Thread: ARB air locker into sals - do it yourself?

Hi Sitec, I'm buying a second hand arb locker from justinc who's a vendor on this site and also has a landy workshop. He tells me the locker is in excellent condition, it fits my budget at the moment and as you can see, he has kindly offered over the phone advice should I encounter any obstacles during installation. Prior to seeing his ad in the markets I was thinking about the ashcroft locker for the salisbury as they are currently working on one, but in any event I think the price would've been prohibitive. Every time I want to spend money on my mistress (110) the wife wants to spend money on the family home. Like, where are her priorities???
Thanks for the advice on the spreader. I can weld so will have a look at some spreader designs. You make it sound so simple . If I do go ahead and do it myself I will video and photograph every step to document it to help others.

Originally Posted by goingbush

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Simplistically 'Preload' means the bearings are squashed in tight , so if your diff falls out or goes in easy there is not enough preload.
The preload is adjusted by inserting shims in-between the Carrier & the bearing cones, or between the bearing cups and housing.
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I don't think anyone here is suggesting that their diffs "fall out" or "go in easy. Just that the amount of preload specified is not that much.

FWIW - I have done R/R of a NOS SIII Salisbury with 0 km. I did not use a spreader. Are you trying tpo tell me that LR set iit up with insufficient preload?

Originally Posted by Sitec

Why the ARB over a Detroit...?

That seems to be a matter of personal preference largely. Some of us prefer a selectable locker, rather than a detroit "unlocker" (which it would be more accurately called). The earlier detroits did have a reputation for bad (clunky) road manners, tyre wear, and self destructing if driven with only one halfshaft. Those issues seem to have been fixed in recent versions though.

Originally Posted by isuzurover

FWIW - I have done R/R of a NOS SIII Salisbury with 0 km. I did not use a spreader. Are you trying to tell me that LR set it up with insufficient preload?

Yes, Exactly what I'm saying !!

If Landrovers were built to spec they would not have the all issues that we know & love.

Originally Posted by goingbush

Yes, Exactly what I'm saying !!

If Landrovers were built to spec they would not have the all issues that we know & love.

And of course salisburies (and Dana 60s) are failing left right and centre...

Originally Posted by isuzurover

And of course salisburies (and Dana 60s) are failing left right and centre...

You know they are not!

what I said earlier is you might get away with a badly set up Salsbury because its forgiving due to the fact that its over engineered (as far as a Defender is concerned).

But I do remember reading about one here on AULRO that broke because it was badly set up.

Fact remains is if the centre comes out easy the preload is wrong, bearings are stuffed or your axle housing is bent.

In the early days I used to install MaxiDrives for Key4wd & I never had any complaints, so either I was getting them right or they were all so bad before that whatever I did must have made some improvement.

As you know plenty of people, even workshops, do their diffs without using a spreader (or even checking the tooth contact pattern) .
I could not give a toss, but I want mine done properly so I do it myself.

http://www.pavementsucks.com/board/t...e-Dana-60-help

Originally Posted by goingbush

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In the early days I used to install MaxiDrives for Key4wd ....

Funnily enough Mal was one of the first people to tell me I didn't need a spreader to work on a salisbury.

Originally Posted by Sitec

Why the ARB over a Detroit...? Anyhow, if the ARB fits into the carrier like the Detroit does on a Salisbury, do it yourself..If you are handy with the welder it's easy to make the spreader tool. I fitted a detroit into my old 101 without touching any of the shimming. Spread case, remove caps. Remove and split the carrier. Remove guts. Fit locker. Rebolt using locktite and clean surfaces. Refit. As said before if it falls out there's something wrong!

There is alot more work to fit a ARB.....nothing like the detroit to fit.
The diff centre may need to be fitted and removed many times with the ARB to ensure everything is where it is suppost to be and correctly set up.

Originally Posted by 101 Ron

There is alot more work to fit a ARB.....nothing like the detroit to fit.
The diff centre may need to be fitted and removed many times with the ARB to ensure everything is where it is suppost to be and correctly set up.

Yes - If I was fitting an ARB or setting up new gears I would probably use a spreader just to make all the (re)fitting easier.