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well its in.
total cost was locker $585 posted to my door, including compressor, air lines, switches etc
total cost for fitting was about $500
been using it a bit. so far no dramas as of yet.
for those interested heres the link
http://www.chinasoong.com/Air-Locker.htm :049:
Good to hear mate, def another option over a auto-locker.. Do you know what model you fitted? And also front or rear?
Front into a 00 gu coil cab. Not sure what model the locker was.Quote:
Originally Posted by big_fletch
keep us updated as to how it goes.
I want one but worried about possible damage. I found this video and got me worried about it. So I am still tossing up a Auto Locker (Lock Right).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewt7f-h8Wn4
Personally I would not pay for an ARB Locker.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kL0hPEOStGk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTKnG...eature=related
But as per the comparo in 4wd action - nothing (usually) bar comp trucks even come close to exerting over 6000 lbs of pressure on the locker ...Quote:
Originally Posted by Ryan
That said ... makes you stop and think ...
look at the specs on the vid. The axle failed at 6925ft/lb and the locker failed at 6412ft/lb still bloody hi and if thats even the locker Jake_308 is talking about could be an old video or a different product
group buy? :P
Might do some research and see what i can get one for through some of my contacts in China, depending on price i would almost be willing to try one..
Fletcha
dropped the oil. very very light amount of shavings on the magnetic plug. happy so far!
Isn't that something you should be worried about? Correct me if I am wrong.Quote:
Originally Posted by jake_308
just teething problems should be right by now all mated together. if it's still going on after the first oil change then I'd be worriedQuote:
Originally Posted by swb_mav646
Great to save money, but i would rather save a bit more and buy the real thing (they are on the ever expanding list). Australian designed and made. All that R&D stolen (as usual) by the bloody Chinese.
shopping list get too big become a wish list wish list becomes too big becomes a dream list dream list becomes too big it becomes I'm leaving and taking the kids haha!Quote:
Originally Posted by nickpeacock36
Exactly! well put. If a product does the same job for cheaper then id go the cheaper. Its the beauty of "trickle-down-technology". Eg; once there were no lockers, one day they'll be cheap and everywhere, and one day they'll probably be standard from the factory. ARB lockers are cheaper now than they were when they first came out.Quote:
Originally Posted by macca86
I have recently fitted a front Chinese locker in my patrol and works fine
And the compressor it come with does a good job have pumped up a few tyres with it no worries good value for money I say
at the very least, the Chinese may keep local stuff at a realistic price.
even force design/strength improvements to bring us back.
Its getting to be a bit of a joke these days adding the $$ spent, and leaving it on the table for the other half to read will = divorce.
not lmao.
decent set of shocks = near a weeks pay blaar blar
was it a hi strength axle that failed?.Quote:
Originally Posted by Peacemaker
what's the strength of std axles ?.
didnt they say standard toyota axle
Hows this locker going still strong?
I totally agree with this, I would prefer the ARB oneQuote:
Originally Posted by nickpeacock36
Sorry to revive an old thread but....
I have been running one of these China made air lockers in the rear Dana 60 of my Rock Buggy for a season of abuse and not had a single problem. I made a youtube video when I first got the locker showing all the parts and whatnot.
Check it out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8kUrWHSrQM
hi mate, welcome to the forum, jsut a little thing we ask, can you please head over to the intro thread, say hello, and introduce yourself, its just a little somthing we ask everyone to do on here.Quote:
Originally Posted by TKB
cheers
rusty
from a couple of guys at work who had them said that the hard facing wore out to quick constantly pulling shavings out till they failed
Things are cheap for a reason, be it labour or materials, NOS
recycled, mixed metals, poorly mixed at that, are sure to-be in the rip-off copy.
verses
virgin materials, superior workmanship, work practice, and warranty.
and a decent days pay for the qualified trades people.
some things you simply cant cut corners on.
Sorry friend, guessing 99% here a daily drives,
a track car driven once in a while isn't real word.
nor is maintance comparable to real word.
If you've had a good run with such a part, were happy for ya, think yourself very lucky.
they are cheap for a reason, and it's not just the cheap labour.
cheap metals and quality controls come with a down side.
to be honest ya have to admit,
1/2 the price, that has a track record to fail sooner or later isn't economical and Never Safe At Speed.
m2cw
I have one and its been abused everytime I go out, even dumped the oil to have a look and the oil was still like new. Each to their own I suppose but we need fact behind them words people :) Just because its chinese, doesn't mean its crap. OEM parts from your Nissan are made in China, doesn't mean their crap. Its great for someone like me who like to go out on the odd day or two and have some fun and to have the locker their if you need it is great. I certainly couldn't afford an ARB, Pro or E-Locker, nor justify the price so this sits good with me.
Only time will tell though.
There are three types of made in China though.
Made in China, with brand name.
Made in China with no recognisable western brand name. (the extra units they made to sell later.
The cheap copy, that is poor quality,
Everyone hopes for the second option, quality at a lower price.
Shops sell the first option for a price.
It's a bit like the saying: This house is protected by shotgun three nights a week. You guess which three.
