another locker ?

need some advice on which locker is better the ox or the arb thanks for the help

i personally have the arb, and love the selctability, the only down falls ive had with the arb is the loss of pressure, (keep in mind i dont run the soilnoids and relays, im on a manual switch so there is less wiring)

i think an ox would be stronger as far as staying locked, and its all mechanical

another benifit of getting ox would be that they come with thick diff covers, (thats almost $100 if you were to get some for your arb)

ARB!!!

I like the idea of the OX much more mainly because if the arb loses pressure ie compressor fail, shorts out, line gets ripped off you no longer have a locker. Not to say this is very proabable (i've never heard of anyone having issues with them) and I guess the cable could fail on the OX too...I just like the fact the OX is mechanically engauged. Which ever one you decide to go with they're both very nice units though.

I'd pick the OX because it doesnt depend on air. Its self contained....

but doesn't OX go out of business every now and again? seems like i constantly hear something pertaining to that every now and again.

arb isn't going anywhere. if you have all of your stuff installed correctly, the arb setup works great. i have them front and rear. so far, no leaking issues what so ever. they have worked 100% perfectly and i would reccomend them to anyone that can afford them

Detroit!

FitchVA said:

but doesn't OX go out of business every now and again? seems like i constantly hear something pertaining to that every now and again.

arb isn't going anywhere. if you have all of your stuff installed correctly, the arb setup works great. i have them front and rear. so far, no leaking issues what so ever. they have worked 100% perfectly and i would reccomend them to anyone that can afford them

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I've never heard of OX going out of business, but that can happen to any company, No one suspected that Enron and Worldcom were going to go belly up.

I put an OX in my XJ because I didn't want to pay for a compressor and have to worry about tubing, wiring, etc.

i have an ARB front and Rear. My jeep came with the rear one when i got it and is the only reason why i put it up front. After regearing and installing the front, I had i new lease on life when it comes to the ARB.

GO OX.

ARB's are a big pain in the butt. The air tube that is in the housing is a brittle and weak copper tube that is a big pain. The blue line is thin and prone to brakeage. I wish they would re engineer the whole product and make it bombproof.

The ox looks like a better process, better engineering and more stout.

go ox

ARB= All Ready Broken

I've seen way to many people have issues with there ARB engaging to ever put one in my rig. If I was going to put a selectable in I would go an OX.

ARB has been around forever and have probably outsold OX 100:1. They are the bling bling of lockers, and anyone that has them will tell you how much they love them. There is no way to go wrong with ARB. However, they are not the only fish in the sea. As far as lockers themselves go, ARB, Eaton, Detroit, and OX all make great lockers. I would take any selectable over automatic if I could afford it. I love my selectability. With every selectable locker, there are going to be issues with the actuating system. Air lines, electrical switches, cable adjustments, comressor mounting, fittings, routing.....

If I had a ARB, I would love it and deal with it's shortcommings. I have a OX and love it. Can't wait to put one up front. They are very solid and simple. No air seals, no copper lines, no compressor. If anything goes wrong with the cable I can replace it with a bolt and be on my merry locked way. The shifter clutters things up a bit, but it has a bling factor as well. It took 5 minutes to adjust the cable when I installed it. In 6 months I adjusted it once. 5 minutes. It's on or off. It isn't complicated, it's a cable. What made up my mind was the OX's simplicity and stoutness. The diff cover ads a $100 value to it. It isn't something they add to be cool. The cover has to be stout because the actuator is attached to it. I was a bit short on money and the locker was expensive enough. I didn't have the money for the comressor and setup as well, even though I will have OBA soon. I paid $700 for mine including cable. It replaced a diff cover and a lunchbox locker that I returned. I already had $420 in that setup. This has been one of my decisions.

You can not go wrong with OX no matter what ARB people will tell you, even thought OX will never catch up to ARB sales. OX's customer sevice is great and they are made in the great USofA. My only complaint is that the don't make that cool PSSST sound when you disengage them like my friends ARBs do. Be a rebel, go OX.

muddshutter said:

ARB's are a big pain in the butt. The air tube that is in the housing is a brittle and weak copper tube that is a big pain. The blue line is thin and prone to brakeage. I wish they would re engineer the whole product and make it bombproof.

Click to expand...

I have an arb ready to go in and whiles it's on the bench I am looking into all the stuff that should be reengineered.... so stay tuned in a little while I am going to release info....as soon as I work all the quirks out

Frank Z said:

I've never heard of OX going out of business,

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i don't have any 1st hand knowledge of it, but it's been brought up on here a few times in the past.

My $0.02 -

I have an ARB up front, open in the back. Two issues so far, the ARB's copper line crimped inside the diff and wouldn't disengage the locker due to an install error. There's a small air leak which I'm too lazy to correct (it causes the compressor to cycle every 2 minutes or so). Other than that, I've loved it.

I went with the ARB because it gave me OBA which I really wanted. I would suggest getting a better compressor than the ARB though (e.g. Viair 400C or better).

As for the rear, I may go OX. I like the idea of a mechanical locker and won't have to worry about another air leak. Best of both worlds . . .

DR

FitchVA said:

i don't have any 1st hand knowledge of it, but it's been brought up on here a few times in the past.

Click to expand...

They were bought by another company. This is brought up everytime OX is mentioned. It was discused in another thread but I'm too lazy to look it up. Plus the big thing is, I don't care. Tractech was bought by Eaton. Does that mean that nobody will buy a Detroit cause they went belly up? Bottom line is it is a solid company with solid customer service. Call them up. I'm sure they will tell you exactly what happened. Everytime I called them, they spent plenty of time answering all my questions. In fact, let's find out. I will call them and see what they say. I'll get back to this.

Have you considered the ected locker? It's an electric locker that is a limited slip when not engauged...seems like a pretty good idea to me.

I have an ARB, the OX looks good too, but I got the ARB for $400 new so that is what I have. The install took a while, but not too bad, I have had worse. As far as air supply I made a tank out of 4 in PVC, Mounted it to the inside of the "Frame" if that is what you call it. It works great, it will engage and disengage about 30 times, and then it takes 5 min to fill it back up with a cheap CH tire inflater. I used a tank valve stem mounted inside my center console so that I don't have to even get out of the cab.

I talked to Ox. You can read what they told me here.

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=98440

I've got ARB's front and rear. Front was installed in '99, rear in '04. Never had issues with either. Both have performed flawlessly for me up to this point. My personal opinion is that when it comes to selectable lockers it's hard to go wrong with any one of the reputable ones out there. People will put down ARB's, or Ox for this or that... but if the installation is done correctly and you maintain your junk and don't beat the hell out of it you should be fine with either. Just my 02. I think for a lot of guys it boils down to $$ and personal taste.

My turn. having installed all of them. if its a D44 then I pick eaton elocker. then ARB. I hate Ox lockers... cost is the same as an ARB. ARB is tried and true but can leak from time to time if your installed doesn't know WTF he is doing. I don't like the ox cable routing BS. try putting one in a TJ... sucks. ARB's are easy to install. easy to deal with changing backlash settings when installed with a new gearset.
but the eaton is very capable, will hold up well and its a simple electrical conection. you can run your favorite diff cover with an eaton.
Auburns... I'm not to happy with them. I've installed a handfull of them. one failed to engage. 2 failed to disengage and one worked flawlesly. Detroit electracs suck... period.
the best in my book is a good old detroit locker and knowing how to f'ing drive.