Dana 30 ARB Locker Confusion (Solved! RD30/RD31)

KingCarGuyZ

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Alright guys, I have a ticket out with ARB, but I figured I would see if anyone here knows what they are doing cause its become apparent that I don't.

I got an ARB used for a Dana 30 (3.07 gears). been piecing together all the necessary pieces to install it and tried to throw it in over the holiday. hit a bit of a brick wall with the seal-housing and had to abort and through the stock carrier back in. I know the 3.07 gears fit snuggly on the locker, I know the locker fits in the pumpkin but I'm starting to think this is not the RD103 locker I first thought it was. Does anyone have any idea what the part number for this locker may be, and more importantly where I can find the correct seal housing? I have the "170114" Bulkhead fitting and all the airline to go from the compressor to the locker, just missing the seal housing and maybe a master shim/ shim kit (I have a stock dana 30 carrier shim kit)


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Numbers Read "-9409034R" - the 3 is very faint
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IMG_2087.JPG


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I count 27 Splines.
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IMG_2090.JPG

Also, if anyone has a need for an "ARB081801SP" seal housing, I now have one for stupid cheap, as it is of no use to me.
 
Brilliant! That was the search term I needed! I'll let ya'll know when I hear back from ARB, but thats a great starting point. Anything else I should know about the older style? I assume there is a reason they changed design.

I'm sure others might know more but from what I remember it was to eliminate the 3 piece case so that the bolts were eliminated. When I took the one in my Dana 60 apart 3 of the 8 bolts were loose and I'd had 2 of the locking tabs fall off.
Back when they did the change I seem to remember a lot of debates as to which case was stronger but don't know if it was ever really decided. Just replace all your seals & o-rings and you should be good. As has been recommended before make sure you use a case spreader to install the ARB.
I recommend replacing your locking tabs and also locktite the bolts.

Edit: You also for sure want to get the ARB master shim kit since they use different shims than what come in a normal shim pack.
 
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I'm sure others might know more but from what I remember it was to eliminate the 3 piece case so that the bolts were eliminated. When I took the one in my Dana 60 apart 3 of the 8 bolts were loose and I'd had 2 of the locking tabs fall off.
Back when they did the change I seem to remember a lot of debates as to which case was stronger but don't know if it was ever really decided. Just replace all your seals & o-rings and you should be good. As has been recommended before make sure you use a case spreader to install the ARB.
I recommend replacing your locking tabs and also locktite the bolts.

Edit: You also for sure want to get the ARB master shim kit since they use different shims than what come in a normal shim pack.

Yep, the biggest thing was the elimination of the three piece case to increase strength and moving the seal ring for easier installation.
 
That is indeed the older generation RD30. Without enough preload (and sometimes with) the axle/housing would flex enough to cause the case bolts to come loose. Then they would work their way out and get chewed up in the ring and pinion. Even with red loctite those things would come loose. I even drilled holes in the bolt heads and wired them all together to keep them from spinning out. It got to the point where people would weld the case together to keep it from coming apart. I gave up on mine after the third time of trying to make it work.
 
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I'm sure others might know more but from what I remember it was to eliminate the 3 piece case so that the bolts were eliminated. When I took the one in my Dana 60 apart 3 of the 8 bolts were loose and I'd had 2 of the locking tabs fall off.
Back when they did the change I seem to remember a lot of debates as to which case was stronger but don't know if it was ever really decided. Just replace all your seals & o-rings and you should be good. As has been recommended before make sure you use a case spreader to install the ARB.
I recommend replacing your locking tabs and also locktite the bolts.

Edit: You also for sure want to get the ARB master shim kit since they use different shims than what come in a normal shim pack.

Yep, the biggest thing was the elimination of the three piece case to increase strength and moving the seal ring for easier installation.

I can attest to that - I cracked an old style ARB ’60 case in 3 or 4 places, and broke a couple of those bolts. No issues so far with the new style carrier.
 
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That is indeed the older generation RD30. Without enough preload (and sometimes with) the axle/housing would flex enough to cause the case bolts to come loose. Then they would work their way out and get chewed up in the ring and pinion. Even with red loctite those things would come loose. I even drilled holes in the bolt heads and wired them all together to keep them from spinning out. It got to the point where people would weld the case together to keep it from coming apart. I gave up on mine after the third time of trying to make it work.

I don't know that you can actually get enough preload on that case in a HP or LP 30 to stop that from happening if you play hard on 35's. We got to the point we would just do a fusion Tig weld around the end cap to body to help stop them from moving.
 
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I’m on 31’s might eventually go up to 33’s, maybe. I’ll torque the bolts and set the preload on the tighter side of the range, hopefully that’ll make it “ok” it’s the DD so I don’t tend to play that hard.
 
So I got an email back from ARB, finally. it is indeed and ARB RD30 (or in this case RD31 cause its for 3.55 and lower) locker. attached are both the Installation guide and the parts list for anyone else's future reference. I wound up ordering the seal housing fromGo-Turbo Armageddon for $70, as well as the shim kit for like $15 Hopefully I can put it in before winter wheeling season.
 

Attachments

  • RD31 Parts List.pdf
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  • RD31 Istillation Gudie.pdf
    2.5 MB · Views: 79
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