Unless you have physically bought the item, it's hard to tell if you will get number two or 3.
Have to agree mate. This thread is about facts not assumptions.Quote:
Originally Posted by mudski
It's great to see real life anecdotal evidence. Thanks for the info Jake and thanks for the input TKB
Unless their fact behind those words there fella, I don't believe it. A large number of items you touch and see everyday come from China, Taiwan, India and some countries in Europe you would never expect to.Quote:
Originally Posted by P4trol
I am a big believer of you get what you pay for. But sometime I see things as you get what you've paid too much for. Now to go put my flame proof suit on.
I hate more than buying something cheap and it letting me down is something I paid big dollars for and it let me down....!!!!!!!
I will be changing my diff oil in the next 2 days and I will report what I find... I have done some hard driving in the last few months so it should be interesting.
Couldnt agree with you more. For me, a locker isnt justifiable at what ever absurd price arb ones go for ($1500 i think). I guess im kinda cheap, but that kind of money for an average joe blow that uses a locker once or twice a month is ridiculous.Quote:
Originally Posted by mudski
A lot of people say, if you cant afford/justify an arb locker, go buy an auto locker, well, thats all good and well, but i dont want a locker all the time, i want a locker to get me out not to get me in.
Don't bring the auto vs manual locker debate into this. Lol.
To put it plain. I'm happy with my purchase, and the price. Its worked, and very well.
My front Arb locker has now been in 3 patrols (a manual 4.5 petrol then an auto 4.5 petrol and recently in a 3 litre diesel) my rear went In the 2 petrol patrols but couldn't go in the 3 litre diesel as was a large diff and is now in a race car gu patrol and both are still as new. They are about 7 years old and were fairly abused in the early days as I really didn't know how to use them effectively and flicked them on and off like a light switch.. I really don't believe the cheap Chinese ones are designed to last that long and to be honest I would rather have something proven if I was in the outback compared to "hoping a Chinese type one would last the trip"(could work out a lot more expensive). I believe most people here would have a similar attitude to this or we would all be attempting to cross the simpson or touring Australia in a "Great Wall".
No dis respect to the people that opt for the Chinese ones as this is just my opinion
Totally allowed your own opinion but this thread was started to list the facts and performance of someone that fitted a certain product. It should not be filled with assumptions from people that don't have that product. There's many products I would not want to take across the Simpson but firstly, I still want to hear first person accounts about them, and secondly, I'm never going to be driving across the Simpson!Quote:
Originally Posted by rottodiver
It's the same story with cheap brand winches. You hear good and bad reviews at the same time and 5 years ago hardly anyone would go near a cheapy but these days a lot of people have them. Now im all about quality that lasts but Im also all for hearing facts not assumptions
Here here my good man!!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by taslucas
If I could have afforded an ARB or any Brand locker I would have gone down that track. Trust me.
I spent I reckon around 8 months trying to get some hard facts on this Chinese locker. (pretty much since I purchased the car). The only thing I found was an ARB video of them comparing the two, a bit biased I thought. There was plenty of people saying they're shit, I found numerous people over various forums who have bought them and said they had no issues with it. But I failed to find one who had a locker fail due to its quality and wasn't from abuse. I failed to find one person stating they had one and it failed actually.
So after months of scouring the net the best I could, I decided to make my own assumption that they mustn't be as bad as everyone thinks and went against the grain and purchased one. Fitment of the compressor was easy, wiring, even easier. One thing I noticed that even the coloured wires, some of the wires with two colours on them, is identical to the ARB diagram, all plug and pray.
Fitting the centre I had someone who knew what they were doing do that bit. Just getting the copper tube sitting in the right position was a down right PITA. But got it in the end.
From what I see and what I believe is, the locker I have is the old ARB locker. The newer designed ARB locker now has the ring that supplies the air to the centre on the opposite side now which would make life a whole lot easier. Although I still did find the ARB install manual for my exact style locker. Which was good.
Now. I'm happy. Everyones happy, scooby dooby doo! If my locker does fail, I will be on here like a bull at a gate. Lol!!!
Peace brothers...
Im getting a PRO locker no if or buts ,had that and an ARB job in my last 4x4,
Point I'm try to make is TJM now allow you to pay off your locker bit by bit
some no excuse for not fitting a Pro locker Pay what you can when you can
Until an item has been run in a vehicle for 100,000 km plus your not going to know its quality, you will get good quality from china IF the company in Australia demands good quality and that company has good quality control. Don't blame china for selling what has been asked for in the first place!
Putting an item in a weekend warrior / rock crawler may not be a good test for a diff as its not getting the constant heat build up that high speed gives. There is my 6 cents worth!!!!! Lol
When this first post started I thought omg what is he doing!!!!!!
But upon hearing reports and doing my own research I'm am now leaning this way too.
We all know arb is a bit over priced but good. But there always gonna be competition out there. Have a look round your house, workshop and even your car and see what's NOT made in china lol .
IMO future generations are gonna need to speak Chinese cos that's the way this world is going
Cheers