CLACK CLACK CLACK" sound they make when you're turning lol. You learn to love it.

I definitely prefer the selectable TRD e-locker I have in my '04 now though. Much more practical to be able to turn it on/off as needed.

 

I agree that there are some minor quirky handeling characteristics of an auto locker but
the Detroit locker is bulletproof and I've had great results with them in several vehicles over the years.
Just curious.

 

Like $2350 with compressor installed.

 

How much would labor cost approx for a locker and compressor install?

 

See the post above your's.

Subtract the cost of parts from $2350 and you have your labor cost

 

Thanks. I believe I will also need carrier bearings and axle seals, which are usually OEM. Then there's the cost of the switch. I have a shop in NJ that wants to charge $1700 for the install and I'm trying to see if that is too high for the area. I will have to provide parts.

 

I'm not sure exactly what the cost of parts are but the locker and compressor is what, around $1100? So installation for those should be around a grand or so.

$1700 for install sounds high but if you're also doing carrier bearings and axle seals maybe it's fair...

 

I know this isn't pirate, so I'll refrain from blowing a gasket, but taking out a rear third is too easy of a job for a shadetree mechanic to be paying a shop an extra $6-800 in labor to do it.

I paid $300 in labor to have the shop install the locker and r&p, so i guess an extra $150-200 in labor to install the compressor would be reasonable, although that is a simple job to do at home also.

I would imagine that shop has the Ice Cube song "No Vasoline" playing on loop when he charges people $1700.

 

Thank you. That's what I was wondering. The shop was reputable, but the figure quoted is way high. I'll have to do some homework on the install process. I have tools and resources as a shade tree mechanic, but I've never done this job before and I'm clueless here.

I need to do some more research on the install process to figure out how much is DIY here.

 

removing the rear axles might be tricky. do they have a C clip retainer in the diff? plus removing all the rear brake parts to get the axles to pull out think i would screw something up myself.

 

I hope I'm not coming off as a dick, or condescending, but I just hate seeing people waste their hard earned money to pay somebody else for simple to above novice jobs.

I've done plenty of wasteful spending on shops back in my import ricer days, and now I clearly don't post much, but I figure I've done about 100 hours of research on pirate for each hour of actual work I've put in to my rig.

It's a learning process and with the information out on the internet, I'd rather learn it and diy.

 

Did ARB ever develop a rear locker for the 8.75" diffs for the manuals?