Cil111 Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 Hi everyone i do not know if this has been covered already since a search did not really result in what i am looking for.. I also do not know if i posted in the right section... I have tried in the tech section but reasons which i cannot understand it is not letting me... to get to my query i am looking at one of the biggest dilemma's that one can come across when choosing diff locks... I have already narrowed it down to a manual diff lock, i.e. no automatic lockers like detroit because i want to control when it comes on and goes off... therefore i have narrowed it down to two lockers basically.. maxi drive and ARB's... KAM we are not able to get in malta as no one really gets it and to be honest I have not seen it in action, thus i prefer going for the tried and tested lockers available locally. I would appreciate feedback on strengths of each individual lockers, based on practical experience and usage if possible.. My first instint is to go for the ARB's mainly because of price. I intend to put one in the rear for now with maybe the possibility of adding one in the front at a later date. The thing is that with maxi you get shafts included as well as drive flanges which basically makes the axle pretty much bombproof... However for the price of one maxi u can pretty much do both arb's... i was thinking of running the arb with bearmach V8 shafts which are said to be slightly stronger than standard shafts... Considering i have a vechicle with 7.50 tyres and pretty much light (series 1 hybrid 80inch weighing around a ton or so) i thought that this setup should be adequate for my needs...then again if one of these goes bust they are pretty cheap to replace... then again as mentioned before maxi's are very much fit and forget... I am concerned about ARB reliability and strenght compared to maxi especially since i have heard stories of ARB leaking air etc etc any thoughts and advice will be appreciated... PS i apologize in advance if this topic has been covered before or if i posted in the wrong section. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
white90 Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 just for info no one can post in the tech archive it is for storage only. Lockers/shafts. You would do well to contact David Ashcroft @ Ashcroft Transmissions I can recommend ARB diff lock and the CV's from David he also sells shafts to suit, to date no one has broken a single one they are top quality very well engineered ad come with 5yr warranty. Maxi drive are v expensive in Europe and require chopping of the axle casing should you break anything ARB spare are easily obtained and if you damage a shaft you can just shove a standard one in place. the money spent on Bearmach shafts would be far better placed towards a set from Ashcrofts. ARBs are strong and easily:fitted/maintained by anyone competent. O rings are the only thing that I've seen that need attention and that on the rear is a easy job easily done in an hour or two. I've had ARBs approx 4-5yrs and covered 35k miles no worries whatsoever Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petergg Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 I have a Jack McNamara in rear and ARB in front I wish I had Jacmac in front. Peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landrover598 Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 I've been using an ARB for about 7 or 8 months and had no problems with it, easy to install and easy to use, so i'd recommend them the money spent on Bearmach shafts would be far better placed towards a set from Ashcrofts. At £16 each the V8 90 shafts are slightly cheaper option than the Ashcroft shafts. There are a few people using them (including myself) and have had no problems with them. As your only on small tyres these should be more than adequate. I'm using them with 33" Simex and i think Jim uses them with 35" Simex. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nas90 Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 Hi everyonei do not know if this has been covered already since a search did not really result in what i am looking for.. I also do not know if i posted in the right section... I have tried in the tech section but reasons which i cannot understand it is not letting me... to get to my query i am looking at one of the biggest dilemma's that one can come across when choosing diff locks... I have already narrowed it down to a manual diff lock, i.e. no automatic lockers like detroit because i want to control when it comes on and goes off... therefore i have narrowed it down to two lockers basically.. maxi drive and ARB's... KAM we are not able to get in malta as no one really gets it and to be honest I have not seen it in action, thus i prefer going for the tried and tested lockers available locally. I would appreciate feedback on strengths of each individual lockers, based on practical experience and usage if possible.. My first instint is to go for the ARB's mainly because of price. I intend to put one in the rear for now with maybe the possibility of adding one in the front at a later date. The thing is that with maxi you get shafts included as well as drive flanges which basically makes the axle pretty much bombproof... However for the price of one maxi u can pretty much do both arb's... i was thinking of running the arb with bearmach V8 shafts which are said to be slightly stronger than standard shafts... Considering i have a vechicle with 7.50 tyres and pretty much light (series 1 hybrid 80inch weighing around a ton or so) i thought that this setup should be adequate for my needs...then again if one of these goes bust they are pretty cheap to replace... then again as mentioned before maxi's are very much fit and forget... I am concerned about ARB reliability and strenght compared to maxi especially since i have heard stories of ARB leaking air etc etc any thoughts and advice will be appreciated... PS i apologize in advance if this topic has been covered before or if i posted in the wrong section. I have used KAM lockers on my nas90 for 7 years without any problems. We supply parts to KAM and therefore I know Kevin and his team both as a supplier and user. I am pretty sure that he has supplied parts into Malta (Cyprus maybe) because of your rock crawling exploits. You might also look at their uprated CV joints, which for rock crawling will be beneficial. KAM also market limited slip diffs (LSD) which might be of use. The lockers I have fitted are air operated, but the latest design uses solenoid control with only about 4 moving parts, much simpler and easier! Definitely go for the manually operated locker, with automatic lockers you are never sure whether they are locked or you have open diffs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cil111 Posted April 9, 2007 Author Share Posted April 9, 2007 actually I sort of forgot about Jack Macs... though again... i have to do some research on how they fit etc... Re the bearmach vs ashcroft shafts again it is simply a matter of cost... while yes ashcroft are definitely a superior product.. the cost (at least in malta) is an issue... and while bearmach shafts are a bit more than GBP 16 over here... (actually i think they would be something like GBP 30) it is still the cheapest around... and from what i have heard not a bad product for the money u paying... re KAM like i said we had some of them in the past but from what i have heard the shafts had a horrible way of failing here... in fact they are not represented any more as far as i know... again i have seen a huge improvement at least in their latest products however i would like to purchase somehing where a local agent is appointed purely for parts purposes and just in case of breakages and need urgent replacement... Seems the arb's are on top at the moment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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