ARB lockers versus stock Rubicon lockers. Pros and cons. Ready? Go!

 

Air vs electric
$1000 vs $1400
Works in any housing vs works ONLY in rubi44 housings
Need onboard air vs don't need air
Has air lines that may fail vs no lines

If you are speaking of the 35spline arb that does work in the rubi housing, you also need to add in the expense of new shafts.

Just looked at your profile. You have a Sahara, why are you even worried about factory lockers, they won't fit your axles. Or are you considering building a bare rubi housing?

 

Great info, thanks.

I do have a Sahara and I love it the way I'm building it. But my buddy is trying to decide whether the buy something like a Sport model and build it, or buy a Rubicon and consider it 75% built (for overland). One major consideration is lockers - standard in Rubi versus adding them in a Sport. What else should he consider?

 

Front d30 gears vs beefier d44 gears. Rear gears are the same.
Slightly upgraded axle shafts in the rubi housings. (non-rubi 27sp front 30sp rear, rubi 30sp front and 32 sp in the rear)
The housings themselves are basically the same, so the front rubi 'housing' offers no advantage other than being able to fit the gears.
If he decides on a sport, Eaton makes a good electric locker, no added expense for an air source.
The rubi has an arguably better tcase ratio. (2.72:1 vs 4:1)
The rubi has the e-disco, but many people prefer cheap discos over them.
And the rubi has the blingy 'rubicon' stickers...

 

There are some Sport vs Rubicon around that good discussions about this very subject. There price comparisons that show you can put Eaton E-lockers plus some other add ons for less than a Rubicon. I don't rock crawl so I prefer the Sport t - case ratio better.

 

Had a buddy whose lockers went out in his rubi, there are no "parts" to replace, the dealership told him front and rear to replace everything about $5500 for both I do believe. Where as aftermarket locker you may have parts or another locker to choose from.

 

OX makes a front and rear locker for the rubi housings 30/32 spline for replacements if the factory lockers fail.

 

Ox also is the only company that doesn't have a tire size limit on the warranty. They also have 4 different lock methods air, electric, cable, or manual for emergency. The manual engagement is nice ask me how I know. I was wishing I had bought OX after loosing my main air line and spent most of my wheeling trip trying to find a way to fix it. I have Yukon ZIP lockers which I do like, but I'm stuck at 35s to keep the warranty which with Yukon is one of the best in the industry. ARB only warranties you if you run stock tire. Like you can brake a locker with stock size tires.

 

Does OX make a cable locker for the dana 30 front? I'm looking to regear soon to 4.56 and need to replace the carrier. So I'm thinking of at least adding a rear locker and maybe a front. Do you have any idea of the pricing for one?

 

The cost depends on which add-ons you go for. Quadratec lists it as 860 for the d30 locker+diff cover, plus 90 for the shift actuator, plus 26 for the key to be able to unlock it if the cable breaks, plus 110 for the air actuation system (which would also need an air source) or 160 for the electric actuation system, plus, plus ...


For a front d30, a $390 truetrac might make a lot more sense. Or even a pair, 390 front and 415 rear = less than a single selectable locker...