Detroit or ARB?

A quality compressor is a necessity. I've been running a York all these years. Now that I'm doing an engine swap the York is out and now I'm going with a dual compressor ARB.
 
^^^This^^^ and a quality line and proper routing. The plastic "blue hose" that ARB supplies can get the job done but for a few more bucks you get get a set of Russell conversion fittings to use a braided stainless -3 AN hose. I did that on mine and never worry about snagging, melting, pinching, or otherwise damaging the hose .
 
My truck has a single front brake line dropping to the diff and it runs hard line out to each knuckle before going rubber to the caliper. I zip tied the blue arb line, the brake drop line and the axle vent line all together. Everything is towards the center of the truck and I figured if something came along and damaged all that then it'll be a properly shitty ruined day.
 
Excuse my ignorance but if you pop a shaft with an ARB will it mess the locker up like on a Detroit?
 
I broke both stock outers on my 03 f250 within 15 minutes of each other bad enough to blow the locking hub knobs off the stock Ford hubs. I've also grenaded three mile marker hubs on my current rig with the same arb unit no damage whatsoever.
 
Tim C said:
I broke both stock outers on my 03 f250 within 15 minutes of each other bad enough to blow the locking hub knobs off the stock Ford hubs. I've also grenaded three mile marker hubs on my current rig with the same arb unit no damage whatsoever.
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Well that answers that question for a 60 then. Wonder if eaten will ever come out with a 4 pinion design for the 60 e-locker.
 
iwaxmyjimmy said:
Excuse my ignorance but if you pop a shaft with an ARB will it mess the locker up like on a Detroit?
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Detroit lockers and some LSDs are prone to damage because of the way the torque unloads across the diff when the shaft breaks, which can do dramatic things to the parts of the diff that handle torque transfer between shafts. ARBs are open diffs when unlocked, and completely locked when locked, so they don't act the same during a big torque unloading event. That's not to say it's good for them, it's just that they won't fail in the same way because they don't operate the same.
 
Fabrik8 said:
Detroit lockers and some LSDs are prone to damage because of the way the torque unloads across the diff when the shaft breaks, which can do dramatic things to the parts of the diff that handle torque transfer between shafts. ARBs are open diffs when unlocked, and completely locked when locked, so they don't act the same during a big torque unloading event. That's not to say it's good for them, it's just that they won't fail in the same way because they don't operate the same.
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Yeah I was tracking that with the Detroit but I'm not that familiar with the ARBs. Know plenty who run them but never screwed with one myself. It's something I consider when shopping for parts. If you pop a shaft it's nice to just replace the shaft and get off the trail, not be screwed and have to rebuild a locker or whatever else gets damaged too.
 
shawn said:
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The case of the ARB looked much beefier to me in that application, and why did they have to write/scribe ARB on the axle shaft? I'm skeptical of manufactures testing other people stuff because any good marketing guy ain't gonna put his stuff up against a superior product. Get a non-bias 3rd party pirate4x4 test then I'll believe it more I guess.

Edit: look at the distance to from the case to the ring gear bolts, of course that zip locker will fail first. Anyone know which axle those fit?
 
I think it was a D30 or D44 locker in the test.
 
iwaxmyjimmy said:
Edit: look at the distance to from the case to the ring gear bolts, of course that zip locker will fail first.
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If you're talking about the length of the case, I think it's an illusion because of the case shape. It looks like they're the same case length. The Zip has a two piece case that's got bolts right above the cross pins though, which is going to be much weaker than the one piece case with the curved endbell of the ARB. Yeah, of course the Zip is going to split between the cross pin holes and the end of the case, with a threaded bolt hole connecting the dots between the two.
 
Fabrik8 said:
If you're talking about the length of the case, I think it's an illusion because of the case shape. It looks like they're the same case length. The Zip has a two piece case that's got bolts right above the cross pins though, which is going to be much weaker than the one piece case with the curved endbell of the ARB. Yeah, of course the Zip is going to split between the cross pin holes and the end of the case, with a threaded bolt hole connecting the dots between the two.
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The diameter of the case is what I was talking about. But you can even tell the ARB is just beefier everywhere
 
I love my Detroit on the trail, but hate it on the street. I have a manual transmission, so it is jerky when you change gears. I've heard they aren't as bad in an automatic. Wish I would have went with a selectable locker.
 
I drive 50% off road/on road detroits both ends. It also matters which diff you have. My 8.8 Detroit locker was a nightmare. Ford 9 and Dana 44 were wayyyy smoother.
 
What's the difference in install price between a Detroit and ARB?

With the sale on lockers right now the ARB is not that much more than the Detroit considering the free air compressor.
 
seed60 said:
What's the difference in install price between a Detroit and ARB?

With the sale on lockers right now the ARB is not that much more than the Detroit considering the free air compressor.
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ARB takes a little more time due to drilling the housing for the air line. if you have the shop rum the air lines, install compressor, and switches, that will cost you too.
 
i planned detroit for a long time, but what it came down to is that my winter driving isnt safe with a detroit especially if the wife or inlaws drive it. many pages of reading resulted in a strong general concensus, selectable is the way to go.

regarding that. ive learned over the years. limit your dependencies. air requires more. electronic is cool. cable is optimal.

imho worth 2 cent
 
@seed60 ARB will cost more to install unless you do most of the wiring and plumbing yourself. If the vehicle gets mostly highway driving and very little trail a selectable is what I would choose. If the vehicle is a trail vehicle a Detroit all the way and don't worry about electrical problems, compressor failure, air lines damaged, damaged seals inside the locker. I've had both setups in a TJ and liked the idea of the ARB but after failures on the trail went to the Detroits and never looked back. The Detroit will take some getting used to driving on the highway but it can be done with caution. If driving on the highway in snow/ice be very careful as it will send you spinning quickly.
 
ckruzer said:
i planned detroit for a long time, but what it came down to is that my winter driving isnt safe with a detroit especially if the wife or inlaws drive it. many pages of reading resulted in a strong general concensus, selectable is the way to go.

regarding that. ive learned over the years. limit your dependencies. air requires more. electronic is cool. cable is optimal.

imho worth 2 cent
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I've been driving with a spool in the rear for years. It's less than desirable on the road and brings the suck when we do get snow, maybe once a year. But I like that it's there and always works. That was my thought when thinking of going with a Detroit.

But with mostly street driving I want to get away from being locked all the time. I like the idea of the ARB and the possibility of onboard air just worry about it working every time with all the extra stuff it needs to work. Been looking at the OX locker with the cable too. I like the mechanical aspect of it compared to the ARB but have read they have their own problems with the shifter cable. Too much research is sometimes a bad thing.
 
seed60 said:
I've been driving with a spool in the rear for years. It's less than desirable on the road and brings the suck when we do get snow, maybe once a year. But I like that it's there and always works. That was my thought when thinking of going with a Detroit.

But with mostly street driving I want to get away from being locked all the time. I like the idea of the ARB and the possibility of onboard air just worry about it working every time with all the extra stuff it needs to work. Been looking at the OX locker with the cable too. I like the mechanical aspect of it compared to the ARB but have read they have their own problems with the shifter cable. Too much research is sometimes a bad thing.
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i love the idea of a selectable. When i go more trail than street ill prob go that route
 
Air actuated Ox Lockers are the cats meow.
I've done a few lately in JKs and was impressed with the quality. Only issue is the air line isn't nearly as protected as it is with an ARB.
Really hard to beat an ARB. Proper ARB install takes more time than a conventional locker/diff as you need to use a housing spreader to get adequate carrier bearing preload and stop air leaks.
 
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