Outer Limits 4x4 Board

I have just got a arb diff lock for the front for GU's. How much do shop's normaly charge i have the air compressor all done just need locker installed.

Any one got info what i should look out for when getting it installed.

steve

steveoo wrote:I have just got a arb diff lock for the front for GU's. How much do shop's normaly charge i have the air compressor all done just need locker installed.

Any one got info what i should look out for when getting it installed.

steve

I reckon about $300-$400?
Depending where you go, But I would go to either ARB them selves or TJM or a really good 4x4 shop as it will leak and stuff if installed poorly from what I've heard.

ethann wrote:

steveoo wrote:I have just got a arb diff lock for the front for GU's. How much do shop's normaly charge i have the air compressor all done just need locker installed.

Any one got info what i should look out for when getting it installed.

steve

I reckon about $300-$400?
Depending where you go, But I would go to either ARB them selves or TJM or a really good 4x4 shop as it will leak and stuff if installed poorly from what I've heard.

what he said shop around and dont take the cheapest quote either
ask how many airlockers they have installed and what is their warrenty
arb should be the first place but shop around

It will take a little calculation, but you should be able to work it out from this.

I had a quote done for fitting of both front and rear ARB lockers to a GU Patrol. I was quoted $170 to fit the compressor. This was from an ARB franchise.

On review of the quote a couple of weeks later, it was discovered that missing from the quote was the labour cost of fitting both lockers. The quote then became $970 to fit both lockers, and the compressor.

So a guess would be in the vacinity of $400 to fit each locker.

I got a quote a couple days ago to fit a locker in the rear of my 60, labour for the locker was $383, compressor $170.
That was thru arb.

Last week a colleague was quoted $1700 to supply & install air locker (excluding compressor) to the front of a new Paj. Presuming the locker was $1200, that leaves $500 for fitting, which sounds reasonable to me when you see how much of the front end needs to be stripped to get to the diff.

For a GU, I would expect a little cheaper, so $400 sounds reasonable.

-Scott- wrote:Last week a colleague was quoted $1700 to supply & install air locker (excluding compressor) to the front of a new Paj. Presuming the locker was $1200, that leaves $500 for fitting, which sounds reasonable to me when you see how much of the front end needs to be stripped to get to the diff.

For a GU, I would expect a little cheaper, so $400 sounds reasonable.

I reakon they are all ripping us off, for a good installer it only takes a couple of hours so $200 an hour is a fair profit, make sure you find out what the warranty is i was told that the warranty is only valid for the standard tyres that the vehicle was manufactured with so going to arb or dodgy phils doesnt matter if you run bigger tyres.

ARB standard rate for GQ patrol airlocker fitting is $383. I fitted my own new airlocker in my zook with the help of a mate and we followed the instruction booklet to a T. I've had some issues with air leaks from the seal housing and had to play around with different o-rings and found a round "edged" o-ring to seal better than the "square" edged o-ring that is supplied with the kit.

I think the major benefit of forking out for arb to fit is that if it does start leaking you can dump it back on their doorstep to sort it out for you.

If your going to pay to get it done, Go to a well known arb store. They will have mechines to test the locker before it goes back in. Im guessing it will be all labor time so around 400 bucks i would suspect. But if your half mechanicly minded pull the diff center out and take it in. Should half the cost becuase they dont have to pull it out!

also allow for carrier bearings if you havent bought them already.
im guessing they arent included in ARB's install price as they dont even stock them and they are different to standard patrol ones.

i found this out the hard way when doing mine and ARB's answer was to just "contact a bearing place" they couldnt even tell me what bearing they were or anything.

every air locker i have fitted that has required a different bearing (not many) has had the bearing part numbers written down in the fitting instructions.

matto wrote:
I reakon they are all ripping us off, for a good installer it only takes a couple of hours so $200 an hour is a fair profit, make sure you find out what the warranty is i was told that the warranty is only valid for the standard tyres that the vehicle was manufactured with so going to arb or dodgy phils doesnt matter if you run bigger tyres.

a rear only takes a couple of hours. a front is a different story, there is a lot that needs to come apart and it needs to go back together right. embedded in the installation cost is the consumables cost of lubricants and sealants, gaskets and seals (different vehicles will require different parts replaced.)

the time a job actually takes does not necessarily bear a lot of resemblance to the time charged - some jobs that only take 15 minutes might actually be fair to charge 3 hours - if specialist tools or knowledge are required to do the job.

in the case of reassembling a differential, there is a degree of specialist skill involved in setting up backlash and preload, which may well take an average mechanic a couple of hours, however a skilled specialist will be able to do it in minutes. A specialist who has gone to the trouble to acquire those special skills and/or tools has every right to charge what the job is worth (ie what the market will bear), not necessarily the number of actual hours spent times a nominal hourly rate. the hourly rate is just a convenient tool for preparing invoices. you could just as easily describe "one hour's labour" as "one labour unit" and remove the time value from the equation completely.

