New Gears and Lockers

msiminoff wrote:

2 MPG better ? VERY IMPRESSIVE !

Yeah, I'm totally blown away by this! I expected expected worse MPG unloaded and about the same (or a smudge better) with the TC on. It's a really nice bonus for sure.

ARB locker are kind of expensive, especially with the compressor. Did you look into E-lockers?

I looked at all of the available options before deciding on ARB. In second place was the combination of TruTrac in the rear and E-Locker up front. I already had onboard air and I wanted to have a bulletproof driveline that had excellent street manners (99.9% of my driving) and was a spool when I need it to be. I felt like I needed to re-gear, and at that point the brand of locking diff I selected really didn't change the total cost all that much.

I'm pretty good mechanically but when it comes to setting preload and coast and load on the ring gear, I leave that up to a good, reputable shop. Takes skill I don't have to set it correctly.

I also do all of my own wrenching, but I let the nice guys at Rearend Specialties install the gears for me. Their shop does one thing and they do it very well.
There's zero gear noise at all and when I pulled the cover off to do the fluid change the wear marks are full depth and dead-center on the ring gear.

No point in turning over the output shafts and universals when I don't require it...

I have manual hubs too, so none of the front drivetrain is spinning when it isn't needed.

Hard surfaces and a locker (especially with a loaded truck) can find the weak point in the driveline real fast, usually a universal joint but sometimes a drive hub or wheel output shaft.

Can't imagine any time when I'd lock either diff' on a hard, dry surface. I'd say there's a pretty good chance that I'll never actually need to lock the front one off-road... it's just insurance.

Still carry my Lewis winch. Sometimes, locked diff's don't cut it.

Ya, I carry a MorePower puller for exactly that reason.

How did you calculate mpg? Did you recalculate odometer difference from real distance?

Um, I divided the number of miles driven by the amount of fuel I put into the tank... I've counted ever gallon of fuel I've put into the truck since the day I bought it.
Yes, my speedo has been re-calibratedand matches my GPS within ¼ MPH.

I don't want an air locker in the back, tire wear becomes an issue...

Tire wear? With an open diff?

Cheers,
-Mark