ARB air lockers

Hi mate i also drive a GU Patrol and can say the Patrols have one of the best lsd diffs around however lockers turn it into a whole different beast. This is one of the best mods i have done on my patrol and makes it twice as capable offroad your able to approach tuff obstacles with less gusto. One thing with the lockers is you can get that bit further up that tuff track but you can also get that little bit more stuck than you would normally so a little common sense can go along way also. To finish off go ahead and install diff lockers front and rear and you wont regret it.

As before Nissans have one of the best LSD diffs and that comes from a toyota owner. (just had mine overhauled at 90,000km)

Front diff locker I think would be great and combined with the nissan rear LSD you will have an awesome 4x4.

I believe the problem with a rear diff locker is it is either on (locked) or you have a plain open diff. Sometimes you don't want a locked rear diff like when driving a difficult track that is winding. The rear diff locker will want to push you off the track at every turn.

Cheers

David

John,

I put in ARB front and rear lockers in the TD100 when I broke my front diff :oops
and the LSD had gone in the rear.
I mostly use the rear and generally just so I don't have put the foot down on steep loose tracks.

thanks a bunch guys...appreciate your comments.
John

I have them in the front and rear of mine and like others have said they are awesome but I have often gone up stuff wondering how I managed to do that looking down....and then how am I going to get down :)

Hi John

We have tested this extensively and front locker makes a huge difference with rear locker contributing about an extra meter on a 35 degree test slope with GU Patrols. Using an 80 series the front and rear locker makes about the same
difference.

Its a bit about weight balance also - if you place your car on a weighbridge it
will weigh a little more at front axle, and this axle also has least articulation
hence lifts wheel earlier and hence locker can help more.

Even a 240 kg load of cement does not make locker significantly better in GU rear.

In my manual Patrol I fitted both , but with my auto 4800 I did not , a front locker and rear LSD being a better all round combination as LSD can help a lot in normal driving.

I'd go for a Detroit Locker (have one in the front diff of me Troopy) that way you don't have any diff penetrations that could create problems.

I did some research into this before I went with an auto locker in the front of my GQ patrol.
Yes the LSD in the Patrols is good. I did find one American site that mentioned that the same LSD is sold under a different name in America as an upgrade!
Fairly sure Nissan wouldn't make it anyway and just buy it from the manufacturer and put their name on it (and charge double :) ). I haven't driven with a rear locker so can't comment on the difference but considering the price of them the change would want to be dramatic considering the LSD is fairly good anyway.

Cheers,

Hi

Just a general question. Would you consider air lockers on the new generation Prados with traction control ?

Richard

Hi John, 
As most say, definitely. for a Patrol  keep the rear LSD and run a difflock on the front. Tyre selection and tyre air pressure will play a large part in how useful the difflock/LSD combo is. Many non aggressive tyres will limit the advantages of the difflock.
For general usage an auto locker ( Detroit, lokka etc) has reliability and maneuverability advantages over an air locker especially in sand and when negotiating tight turns and obstacles. Also on an air locker if an air line breaks or leaks or the compressor fails it is back to an open diff. For the times when not using it a front Auto locker really is best with manual hubs.
To get the most out of the Patrol LSD use only Limslip 140 (not 90/140) from Penrite.
The Patrol LSD is the only one which can really take advantage of the 140 grade oil but the Penrite was the best by far of all the brands in this diff. It makes the pressure  plates work exceptionally well and will also solve chatter problems sometimes exhibited in these diffs.

Hope this helps.
KerryW (Qld)