Cool ARB plumbing upgrade

[CityHick]

Not sure if this is new news to anybody here... but I found this article to be very informative for upgrading your ARB air lines using AN fittings and braided hose. This sure beats the blue plastic tubing ARB supplies...

http://www.4wheeloffroad.com/howto/3082/index.html

Using the part numbers given I just submitted an order to www.anplumbing.com for most of the parts needed. I also plan to plumb from my air tank to the ARB solenoids in a similar fashion. Braided hose ought to be plenty strong and abrasion resistant and should stand up to the abuse of rock crawling pretty well.

As I am still waiting on parts ordered a week ago to connect my Sanden compressor to my under-body air tank, I'll hold off on updating my build thread with specifics there.

Hope somebody finds this information helpful...

[SonicDonkey]

Re: Cool ARB plumbing upgrade

Or you could use these.

http://www.rubiconexpress.com/JeepPa...px?part=RE1591

http://www.rubiconexpress.com/JeepPa...px?part=RE1592

[CityHick]

Re: Cool ARB plumbing upgrade

I looked at those too... but found I could build my own for a little less and not be limited by somebody elses pre-determined hose lengths. Or maybe it's that I'm just a glutton for punishment...

[welndmn]

Re: Cool ARB plumbing upgrade

I have also seen people use steel brake line.
I have almost 10 years on my blue line from ARB with only one issue, so I will keep that until it fails

[SonicDonkey]

Re: Cool ARB plumbing upgrade

I looked at those too... but found I could build my own for a little less and not be limited by somebody elses pre-determined hose lengths. Or maybe it's that I'm just a glutton for punishment...

I hear ya, they are spendy. I like things routed with just the correct amount of material too, no extra loops or short cuts if the hose is too long or short.

Be careful with the solenoid end, if I recall correctly the threads are BPT (British pipe thread) not the standard NPT we are used to. I think 1/8" NPT will work but you may want to add a bunch of sealant or teflon tape, just be sure not to get it in the hose.

J

[CityHick]

Re: Cool ARB plumbing upgrade

Interesting about the BPT. I read in several places that they are NPT. I may have to place a special order or two to hook that end up... Hope not but it'd be par for the course.

[CityHick]

Re: Cool ARB plumbing upgrade

I wanted to update this thread with some additional findings, as this evening when I finally finished plumbing my air lines per the article above, when I hit my ARB solenoid I found that the air was bypassing the locker completely and just going straight out the diff vent tube. This was due in part to the article I referenced leading me astray. So for anybody else who is considering this method of ARB air line plumbing, here's a little due diligence so that you can learn from my mistakes. (fortunately these were cheap mistakes to make)

1. Not all ARB bulkhead fittings are 3/8-24 IF as is indicated in the article referenced above... Mine happens to be one that's not, so I suspect that all EB D44 ARB lockers will be the same as mine... And of course I learned this the hard way by stripping the threads on my existing bulkhead with the wrong fitting!

2. My D44 ARB has 3.5mm copper tubing running into the locker itself. The bulkhead is an O-ring style where the copper tubing from the locker pushes through the bulkhead, you then slide the O-ring over the tubing from the top of the bulkhead and thread an o-ring compression fitting into the top of the bulkhead. Fortunately I do not have much invested in the wrong 3/8-24 IF to -3an adapters. The ARB replacement bulkhead kit is ARB p/n 170105 if you ever need one... They are cheap too.

3. Russell Performance sells the proper O-ring compression to -3an adapter to fit the bulkhead fitting on the differential. It's part number is 634500 and is available through Poly Performance, Summit, and just about any Russell vendor. Unfortunately nobody local seems to have them

4. Even with the difficulties I'm having I'm glad I went this route. The pre-made hose kits that are available are not exactly the lengths I wanted, and once I learned what I was doing, its super easy to make your own hoses using Earl's SpeedFlex hose and ends. It's cheaper this way too.

On top of all this - I found that my front diff had DIRTY gear oil and the fluid level was low to boot! So it paid off in the end to make a mistake and pop the diff cover off to troubleshoot a self-inflicted problem... Aside from waiting on parts I should have this project buttoned up before much longer.

I hope this helps somebody one day!