How to test ARB Rear Air lockers ??

[slackdog Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close slackdog]

It will only disengage when the load is off the drivetrain..If it takes ages to disengage i will put my money on it being a pair of leaking o rings in the air fitting inside the diff allowing oil to travel up the line into the solenoid and creating a hydraulic lock and not releasing the carrier gear...I have fitted several hundred air lockers and it was a common problem but ARB have revised the seal assembly to try to prevent this now...If there is diff oil breathing out your compressors then thats what it will be

Regards- Rob

[Shan Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Shan]

It will only disengage when the load is off the drivetrain..If it takes ages to disengage i will put my money on it being a pair of leaking o rings in the air fitting inside the diff allowing oil to travel up the line into the solenoid and creating a hydraulic lock and not releasing the carrier gear...I have fitted several hundred air lockers and it was a common problem but ARB have revised the seal assembly to try to prevent this now...If there is diff oil breathing out your compressors then thats what it will be

Regards- Rob

Spot on Rob !!! Just arrived from ARB Dandy and there's oil in the line. They said it could be simply a blocked diff breather causing it or they have to pull it out to see. Anyway booked in for 12th Oct.

Cheers!!

[MRW82 Member Find all posts View Profile Close MRW82]

or both the same way if its an l.s.d.................

If an air locker is fitted it won't be LSD. Lockers replace the LSD assembly.

[slackdog Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close slackdog]

Not a blocked diff breather guaranteed....Ask them if it has the old style o-ring seal housing or the new type when they remove it .....do not let them talk you into putting an exhaust kit on the solonoid as it only masks the problem not fixes it...They may tell you that it was a fitment problem and the seal housing wasn,t aligned properly and that is a load of rubbish...My take on it is that the diff oil ever so slightly travels along the very fine tooling grooves under the o-rings and slowly fills the air line....They have changed to a triple lip seal now i believe...I have not fitted the new type as i am in a different job now ...

Good Luck ---Rob

[Shan Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Shan]

Much appreciate this info Rob, very handy to know these stuff when you speak to them.

[Shan Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Shan]

Just to give an update.. Boys at ARB Dandy did the job under warranty no problems.
As most of you indicated it was the o-ring seal !! Working fine now and can't wait to give it a real workout

Thanks for all the input guys !!

[Graz Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Graz]

So just checked mine because i did not think it was working in the rear.
went through the process of getting her off the ground and turning one wheel to see if the other went in opposite direction, Tick
Put car in neutral turn on ignition Tick
Air compressor on engage diff lock Tick
Wheels now turn same way Tick
So disengaged the locker and checked to see if wheels now went in opposite directions and bugger me only the wheel i am spinning turns ?
Is it just a matter of taken it for a spin to get things to mesh back up ?

[Scruffy Member Find all posts View Profile Close Scruffy]

So just checked mine because i did not think it was working in the rear.
went through the process of getting her off the ground and turning one wheel to see if the other went in opposite direction, Tick
Put car in neutral turn on ignition Tick
Air compressor on engage diff lock Tick
Wheels now turn same way Tick
So disengaged the locker and checked to see if wheels now went in opposite directions and bugger me only the wheel i am spinning turns ?
Is it just a matter of taken it for a spin to get things to mesh back up ?

Put it in park and repeat!

[Rusty62 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Rusty62]

The oil on the majority of ARB lockers will leak back up the airline. They released a package to help this but it is only a band aid to the sealing problem.
I have fitted 5 difflocks to my own cars, 2 x 60, 2 x 80 and 1 x 120 series. The 120 is the only one that leaks oil.
The best was to ensure your diff will lock is to remove the airline from the diff, hold it into a can and have a second person operate the lock button. The oil will spray out the line and after a couple of minutes turn off and refit the airline. The oil, being thick causes too much pressure drop in the line and this is why the diff doesn't lock.
It is a bit messy but really the only way of ensuring your diff will work.

As a side note once you bleed all the oil from the line count how many times you can lock / unlock the diff before the compressor starts. Test this after 10,000 km and if the compressor takes more lock / unlock the oil is blocking the line - time to clean the line again.
Sorry Mr. ARB have spent a lot of time with your products.

Russell.

[Graz Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Graz]

Thanks Scruffy & Rusty will do both