Just looking for more of a professional opinion about this ARB locker I got for free from a resent purchase I made.. It has 2 hairline cracks on opposite sides of the housing case as shown in the pic. I can tig weld it but still wondering if anyone thinks it's not worth it because it's beyond repairable.. Also another option I suppose would be to buy a replacement housing if thats possible? everything internal looks fine and has no damage, bench tested and it holds air fine and works. Opinions??

 

Yikes. Tig it best you can and run er till she blows!

Or call ARB and see if you can a new housing.

 

Being that has lived it`s life in gear oil getting the oil cooked out of the housing is going to be real fun.

What I would do is find out if that part can be bought if not then try welding.

Is this a common problem for these units ??

What other problems can cause this to happen??

What shape is the rest of the unit in??

 

If you are going to try to weld it,i'd at least cut a big deep v-notch to get as deep as possible. Then I guess see how long it lasts.

 

Heres the link to their parts list
http://www.arb.com.au/products/air-l...-parts-manual/

You can see in the list that housing design has been updated to a one piece design. I wonder why?

I wouldn't try welding cast iron in a structural component like that.

 

In a application where there is no major thermal cycling why not weld it ??

As the misguided love to weld spider gears solid What more carnage could a failed housing cause .

Either it will fail or it won`t.