ARB air lockers gu patrol

Peter,

If you want to use the locker, put it in the back first, and you might not have to have a front one installed.

Wayne

front as the rear has limited slip diff standard,btw you can have the rear diff adjusted to be tighter not fully locking but better than lsd for a couple of hundred dollars,maybe try that first.

Hi Peter R,
Rear first every time in my opinion without question. Having the air locker in the front has a really adverse effect on the steering especially when sand driving. Rather be pushed than pulled.

I have one in the front and it works well. The limited slip takes care of the rear end

Peter,

I've had GU's with air lockers in both the front & back (not on one vehicle at the same time) and I would never, ever consider fitting one in the rear again (if the option was a single locker for the vehicle). Why on earth would anyone remove one of the best LSD's manufactured and replace it with a locker & have an open diff at the front.

Bear in mind that with that great LSD there are very few places where your vehicle won't go without a locker and if you do encounter such a situation, you have a locker in the front and a bloody good LSD in the rear to assist.

As for being heavy in the steering you will hardly notice it in sand, although it is slightly heavier on firmer ground (I have the use of only one arm and have no issues with the slightly heavier steering).

And finally, if you use your air locker enough, there WILL come a time when it WILL fail, and if you have a locker in the rear and are unable to repair it on the spot, you have a vehicle with two open diffs which is next to useless (trust me, I'm speaking from uncomfortable experience)

Hey Peter,
The question on everyone's lips should have been
"What do you use the vehicle for?"

The Nissan LSD is one of the better on the market and for general touring purposes you wouldn't go replacing it just for the hell of it.

Diff lock use is not a science. You will use the rear ALOT more often than a front, but the front WILL make more difference when you do use it.

A front locker can be more hinderous than helpful in sand and slippery mud. A front locker is invaluable in ruts, hillclimbs and rocks.

A rear you can use nearly anytime you want. In fact i often just leave mine in for the less cycles on/off the less wear.

So to answer your question, It depends on the resultyou want. There is no generic correct answer!

Dan

Hi Peter

This is a subject we have considered and tested quite fully on calibrated slopes and filmed the results.

On a technical basis evaluation the locker should go in the front on GU patrols.
(Primarily because lockers work better on the less articulated axle.

Practical real world tests support this and show significantly more traction benefit with lockers in the front.

On one test , up a steep hill where the rear weight bias might seem to favour a real install the front position still wins , even when a 300kg load was used in the cargo area.

Above tests were conducted on vehicle with an open rear diff as well.

When the existing rear LSD is taken into account it becomes a no brainer from a traction point of view.

On my latest patrol 4800 I have just fitted a front locker only and the additional benefit of a rear locker is so limited that I won't bother with it.

Espically as a rear locker leaves you with constantly poorer on road performance without the LSD.

If / when I decide to fit diff-lock(s), the unit that I will be looking at first (and probably last) is the >>

Eaton ELocker

sold by Harrop Engineering

YMMV...............

:)

Had one in the front of the 2002 GU for years without ever considering the need for one in the rear - the LSD is as good as everyone says. Refer to the Patrol forum for further information. Cheers :).