I just got my front one supplied and installed by ARB for $1750 plus $85 for carrier bearings for the front of a 105 'Cruiser. Took them from 8:30am to 5pm to fit so I guess I didn't pay too much for labour.

dumbdunce wrote:
the time a job actually takes does not necessarily bear a lot of resemblance to the time charged - some jobs that only take 15 minutes might actually be fair to charge 3 hours - if specialist tools or knowledge are required to do the job.

in the case of reassembling a differential, there is a degree of specialist skill involved in setting up backlash and preload, which may well take an average mechanic a couple of hours, however a skilled specialist will be able to do it in minutes. A specialist who has gone to the trouble to acquire those special skills and/or tools has every right to charge what the job is worth (ie what the market will bear), not necessarily the number of actual hours spent times a nominal hourly rate. the hourly rate is just a convenient tool for preparing invoices. you could just as easily describe "one hour's labour" as "one labour unit" and remove the time value from the equation completely.

Well put.

matto wrote: I reakon they are all ripping us off, for a good installer it only takes a couple of hours so $200 an hour is a fair profit, make sure you find out what the warranty is i was told that the warranty is only valid for the standard tyres that the vehicle was manufactured with so going to arb or dodgy phils doesnt matter if you run bigger tyres.

haha....good to see some educated comments. a 'good' installer will only take a couple of hours, take a few shortcuts, and give you one of them 'air leakers' we hear so much about, then blame the manufacturer. a 'proper' installer will take the time to check everything, and that is not only preload and lash....they are the easy bits, but also taking the time to get the pattern spot on and check for excessive run out on the factory components. this process alone can take quite a while and is non inclusive (time wise) of the removal of the diff from the housing. in my workshop i charge based on the cu#@yness of the install, and not the time involved, plus bearings or seals which may be shagged, and i don't have people comming back saying its leaking, noisy, or blowing oil, they are all fitting issues.

so lets see.

they state (arb) $383 for a rear diff on a cruiser, to me thats cheap. you're car goes on a hoist, diff comes out, all checks and measurements are taken, locker installed, bench tested (yes....tested before install....something we should all do), then fitted to the vehicle, oiled up and test driven. i know of specialist diff places that will charge more, and may not do a better job.

front ifs locker in a 100 cruiser $510. again cheap. those that have had the missfortune to do ifs fronts such as this will know it is a pain. all that dissasembly and the fact its a salisbury type, not the easiest things to work with. one thing about these types is that everything has to be spot on....EVERYTHING. it takes me a good day or more to do it the way i want.

hope this has benn of some help, and if anyone wants lockers installed properly please don't be shy to pm me.

For $383 I'd just get ARB to do it....and I'm a mechanic

Im not flinching at the quoted $970 for the fitting. I cant be bothered attempting something like this anymore. Im paying them to do the snorkle fitting too, even though its an easyish job, if they stuff up, they fix, and they get to do the lift as well. I will be doing the winch and dual battery fitting.

im a tight arse and fitted my front locker myself , been almost a year with no leaks , air or oil , backlash hasnt changed yet , time will tell i supose

Good comments guys, and especially agree on a job being worth what the expertise is worth - not the hours put in.

That said, I'm interested to know what is 'normal' to fit front and rear Lockrite auto lockers to a Sierra (I have the lockers plus a 4 pinion front diff centre out of a 1.3L NT as required)? And any recommendations for good diff places in Perth? Gotta have mine done shortly and want a good drive in, drive out install

ARB FRONT AIR LOCKER GU PATROL

(RD136, 2 x 160116) Front locker & Bearings All Models,
Price $1341.14


REAR AIR LOCKER
(RD135, & 2 x 160116) Rear Locker & Bearings other LWB Vehicles & Coil Cabs
Price $1282.14

FITTING FOR LOCKERS- $383.00

AIR COMPRESSOR - AIR LOCKING ACTIVATION ONY
Price $175.00
Fitting $128.00


Hope this helps, I own a Gu 1998 Patrol
Thanks

i got mine done for $200 inc new carrier bearings. no probs as yet

danssurf82 wrote:i got mine done for $200 inc new carrier bearings. no probs as yet

but in the other thread you say it leaks oil out of the solenoid?
http://www.outerlimits4x4.com/sutra1683815.php#1683815