cmiller Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 I saw that ARB makes an air locker for R180 diffs with the intended fitment for Nissan trucks. I then was pondering the idea of adapting this to the Subaru R180 diff? Anyone have any thoughts on this? Done it? Even worth the bother to try? Could that be fitted to older Subarus instead of the R160 diff? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88Subi4x4 Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 Very interesting..... I am going to look into this a bit more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmiller Posted July 25, 2011 Author Share Posted July 25, 2011 Now I know for older EA82 Subies the R180 wont directly fit because of the different carrier and subframe mounts, and the obvious stub shafts being different, so could the R180 be retrofitted on cars that originally came with the R160 rear end by addressing these points? Because if the diffs could be swapped then I see no reason that we couldn't have that air locker since its made for the R180. hmmmm... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Numbchux Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 2 things. hate to burst your bubble....but take a closer look at your ARB link there. All the R180 applications say "NA" under the part number, with a note to the bottom saying "coming soon". Second, an R180 is bolt-in as far as mounting it to the body in an r160 car. The 4 mounting bolts in the front, and 2 studs in the back are in the same place relative to each other. The bottom of the diff hangs down further, so an r160 skidplate won't fit. This is done all the time. The challenge is axles. If you're doing it in an EA car, you'll have to either have a driveshaft shop put the larger r180 flange on the end of an EA driveshaft, or swap the r160 flange onto the r180 (not ideal...but it works). http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=114926 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el_freddo Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 take a closer look at your ARB link there. All the R180 applications say "NA" under the part number, with a note to the bottom saying "coming soon". ^ Which generally means that they're not coming at all That said the new Nissan Navara apparently has a factory locker in the rear as an option. The rear diff is based on the R180.... Cheers Bennie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmiller Posted July 25, 2011 Author Share Posted July 25, 2011 2 things. hate to burst your bubble....but take a closer look at your ARB link there. All the R180 applications say "NA" under the part number, with a note to the bottom saying "coming soon". Second, an R180 is bolt-in as far as mounting it to the body in an r160 car. The 4 mounting bolts in the front, and 2 studs in the back are in the same place relative to each other. The bottom of the diff hangs down further, so an r160 skidplate won't fit. This is done all the time. The challenge is axles. If you're doing it in an EA car, you'll have to either have a driveshaft shop put the larger r180 flange on the end of an EA driveshaft, or swap the r160 flange onto the r180 (not ideal...but it works). http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=114926 I noticed that too but figured since they made the effort to even list it on their website seemed promising and that it will probably be made. Looks like Suberdave got it figured out on fitment to EA82 cars axels, just need the custom driveshaft and the ARB parts... Then I'd have an excuse for on board air:grin: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Numbchux Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 Pretty sure they've said "coming soon" for many many years. If someone makes a locker that would fit in a subaru r180 (I don't know if the subaru version is 8 or 10 bolt RG...), it would be extremely easy to put it in any subaru. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott in Bellingham Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 IVE DONE IT ITS A LINCOLN LOCKER AND YOU CAN BUY THE WHOLE SETUP FROM ME AS IVE MOVED ON TO OTHER PROJECTS Also I installed a Nissan 720 4x4 pickup front Diff , axles and Hubs,in the rear, the diff bolts right in with no mods to car mounts or driveline, I had to cut off the bearing end of the stock soobbie swingarm and weld up mounts for the truck knuckle , so now I have 4.38s in the rear, so Im running 30" tires ( wore 31 x 10.50s) on the front and 33" tires on the rear , also the diffs welded up so now I have a stronger rear axle set up and unlocking rear hubs for onroad use Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newsoobdude Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 Why don't we all just bug the heck out of ARB til they finish it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmiller Posted July 26, 2011 Author Share Posted July 26, 2011 Why don't we all just bug the heck out of ARB til they finish it? :banana::banana: I agree! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el_freddo Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 Why don't we all just bug the heck out of ARB til they finish it? Best of luck with that. They'd probably want a down payment from everyone that sends in the mass email to get the thing into production. This way when no one puts in the money for the unit ARB are not out of pocket due to an organised mass email to pressure them. I've emailed them on several occasions and eventually got the reply that the r160 carrier is simply too small to make a locker with. Personally I think this is BS and that was their way of politely saying go get f'd... It can be done, there's a mob over here (McNamara diffs) that will do it - if there is an order of 500 units for $AU1000 each! There is also a little something in the pipe line from one of the ausubi members... it might be 6 months to a year off though as the first unit needs to be fabricated, fitted and tested before production begins for the rest of us. Cheers Bennie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcbrat Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 plus, not many folks are gonna want to put out the same money (or 4x the money in some cases ) for what they pay for a car, just to get a selectable locker... you'll still break the same stuff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uberoo Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 for the price I like my welded diff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el_freddo Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 for the price I like my welded diff. Yeah true. I've been there with this - but it won't go well with my AWD gearbox... This is the main reason why I want a selectable locker - and as for breaking the same things that's why you carry spares Plus you wouldn't be wheeling with the selectable locker locked all the time, I'd be using it only when I need to! Cheers Bennie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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