Refresh my memory as to why you would install a front LSD vs a front locker?

Toy Man

With the LSD you get 90% of the effect 100% of the time and can still turn. The front locker is used less than 10% of the time mainly because it makes turning nearly impossible.

It’s the learning curve and the increased risk of breaking something that keeps me from locking the front. Generally, those in my club I go on runs with are not locked, so the front LSD should be adequate. If I had the opportunity to do challenging trails on a regular basis, then being locked front and back would debatably be the best route to take. Unfortunately for me, the nearest trail from where I live in Los Angeles is about an hour away so I don’t get out as much as I would like and hence, less time to develop the skill of using the front locker correctly.

I have a manual transmission and would also be wise to change out the gears. But for now, being locked would serve me better in the types of the situations I find myself on the trail. Here’s the previous discussion on LSD vs. locker found at the end of the thread. Your input in that discussion was very helpful.

http://www.xterraownersclub.com/cgi-local/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=000555

I disagree about the benefits of a front LSD but charge ahead - it's your money.

Toy Man

I would recommend http://www.fourxdoctor.com/ in Burbank.

They are a ARB and CALMINI recommended installer. They installed the first 3.92:1 transfer case gears in the nation in my X. Installed the CALMINI steering. Installed the CALMINI LSD in the front with WARN Premium Hubs(with fuses to prevent grenading CVC's) and ARB lockers in the rear.

Off-Road Unlimited in Burbank is more like... if you have UNLIMITED money we will charge a arm and a leg. I went to them for a qoute on the ARB compressor install... they gave me the same B.S. price to mount it near the horn. I lost faith when I got a Optima Yellow Top Battery and they installed it with out cleaning the cables of corrosion. They gave me some B.S. about they don't have corrosion problems with Fords and didn't have anything to clean it with.

Four X Doctor mounted my ARB compressor to the first production CALMINI bumper.

Bottom line if you look a my Rubicon Trail link... my vehicle was set-up by Four X Doctor with mostly CALMINI parts and a ARB rear locker.

Why mount it on a bumper?? The ARB compressor is freaking tiny. Here's a pic of my install (please pay no attention to the dirt...):



Here's what's involved... Rotate the cruise control unit, and slide down the fender slightly. Install bumper on top of fender. no special brackets involved. Time to do it: 'Bout 20 minutes, tops.

But on another note... DON'T BUY THE ARB AIR COMPRESSOR!!!!! It's junk. I've had nothing but problems with 2 of them, so far. The first one was non-running when first purchased. Took it apart, and found that the internal power wires weren't soddered, and were disconnected. Got an immediate replacement. Second one just crapped out on me for the final time this past weekend. It's just over a year old. Guess what...out of warranty. Save yourself the time and trouble, and buy a reputable air compressor. The ARB just plain doesn't cut it. (And if you actually plan on airing up tires with it, please remember to bring a chair, umbrella, and a jug of lemonade, because you will be sitting there a long, long, long time, waiting for it to fill a tire)

ARB air compressor - another view.

Mine has held up fine for 3 years.

How big of tires are you airing up? The ARB works fine with my 31" tires.

Toy Man

In order to make enough room for a compressor, the cruise control unit must be moved towards the engine a couple inches or so, which also means it slides down the fender a bit. You can reattach it with bolts through the fender, as that's all it is attached with in the first place. Then route the chords to make sure they will not bind in any way. On a 2002, there turned out to be a mounting tab in the perfect location, to hold the cable in place, without having to do any thinking/custom bracketing.

As far as the ARB compressor, yeah, the compressor did OK with 31x10.5s, but since it is a very short duty cycle compressor, it still was very, very slow. Plus, it is not constructed very well on the inside (as noted when I took mine apart).

I'm still looking for the best alternative, at the moment, but I have a few different needs/wants, from the sounds of it, to you. Any 100% duty cycle compressor from Viair (which can be found for comperable price to the ARB) would be a good choice.

Really, the only benefit to using the ARB compressor, was ease of installation. It came with all the wiring to, quite literally, plug and play. But if I had to do it over (which incidentally, I am...), I wouldn't have gone with it, and would have spent the time doing it well, from the start.

I did the same thing with the cruise control mounted further down the fender

OK now i am deciding between a front LSD or a rear locker, which do you guys think would be better if you could only have one. I have an LSD in the rear but on the stock one. Unfortunately i dont have money for both and I dont want a front locker as the amount of times that you could use it would make it not very useful to me. Thanks guys

Locker in the rear is much, much more effective, than an LSD in the front. Always get traction to the rear, first, then worry about the front.

Reason is, if you're climbing a hill, or climbing a rock, the truck is gonna' be on an angle, nose high. Which means there's more weight on the rear axle than on the front, when the weight shifts. So you're naturally going to have more traction available at the rear than at the front. Doesn't do you any good to have both front wheels turning, if there's not enough weight on them to pull the truck forward.

Yup, I have a front LSD in my X w/ the factory rear LSD that has been tuned a bit. It's an improvement no doubt but still short of what I've seen a locked-rear, open-front X is capable of. I got my front LSD fairly cheap and had it installed in trade for some things, so it was a no-brainer vs. coughing for an ARB. If I could afford an ARB, I'd have gotten one first.

the rear is important, but if one side is in a mod hole, and the other on a wet rock, all that is left is the front end. I would rather have somthing up front, rather then wet boots from laying out winch cable.

If you're rear is sitting half in a mud hole, half on slick rock, then that means 1)your fronts just came through the same mud, so the tires are wet and/or caked, and 2)the weight of the truck is on the rear axle ('cause you're sittin in a hole). That front, even with locker, isn't going to have enough traction to pull you out.

I'll use an SAS Pathy for an example:

In picture 1, you'll see the situation:
Picture 1

In picture 2, you'll see the rear axle "results":
Picture 2

Notice, the weight is on the rear axle, one side is in the mud, another side is up on the muddy bank. The front is out of the hole completely. This particular Pathy is locked in the front, and open in the rear. Notice how well his front "pulled" him through the hole... The vehicles that were locked in the rear, and open in the front, didn't have any problems with this area, and drove right through it.

Lock the front first, and you're wasting your time and $$. 'Nuf said.

By the looks of that photo, his front wheels aren't doing anything. He may be locked up front, but it doesn't do much good if the transfer case isn't engaged.

Nevertheless, locking the rear is better than locking only the front in most circumstances, especially on an IFS truck.

Don't lock the front first...Its a waste of $$$.