4.89 gear set install?

[Doc Dave]

Good idea Clint. Since ARB sells wholesale, and Dan is a known buyer from them, he could probably have them "drop shipped" directly from the factory in Australia to Aussiecowboy

[Desoto61]

They're not cheap but they definitely simplify rebuilding the differentials, not only by eliminating the spider gear rebuild, but also because they are machined much more accurately than the stock assembly was so there are essentially no issues with runout to worry about.

Just a few extra steps involved in routing the air line, and have to be EXTREMELY careful with the o-ring seals during installation or fixing it is a nightmare.

Not to mention the off-road benefits. Not sure they're cheaper than shipping a spider assembly to the US and back, but still, they're pretty!

[aussiecowboy]

I have sent Dan an email asking if he can drop ship, and if he'll cut me a deal for buying two. Probably not cheaper than sending my spiders away but it would be unstoppable offroad. I could then just replace the carrier bearings, re-use my front pinion bearings and replace the rear pinions, much as you did Desoto. I am still going to get some prices for shipping my centres away to Charles before I make any firm decisions. I'll go with Charles seal kits too I think.

[Desoto61]

True, and Dan is a very fair guy, I bought mine during one of his "sales" for a very reasonable discount off the normal price and he still threw in some extras for buying. If he can do it I don't see why he wouldn't, issue would probably be if he's having another run done any time soon, otherwise I think he buys in batches which are probably all shipped to him.

I did buy all new bearings for my rear differential since it's the one that does all the work. I agree with Charles that the ideal is to replace it all, there is no way to know how close a bearing is to failure without specialized testing (and that would proabably cost more than just buying new bearings), but for the front I took a calculated risk that with the lockout hubs the actual run time on the front diff would be very minimal compared to the rear (not to mention the wallet fatigue over all the other expenses in those axles). Might be a bad decision, but I figure it can't be any worse than the risk I took rebuilding them myself!

[aussiecowboy]

Where did you source your bearings from?

[Desoto61]

You can turn up part numbers for most of the bearings here with the search function and order most of them from just about any decent bearing supply. At the time though I think I got the full set for the rear from VPW (group 24, page 100), they list the set for $525, though like Charles stated they may have gone up since that page was last updated, or may not have the front bearing assembly in stock.

[Tweety]

Dan Shockley the ARB guy says he has a minimum batch size of 16 from the factory. When I placed an order sometime in February I think, I was #1 and #2. I contacted him about how the list was filling up and never got a reply.

I did manage to find a pair off DPW, but I'm still going to pick up the set I have reserved as these darn trucks seem to multiply.....

Now I'm waiting on the 4.89's from VPW so I can rebuild my axles with the ARB's and 4 wheel disk.

[aussiecowboy]

I got an answer from Dan Shockley today, he won't be ordering for at least several months and there is a 90 day lead time from there, so lockers are 5 months away, minimum. I also checked with ARB in Australia, they can't supply me either. Looks like I'm going with open centres.

[Waspworks]

I got an answer from Dan Shockley today, he won't be ordering for at least several months and there is a 90 day lead time from there, so lockers are 5 months away, minimum. I also checked with ARB in Australia, they can't supply me either. Looks like I'm going with open centres.

Isn't there a Detroit locker available for this model diff as well?

Greg.

[aussiecowboy]

Not that I have seen but I will do some looking for sure.

[Desoto61]

There are those "lock-right" style units yes, but they don't actually replace the differential carrier like an ARB does, they replace the spider gears inside the carrier if I remember correctly, which still means opening the case up, and that's the part he was trying to avoid. Plus they work far differently than an ARB and if not used correctly can break stuff, though the ARB can too but only when locked in which you can control. You have little control over a lock-right.

Read through the manuals, it's not impossible to do but you will probably need to build or have built the special tool needed to open the case unless you can somehow get one from wherever you order the parts. Might be worth finding a good machinist if you're not one and showing him the proceedure, shouldn't be hard for one to do it. It's not amazingly complicated if I remember it correctly but like the rest of the differential you need to be precise.

You'll need the rebuild kit but they are available from VPW and Midwest among others, often with the better bronze thrust washers. If you have a machinist do it I'd make sure any special tooling he builds you get to keep as part of the cost, you or someone may need it again some day.

Honestly the only thing that kept me from swapping in newer axles was the look of the BUDD lug pattern and having to re-engineer the steering system. I may still consider it someday, crossover steering will make it handle better on the road, as will the better camber/caster settings of a more modern axle (though those could be retrofitted to ours I guess), but cost wise I'm not sure you're saving anything vice rebuilding a more modern axle, or even possibly having a new one built from one of the axle companies where you could also spec more gear ratios and higher strength components. Ahh the things we do for looks!

Good luck, you hafve quite the challenge before you even without living on the opposite side of the world!

[aussiecowboy]

I did look at the lock-right units and dismissed them fairly quickly. I found the application chart for Detroit lockers on the Eaton website, no locker for the Power Wagon. That's ok, I can live with open centres, just a bit more work to do.

I have been looking at the tools required to build these diffs and am confident that I can build all the required tooling myself. I work as a subsea engineer in the oil fields, precision is mandatory. I have a spare carrier on the way to practice on before I tear into mine.

I know what you're saying on the axle swap, I couldn't bring myself to molest such an original truck but the search is on for another one that I can modify to me hearts content.