ARB vs. Detroit Electrac??

[MnkyBiz]

I am weighing out pros and cons of two different locking diff's.

Can I get info from those of you who might have owned either of these diffs?

I like the idea of the Detroit Electrac, as there is no line which might be compromised. A broken wire is a lot easier to fix in the "wilds" than a pressure hose!

Thanks!

 

[Yellow75]

I've been looking into this for some time too. From what i'm finding, you can't beat the durability of the ARB. You have to have it installed by someone that knows what they are doing though. I've heard of breakage issues with the first Electrac's but they have modified and improved them quite a bit. If for some reason something breaks they have a manual way to lock them in also.

I'd say if you're in the water alot, i'd stay away from the electrac.... Otherwise you can't go wrong with either one.

 

[Steve]

I've had both, and currently run an Electrac in my EB. Can't address the water issue that Yellow75 mentioned as I wheel mine in water quite frequently and can't imagine why that would make a difference, but here's my experience and advice:

ARB Pros - open diff when unlocked; been around for years with good history.

ARB Cons - open diff when unlocked; much harder install than Electrac; onboard air source required; history of trouble with leaking o-rings.

Electrac Pros - Geared limited slip when unlocked; no air source required; easier install since no holes need to be drilled through the diff; comes with simple trail fix that allows you to keep wheeling either locked or unlocked if the actuator completely breaks.

Electrac Cons - Geared LS when unlocked; early problems with actuator (has been fixed); not as long a history as ARBs.

I put the open vs LS in both pros and cons becasue some people prefer a completely open diff if they're not locked. Personally, I really like the LS with the Electrac. I find myself not needing to lock mine nearly as often as I used to lock the ARB, or nearly as often as people I wheel with who have ARBs. The LS gets me over most obstacles where friends have to lock their ARBs.

I think that both are very good options. You need to consider the differences and decide which is best for the wheeling you do. After having both, I much prefer the Electrac.

 

[68beast]

With the arb its eaither open or locked. With the electrac its eaither limited slip or locked. If you live near snow, and icey roads then suposeovely open is better. Also as mentioned above, the electrac can easily be manualy put into LS or locked whereas if the line on your arb breaks, and you dont have a way to fix it , then you are screwed. Ive also heard that if the actuator on the electac breaks that you can buy a replacement at any GM dealership, because if heard its the same on their trailblazer or somethin llike that. mAlos with the arb you are required to have an air compressor, which comes in handy sometimes on the trail, but also costs more money. I htink eaither are probably about the same as far as reliability goes, as long as they are installed correctly. The idea that the electrac could be manually set and that wires are easy to repair made the decision for me. Hope I helped