Hi All,
Let me start by saying that I know that I could have effectively done the same thing for less than half the cost by sourcing my own parts but I received this kit as a gift so that's irrelevant.
Living in San Diego, I don't see a whole lot of rain but the recent flooding has pushed me to finally get around to installing this kit.
The exact kit that I installed was the ARB 170112 Differential Breather Kit. I did a lot of research online before attempting to install this kit but found nothing that was particularly useful. I figured I'd help out the internet by doing my own write up.
The Jeep that I installed this on is a 2014 2-door JK Sport with a 6-speed manual transmission so your mileage with the following will vary depending on what you drive. I ignored the transmission breather for now as everything I read said that I would have bigger problems if I were ever in enough water to where this became an issue.
My biggest worry before starting the install was how to deal with the breather on my Dana 30 front axle. The axle has a press-in breather fitting rather than a screw-in like that on my Dana 44 rear (and most likely the Rubicon Dana 44 front). Rather than attempting to tap the existing hole to accept a screw-in fitting and risk ruining my perfectly good front axle, I chose to tap into the existing breather hoses where Jeep left off.
Right now I'm sitting at maybe 1-1.5 inches over stock height due to installing some heavy Rubicon Unlimited springs on my reasonably light 2-door soft top so, in theory, I should have enough slack engineered into the stock breather hoses to compensate for flex.
If you decided to do it this way you will need to buy:
- 1/4 in ID Brass Hose Barbs X 3
- 5/16 in Hose Clamps X 3
You'll also need:
- Hairdryer
- Utility knife
- Drill with philips #2 bit (for ARB self tapping screws to mount manifold)
- 8mm box wrench (for ARB push-in fittings)
- Small Screwdriver (for hose clamps)
The stock breathers terminate in the following places:
Rear Axle: Under the passenger tail light
Front Axle: Driver's side shock tower
Transfer Case: Directly behind the engine on the passenger side (Google if you need a pic)
I chose to mount the ARB Breather Manifold on the driver's side of the Jeep. I found a nice spot behind the computer where it would be out of the way of any splashes. The only way that it's getting wet is if I'm in 4 feet of water.
I left all of the stock breather hose attachment points where they were and just used the utility knife to cut the hose at the one way valve.
It's easier to pre-install the brass barb onto the ARB hose by heating it with a hairdryer. It should slip right on relatively easily and be water tight once everything cools. Make sure to slide the hose clamp over the stock hose before inserting the brass barb and then just tighten the clamp for a water tight fit.
I ran the rear diff hose along the passenger side of the Jeep using the supplied zip-ties to secure everything to a factory-run wire loom. I ran it up into the engine bay on the rear passenger side of the engine making sure to keep it away from any heat. I then ran it up on over the engine, zip-tying it to the factory wiring loom.
For the front diff I only needed about 2 feet of hose to get it from where the factory terminated to where I chose to mount the manifold.
The transfer case was the most difficult until I realized that it was much easier to get at it from below instead of from above. You'll need to cut the factory zip tie and then pull it down below the Jeep to connect it to the ARB hose. Then you can just run this the same way that you ran the line for the rear diff.
You need to make sure that you keep all lines away from heat and that you don't pinch the hose. The ABR hose is more of a plastic than rubber so it isn't as flexible as one would hope.
All that's left is to cut the hoses to length and connect them to the manifold.
I was left with about 3 ft of hose doing it this way so keep that in mind if you have an unlimited or are planning to replace the stock hose.
Here is the finished product:
Let me know if you have any questions or would like me to add anything to the how-to.
Enjoy!
Let me start by saying that I know that I could have effectively done the same thing for less than half the cost by sourcing my own parts but I received this kit as a gift so that's irrelevant.
Living in San Diego, I don't see a whole lot of rain but the recent flooding has pushed me to finally get around to installing this kit.
The exact kit that I installed was the ARB 170112 Differential Breather Kit. I did a lot of research online before attempting to install this kit but found nothing that was particularly useful. I figured I'd help out the internet by doing my own write up.
The Jeep that I installed this on is a 2014 2-door JK Sport with a 6-speed manual transmission so your mileage with the following will vary depending on what you drive. I ignored the transmission breather for now as everything I read said that I would have bigger problems if I were ever in enough water to where this became an issue.
My biggest worry before starting the install was how to deal with the breather on my Dana 30 front axle. The axle has a press-in breather fitting rather than a screw-in like that on my Dana 44 rear (and most likely the Rubicon Dana 44 front). Rather than attempting to tap the existing hole to accept a screw-in fitting and risk ruining my perfectly good front axle, I chose to tap into the existing breather hoses where Jeep left off.
Right now I'm sitting at maybe 1-1.5 inches over stock height due to installing some heavy Rubicon Unlimited springs on my reasonably light 2-door soft top so, in theory, I should have enough slack engineered into the stock breather hoses to compensate for flex.
If you decided to do it this way you will need to buy:
- 1/4 in ID Brass Hose Barbs X 3
- 5/16 in Hose Clamps X 3
You'll also need:
- Hairdryer
- Utility knife
- Drill with philips #2 bit (for ARB self tapping screws to mount manifold)
- 8mm box wrench (for ARB push-in fittings)
- Small Screwdriver (for hose clamps)
The stock breathers terminate in the following places:
Rear Axle: Under the passenger tail light
Front Axle: Driver's side shock tower
Transfer Case: Directly behind the engine on the passenger side (Google if you need a pic)
I chose to mount the ARB Breather Manifold on the driver's side of the Jeep. I found a nice spot behind the computer where it would be out of the way of any splashes. The only way that it's getting wet is if I'm in 4 feet of water.
I left all of the stock breather hose attachment points where they were and just used the utility knife to cut the hose at the one way valve.
It's easier to pre-install the brass barb onto the ARB hose by heating it with a hairdryer. It should slip right on relatively easily and be water tight once everything cools. Make sure to slide the hose clamp over the stock hose before inserting the brass barb and then just tighten the clamp for a water tight fit.
I ran the rear diff hose along the passenger side of the Jeep using the supplied zip-ties to secure everything to a factory-run wire loom. I ran it up into the engine bay on the rear passenger side of the engine making sure to keep it away from any heat. I then ran it up on over the engine, zip-tying it to the factory wiring loom.
For the front diff I only needed about 2 feet of hose to get it from where the factory terminated to where I chose to mount the manifold.
The transfer case was the most difficult until I realized that it was much easier to get at it from below instead of from above. You'll need to cut the factory zip tie and then pull it down below the Jeep to connect it to the ARB hose. Then you can just run this the same way that you ran the line for the rear diff.
You need to make sure that you keep all lines away from heat and that you don't pinch the hose. The ABR hose is more of a plastic than rubber so it isn't as flexible as one would hope.
All that's left is to cut the hoses to length and connect them to the manifold.
I was left with about 3 ft of hose doing it this way so keep that in mind if you have an unlimited or are planning to replace the stock hose.
Here is the finished product:
Let me know if you have any questions or would like me to add anything to the how-to.
Enjoy!
