Now I am also considering regear and locker upgrade. I have several choices:

ARB locker. Most reivews is prasing this procduct and I got some youtube video claiming it is not possible to break ARB locker before axle breaks. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewt7f-h8Wn4
But I know one of my friend had one but broke it on trail. I would like to
know if anyone had some problem with this product and show me the detail of
the problem.

OX locker, it is my favorite so far, but it requires OX differential cover, so
making me wonder that I wasted money on ARB cover.

Eaton TrueTrac, it is a gear typed LSD, reviews claiming it behaves just like
open differential on street and is recommende to use in the front axle even
if it has high bias ratio. Not sure if this is actually true. Also I like
it for another reason. It is LSD, so it will never put all torque to one wheel,
so the chance to break a axle is less, especially for my front DAN30 axle

Detroit Locker, it is a automatic locker, reviews claimed it is capable of
dealing stree steering in the front axle. But it can misbehave during sharp
turn or turn under force (gas pedal pressed while turning). SO it is seems
the last choice to me, but some review claim it is the way to go because
LSD may fail to work in certain offroad situation so you must use a "true" locker
that can tranasfer 100% torque to one wheel.

Any comment/suggestions will be appreciated!

Thanks

 

You cannot break the ARB. I think your friend just had a different problem... Unless he stripped the blue threaded line that connects to the locker.

 

This might help.

http://project-jk.com/jeep-jk-tech/d...ts-lockers-101

 

Most are partial to ARB lockers. They seem to be the best according to folks around here. I like the electric one's my X came with. I figure as long as it locks, I don't care who makes it.

 

For the selectable lockers, ARB is the one that all others are compared to. Is it indestructible? Of course not. Nothing is. But it is a very strong design, with a proven track record. You can't go wrong with it. (how did your friend 'break' his? Guessing it was an air line, and not the locker itself...)

The other selectable to consider is the Eaton E-Locker. It is electric, like the stock rubi lockers, but has a superior 4pin design, and is on par with the ARB.

Ox? Do some more searching. Far too many cable issues being reported for me to choose one.

For the auto lockers, detroit is the one to beat. As I do a lot of snow/ice driving, I would not even consider it for the front axle, and certainly not with a D30. But since you are down south, the slick stuff probably isn't an issue. In 2wd, other than a little noise, you very likely would not even notice that it was there. Weigh the strength of the locker against how strong you think the axle is.

Another auto option would be any of the lunchbox lockers. (aussie, lockright, etc). Same basic functioning as the detroit, but far less expensive. They are installed inside your stock carrier, whereas the detroit 'is' the carrier.

LSD's. The TrueTrac is actually my favorite front traction device for the D30. Great on snow/ice, easier on the axle than a full locker, cheap (under $400 for the d30 version) and it's the next best thing to a full locker. If you don't spend a ton of your off-road time in the rocks with tires in the air, it will do just fine. -a little brake pressure will lock it up if/when you need that little extra bit of traction.

 

Yea I was suspecting he did to the air line. ARB man good choice.

 

I was in the same boat as you once. I decided on ARB, and I have not looked back since. After all of my research, it came out on top ... and I was really hoping to go with the Eaton instead!

Seriously, just get the ARBs and be done with it.

-Dawn

 

im using ox in front and rear and so far as long as ive had em they have been without issues

i went with ox cause i diddnt want to get into air compressors and such, so i went cable operated. they do offer an electric upgrade as well tho

ps. also using a d30

 

I double checked with my friend about his ARB locker failure situation, and here
is the detail

one end of the axle that goes into the differential house broken,
and this caused the axle stick and can not be removed from the differential
ARB said it is too expensive to fix it and offered him new locker with 50% off the price

 

So it wasn't an ARB failure. It was a broken axle shaft that got stuck inside the locker.

Seems that your friend just backed up ARB's claim that their lockers are stronger than the axle shafts.



One question on that video, though. How was the ARB 'manually' locked?