i dunno if this has been discussed, if it has if someone could point me in the direction of that fourm i'd be more than happy. i looked but didnt find it in this section. anyway... if it hasnt, whats everyone thing? whats the price of each after installing them (retrofitting the elocker for my 85 runner).... the arb woudl be nice because then you have a compressor for airing up... but which is more reliable, less likely to get broken etc.... oh and is water and the e-locker a problem?

thanks,

kelly

 

Flip a coin. I have one of each and they are a dead even.

 

ARB's compressor is tiny, you'd have to upgrade to something bigger if you want to air up on a regular basis with it.

The e-lockers will not suddenly unlock if the wiring is torn off, an ARB will if it loses pressure as soon as any binding is relieved. If an e-locker's motor gets damaged or fails you can remove it and manually lock it.

 

The E-locker has a breather for the electric motor that you want to extend just like the diff oil breathers. I ran my motor breather to the fuel filler neighborhood. I don't hesitate to dunk mine in water occaisionally.

In the rear the E-locker is the E ticket ride. I spent about $325 for my total setup including controler, switch and wires. Junkyard parts rule!! You can't touch an ARB for less than $700 used. New, closer to $1200.

 

Previous discussion of locker prices:
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/show...?threadid=6331

I am going to be retrofitting the rear e-locker soon. I went that route rather than the ARB because of the price and because I wanted to stick with Toyota parts as much as possible. I can't compare performance because I've never run a rig with the e-locker. I do know the ARB on my last rig was awesome and I never had any problems. I look forward to being able to compare the rear e-locker with the front ARB I will be installing at the same time.

I totally agree with Shane about the compressor. That's why I went with a Viar450 rather than the ARB compressor. There are a lot of compressor options. You'll probably want to invest in a compressor or air tank even if you go with the e-locker, so that should maybe be taken out of the cost equation.

 

Check out this discussion,

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showt...ARB+vs+elocker


I went w/ an ARB 'cuz it makes that cool sound when it's disengaged.

 

Definite bonus of the ARB. Damn I miss that sound! I'm tempted to order a spare solenoid and attach it to my compressor right away so I can drive around going "Brrrddddddddd psssshhhhhht psssshhhhhht psssshhhhhht psssshhhhhht, etc." I'll have a 1-gallon air tank installed so i can do 15-20 "pssssshhhhhht's" before the compressor fires up again!

 

I'll be replacing my e-locker with an ARB air locker sometime in the next couple of months.....

 

I have an ARB with a high pinion up front and an E locker in the rear.
I love both but must say that the E locker is the strongest unit. Although somewhat slow actuating.
Unfortunately I've broken the ARB housing once.
A junkyard E locker will cost only half the price of a ARB and its allready setup with gears.

 

Data, may I ask why?
I'm contemplating which to go with myself.
Thanks,
Todd

 

The electrical problems with this e-locker has been hell. I'm gonna wire this sucker up myself and see what happens then. Hopefully it'll turn out good, but if not an ARB is going in. I'm just waiting on the wiring harness for the diff right now. I'll let you know how things turn out.

 

I think you would have to go back to a standard axle housing and 3rd member for an ARB. Could be really expensive.

You'll get it fixed, hang in there.

 

Yeah I'll get that sucker fixed. I just wonder how much stuff is being ˟˟˟˟˟ed up right now with me driving it locked up on the street. I do notice my tires wearing down quite a bit...

 

Remove the electric motor and use a small screwdriver to unlock the diff until you have it figured out.
Are you the same guy I recently mailed the E-locker manual to?

 

yeah, thanks for that manual. i just haven't had any free time to do it yet.

 

I would buy an ARB because....


1) you can get a bigger air compressor and run air tools/set beads etc with it as well

2) more options for gear ratio (correct me if I'm wrong here)

3) the only selectable front locker is an ARB, so why get the air system for just the front and not use it on the rear as well? ??

 

From the factory, yes. Marlin crawler offers it in a 4.88 as well (already setup), but you can always regear like any other ring & pinion.

True, unless you do a SAS.
Then you can get the E-locker as well.

Todd

 

The low-pinion e-locker uses v-6 gearsets, the high-pinion uses reverse-cut FJ80 gearsets. The low can be regeared down to 5.71, the high to at least 5.29 that I know of.

 

I have been running arb's since 94, put on in the front on my old toy front end, and even went with an arb in the d44 up front, can't say enough about them.. The bad rap comes from poor installation....