Well, She Had to Ride Piggyback on the Way to Her Final Major Upgrade

[avslash]

I had to trailer "the goat" about 150 miles today for her last planned mechanical upgrade.

I finally found someone I was comfortable with to install the ARB front locker that has been sitting in my garage since a bit before Hurricane Harvey hit Houston.

I had one dry run to a shop before, only to find out the shims and crush collar required to properly install these are virtually unobtainable. Well, most shops seem to think they are unobtainable, anyway.

A ton of other phone calls revealed most supposed Rover shops don't want to touch this install with a ten foot pole.

If you guys are interested, I will update you with the results in a week or two when I get her back.

 

[jpjp]

Good luck with the install!

Had a question for you about towing the 4. I recently broke down in Asheville NC on a road trip from Raleigh to Pisgah National Forest and after going to a few mechanics there I made the decision to have her trailered home because I needed to be back in S.FL and they wouldn't have gotten all the fuel injectors in time.
Anyways, I had access to a Toyota Sequoia to use to pull the Rover down but none of the rental companies would rent me a trailer for the LR4 saying it was too heavy for their trailers.

Is your trailer a braked trailer? I've never towed something that heavy and it would have been a 12-14 hr drive home so I'm kinda glad I ended up having it towed with a dually by a professional.

I'm guessing you will have to switch the air locker on with a switch right, there is no way to get the computer to do it right? Can the Gap tool operate it? So, will you just turn it on for certain sections of a trail or will you just wait till you get stuck? I have the rear locker and it hardly ever turns on for very long periods of time. Just curious I guess.

 

[avslash]

Good luck with the install!

Had a question for you about towing the 4. I recently broke down in Asheville NC on a road trip from Raleigh to Pisgah National Forest and after going to a few mechanics there I made the decision to have her trailered home because I needed to be back in S.FL and they wouldn't have gotten all the fuel injectors in time.
Anyways, I had access to a Toyota Sequoia to use to pull the Rover down but none of the rental companies would rent me a trailer for the LR4 saying it was too heavy for their trailers.

Is your trailer a braked trailer? I've never towed something that heavy and it would have been a 12-14 hr drive home so I'm kinda glad I ended up having it towed with a dually by a professional.

I'm guessing you will have to switch the air locker on with a switch right, there is no way to get the computer to do it right? Can the Gap tool operate it? So, will you just turn it on for certain sections of a trail or will you just wait till you get stuck? I have the rear locker and it hardly ever turns on for very long periods of time. Just curious I guess.

The trailer does have brakes, but I have towed heavier without them, in a pinch. I figure the total load yesterday was somewhere around 9,000 pounds including the weight of the trailer. The trailer has two 5,200 pound rated axles, so wasn't really approaching max weight. The Titan XD Cummins wasn't phased at all by it. Still averaged 14.8mpg, although I didn't go through one of those damned regen cycles that modern diesels have. That would have knocked it down a couple MPG, at least.

Can't post a pic until I get it back, but yes. There is a switch for air compressor, and a separate switch for the front locker. The compressor switch must be on for the locker to activate. It operates as a bit of a failsafe to prevent unintended activation of the front locker. I would anticipate using it for particularly muddy, sandy, rocky, or snowy sections where one wheel can slip when needed so as not to blow up the front diff. What I have been through before where I know I would have activated it are talus slope climbs or crossings on mountain trails. My rear locker and the terrain response system were asking for a bit of mercy after those.

The compressor itself is mounted under the hood in front of the passenger side air intake housing on top of the fender well.

 

[ryanjl]

Is this the ARB locker for the LR3? As far as I know, a front ARB in an LR4 is uncharted territory. Scott Brady had purportedly done one in the front of ExPo LR4 project, but it was short on details.

 

[avslash]

Is this the ARB locker for the LR3? As far as I know, a front ARB in an LR4 is uncharted territory. Scott Brady had purportedly done one in the front of ExPo LR4 project, but it was short on details.

Yep, it is the same model locker as the LR3.

I followed that thread on Expo for years, but it died out before many details were posted on the lockers. I have heard anecdotally, that even though the ARB catalog lists it for the application, that the rear locker actually cannot be installed in an LR4. Haven't really researched it as mine has the factory rear locker.

I am pretty sure there are at least 5-10 or so trucks running around the USA with the front locker installed. I feel like I have seen one two mentioned on here before, but my memory could be failing me.

The problem is getting the install done. There is a particular crush collar that is required to properly install them and it is just almost flat-out impossible to get your hands on one. The factory won't supply them. After much searching, I found a very pleasant gent who happened to be somewhat local to me that at one point had contracted a firm in South Africa to produce them. He, in turn pointed me in the direction of a local shop that had installed around 3 of them over the years and agreed to supply the collar and any shims or other parts needed to complete the install. The shop is also gong to replace all of the bearings while it is apart, so I will be ending up with a completely freshened, lockable front diff.

 

[DouglasH]

Yep, it is the same model locker as the LR3.

I followed that thread on Expo for years, but it died out before many details were posted on the lockers. I have heard anecdotally, that even though the ARB catalog lists it for the application, that the rear locker actually cannot be installed in an LR4. Haven't really researched it as mine has the factory rear locker.

I am pretty sure there are at least 5-10 or so trucks running around the USA with the front locker installed. I feel like I have seen one two mentioned on here before, but my memory could be failing me.

The problem is getting the install done. There is a particular crush collar that is required to properly install them and it is just almost flat-out impossible to get your hands on one. The factory won't supply them. After much searching, I found a very pleasant gent who happened to be somewhat local to me that at one point had contracted a firm in South Africa to produce them. He, in turn pointed me in the direction of a local shop that had installed around 3 of them over the years and agreed to supply the collar and any shims or other parts needed to complete the install. The shop is also gong to replace all of the bearings while it is apart, so I will be ending up with a completely freshened, lockable front diff.

Could you send me in the direction of the South African contact please? Front locker on this would just be sublime.

 

[avslash]

She is back home with a completely freshened, lockable front diff.

Smooth process on my end, but the tech who did the install did take about 30 minutes explaining to me in detail about what a pain in the ass it is to set up these correctly. His process included a Bridgeport Mill table to be able to take accurate measurements.

@DouglasH asked for a point towards who to contact to do this, but I wanted to wait to clear sharing that information with the guys who helped me before doing so.

Both the gent with access to the parts and the shop owner who performed the install said they would be willing to do others.

Todd of Rhino Hitches and Snomaster Fridges (who has been mentioned in other threads) has access to the elusive crush sleeve, bearings, etc to install the locker and rebuild the diff while you are in there.

The shop Todd recommended is Pro-Tech in Austin, TX. Steve is the owner and did the install. Very personable guy, and it was apparent after talking with him for half an hour that he knew his stuff. I will be heading back his way whenever my rear diff decides to eat itself.

http://differentialpartsus.com

http://www.protechtx.com

Now I have to find some mud...

 

[cperez]

Todd of Rhino Hitches and Snomaster Fridges (who has been mentioned in other threads) has access to the elusive crush sleeve, bearings, etc to install the locker and rebuild the diff while you are in there.

Todd is a good guy based on my dealings with him. Now let's see some more Rhino hitches out in the wild!

 

[avslash]

If anyone is interested in seeing pics of the factory unit with 90ish thousand miles on it, hit the like button, and I will post some of it. Or if you have any curiosity about wear on any specific piece of it, let me know and I will try and photograph it for you.

If no one cares, I'm not going to the trouble of getting greasy. On second though, maybe I should dunk it in a parts cleaner and make a lamp out of it.

Hmmm.

 

[TheWidup]

I like the lamp idea