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#48668 - 13/07/03 09:46 AM ARB Locker Install (Almost) Successful
SOK Offline
Member

Registered: 27/01/02
Posts: 42
Loc: Dayton, OH
Finally I was able to put the ARB locker in the rear axle. I was a challenging task mostly due to the lack of proper tools and, maybe even more, the lack of proper knowledge. Also removing and putting back the third member with the vehicle on the stands in a small garage is not the best experience I had.
Anyway the locker works great: engages easily, no noise from the differential at any speeds… generally couldn’t be happier except one thing. I noticed that the rear axle (in diff area, i.e. drain or fill plug areas) builds up significant heat just after 10 miles of driving (just to clarify: No, I am not driving with the locker engaged). It is so hot that I cannot keep my hand longer than 2 seconds. I have never noticed anything like that with the OEM diff and it really concerns me. How long can the o-rings or pneumatic seal survive in such temperatures?

This heat is obviously caused by friction of something with something. I think there are three possible sources of excessive friction:
Bearing preload is not set up correctly (There is no straightforward instruction in the NSM how to set it up)
ARB dif increased mass and geometry that cause higher rate of fluid shear and cause more heat
ARB dif side and pinion mate gears initial wear (break-in) causing higher friction

The pinion and ring gear are setup perfectly. The backlash and runout are at their nominal values (assuming that the nominal is in the middle of Nissans spec) so I eliminated this potential cause. Also the tooth contact marks look very good.

Here is the question to ARB owners. Could someone “touch” the rear axle after 10 mile (or more) drive. If your diffs are not “hot” most likely I set up bearings to tight.

BTW if someone needs help on install I have bunch of pictures and a few advises. Just don’t ask how to set up the bearing preload…

Original...

vs. ARB

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#48669 - 13/07/03 05:22 PM Re: ARB Locker Install (Almost) Successful
xterra roy Offline
Junior Member

Registered: 21/12/02
Posts: 1
Loc: ny
hello i heard it was normal for the ring and pinion after a new set up to get very hot. i also read somewhere only drive the vehical for 10 miles and then let it cool down. you should do this at least 3 times i read. also about the pinion reload did you have to remove the pinion. i mean did you have to shim it.

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#48670 - 13/07/03 07:43 PM Re: ARB Locker Install (Almost) Successful
SOK Offline
Member

Registered: 27/01/02
Posts: 42
Loc: Dayton, OH
There is no need to change the pinion gear position, which makes this install less painful. However the differential change still requires the setup of the ring gear relative to already installed pinion gear, which means that you have to set the backlash and check the tooth marks.

The biggest problem I had with the ARB diff is that I had an excessive runout on the ring gear after installing the gear on the ARB diff case. This dramatically affected the backlash. The backlash changes with the ring gear rotating with excessive runout. Who installed the ARB locker can imagine what pain is to put the gear ring on the ARB diff case (heat the gear in the oven, apply loctite, torque all bolts to 60Nm and then additional 37° of rotation – and do this without a solid 8” vise attached to a solid workbench). And I had to do this three times because I thought I had some debris between the gear and ARB surfaces. I turned out that the ARB itself (without ring gear) had significant runout! I put the ring gear in another three positions (yes, still had to heat the gear and torque it) until I found the best spot where the machining errors on both parts somehow cancelled instead of adding to more runout. I ended up with 0.001” total runout vs. ESM max limit of 0.0031”.
My advice for future ARB installers: Always check the runout on the surface mating to the ring gear of ARB differential case before installing the ring gear. This will give indication if you need to find the sweet spot and will save you time of applying and removing loctite from bolts and holes every time you put the ring gear.
One more advice: If you are married do not put the oily ring gear in the oven. The wife [Freak] does not appreciate the smell of the burned oil coming off from her new kitchen oven. I would recommend getting a large pan and put it on the grill (put water in the pan!!! and then before putting loctite, blow off the holes with compressed air)

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#48671 - 13/07/03 09:41 PM Re: ARB Locker Install (Almost) Successful
OnlyOneDR Offline
Member

Registered: 18/03/02
Posts: 622
Well I'll tell you that I drove about 15 miles today to my work where I was going to change the shocks on my truck. Remembering your post, I laid a hand to the 3rd and it was pretty damn hot. I have the OEM LSD still set up from the factory in there. So I'd say that was pretty normal to be hot like that.
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