ARB air leak fix and drive line clunk

Jody Treadway

Jody Treadway

Croc wearing fool
Moderator
Joined
Mar 20, 2005
Location
Hendersonville, NC
One of @No fries friends was having issues with his JK Rubi. Had a bad clunk in the drive line going on/off throttle. In addition, the ARB compressor was cycling way too frequently while in use. Another shop had installed the ARB and some 4.88 gears in the past.
I suspected the preload and backlash was off. Pulled the cover and found this.
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March 30, 2024

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Backlash was 0.022" when the spec is 0.006"-0.008", that's the clunk. Also, the carrier fell out upon removal. So the lack of preload was causing the seal housing o-rings to leak.
I disassembled the ARB, replaced the seals, inspected bearings, did a lot of math and began reassembly.
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Had to use a housing spreader to set the preload properly. Someone welded a truss on it already, so it took some extra ass to spread the housing enough. I have ass and a 36" pipe wrench. Mission accomplished.
Ended up with this:
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March 30, 2024

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Backlash is good and I have plenty of preload to keep the ARB and compressor happy.
Just to make sure:
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March 30, 2024

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Buttoned up and ready to pick up.
ARB aren't rocket science or anything. But you gotta take your time and make a few extra steps to guarantee long service life.
 
Thanks for taking care of him, he lives relatively close and you were my first thought when he asked for help, not knowing any shops he trusted. He wheels that jeep harder than anyone else i know while keeping body damage to almost nothing. Which is why you need to help us talk him into buying a buggy, so he can stay with the group and not have to meet up with us at the top of the bypass. :laughing:
 
So glad you took care of that for him. So I guess the front is ok? I know he has (or had) to pull the front driveshaft to drive highway speeds to get to and from. Maybe he fixed that already
 
R Q said:
So glad you took care of that for him. So I guess the front is ok? I know he has (or had) to pull the front driveshaft to drive highway speeds to get to and from. Maybe he fixed that already
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He would need a new housing with caster built into it relative to pinion angle. Typical issue for lifted JKs.
 
R Q said:
So glad you took care of that for him. So I guess the front is ok? I know he has (or had) to pull the front driveshaft to drive highway speeds to get to and from. Maybe he fixed that already
Click to expand...
Cut and turn. Us yota guys know it well.

It’s fairly simple. An alignment rod is the way to do it.
 
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