So I just bought a ARB for my d60 front to replace my Detroit. I got it for agood price. I love the chit out of my Detroit with it never letting me down and having pretty damn good steering with hydro assist offroad. The only issue I didn't like was once I had to drive the highway home from a tough truck event in front wheel drive after breaking rear shaft and with any hard acceleration the steering pulled or with any fast deceleration from a cruise speed it pulled. It was a little dodgy.
On snow covered roads in winter it's awesome and I'll hit the fast lane and pass in heavy snowy weather.

How much better is the ability to unlock on and offroad for these situations. Offroad there's times where steering could use a little more umphhff but with a little revs it pulls out. Will unlocking diff make a big difference?
Either way the ARB is going in and I'm pretty stoked!

 

I can't think of a single reason to go with a Detroit in the front over an ARB - cost not being a factor.

 

Amen to that.

 

Hopefully you have a better experience with ARB than my older brother. He ran ARB front and rear on his yota for a few years. Bought it and had it professionaly installed by a "ARB-Cert" off road shop. Worked great for a couple months and then one of the seals or gaskets started leaking air. he went in had them fix it and then it did it again in a different spot. The second time it would actually pop the rear locker out, as if you disengaged it. Hopefully you have a better experience than he did!

 

I honestly can't see the reason to go ARB.

I only lock mine in 4 wheel drive when its needed anyways, than pop it back in 2.

 

i'm with dave on this. as a guy who lives in a place that gets snow for 5 months of the year 4x4 is not as needed as most think, specially with a locked rear, on road. it's also not needed 100% of the time wheeling like he said.

being that you have hydro assist i'd say dertroit over an arb any day for wheeling. what are the most common issues you hear about arb's? ripped air lines, bad seals, and fubared compressors, all things that can ruin a wheeling trip quick and can also be 100% avoided by going detroit. yeah detroits fail too, but it's a lot less common.

 

Love my ARB's. I put them in myself. You just have to be **** about how you do the install.

I have used them quite a bit in the past two years. I tow my travel trailer off road (I mean off road. not dirt roads.) to isolated spots a few times a year, along with standard highway and campgrounds. The ARB's have worked flawlessly, getting me out of situations that would have required a tow truck. This is real important since the trailer is near 9000lbs loaded.

Having that switch is real nice, since I drive without worrying about foot off the gas in a turn like in a Detroit, since the rear is open until I lock it. No banging, No noise.

The front means that I have full freedom of steering off road untill I need that lockup. Then the steering gets harder. The Detroit would make the steering harder all the time in 4WD.

My only problem is the damn D50 and crappy axle shafts. I busted an outer shaft towing the trailer off road this year. Hit a patch of smooth rock with one wheel and it was too much for the shaft to take. It was locked at the time. The ARB diff is fine.

I'm rebuilding it this winter with alloy shafts, inner and outer. Hopefully that will help.

 

Well I will let you know IF I have any issues. My Detroit would be a perfect canidate for my other 79 f250 camper special...

I would also say that while wheeling ,3 wheel drive gets ya most places anyways and Im very curious to see the benefits.

 

You are depending on few other intricate parts to keep it locked in and the more things you add the more things that can go wrong & like Dan said "can ruin a wheeling trip quick". I too have heard stories of seals leaking & broken parts. IMO the Powr-Loc is always going to be the best choice for a front 60. You don't even really notice it being in there, good manners all the time in any situation & no broken parts. But if you are anything like me, you too can't leave well enough alone and don't mind trying new things even if it might mean good money after bad, it's all about the hobby.

 

I'm searching now for an air setup as the locker doesn't cone with one. Was looking into the standard ARB (cksa12)compressor just to engage it but I'd like the ability to fill tires. The next best is a ckma12, (ARB part # )that can handle this. My other option is a Viair 380c compressor that I found fairly local to me for a good price new.
Lastly is a York ac compressor but I don't know if I could make it fit under hood with another pulley and bracket. This would be the best overall I guess.

The Viair 380 with a 2.5 or 5 gallon tank might be the best happy medium for what I want.

 

I've wasted hours looking into a 12v compressor now and I've pretty much narrowed it down to what I want/ need.
The best bang for the buck is the Puma 12v.

12 volt 1.5 gal air compressor Puma mini | eBay

This is the best price you will find and it has the best Cfm flow over most ARB units and it has a mounted 1.5 gallon tank.
Problem is I will need all the switches and pressure regulators for the ARB as it only requires 85-90 psi or u will blow the seals. The individual parts to cobble a system together will now cost as much as ARB's new twin compressor that has better Cfm flow #'s and really is top of the line.

This is what I'm looking to buy
http://www.arbusa.com/uploads/PDF/ne...A12_retail.pdf

Cheapest I found was $470 and I still need some fittings.

So if anyone even cares if you want a Badass compressor to run the odd air tool and fill larger tires the Puma is the cats *** for price.

Again a York compressor, belt driven has the best output but I'm just showing some options as it's not always possible to fit and make work.

I picked up my ARB last week but I won't see a compressor for probably 2-3 weeks but I'm ordering in the next few days. I hate buying crap so I'm just gonna pass on my info I've gained through this
O the Puma is one of the more quiet units too

 

A regular York AC compressor won't work?

 

$470 is a lot of money.
i got 2 new viair 480 compressors and 2 three gallon tanks for $400 off ebay two years ago

 

It would be a tight fit and I'd need a belt to run compressor and power steering in one. Then I still need switches,line regulator, and something to relieve pressure to disengage, all in a ARB kit..

 

1 , 100% duty cycle Viair (480) goes for $200 alone. They are good compressors though.