Axle swap and more

Hi all,

I have a 1993 Spanish spec (LHD) 200tdi Discovery which I am modifying for weekend off road use, no competition racing ect is anticipated just the ability to go virtully where I please, the following modifications are being contemplated:

ARB air lockers front and rear.

2 inch lift.

32/33 inch wheels/tyres.

Replacement front bumper with hydraulic winch (steering pump).

As my vehicle has 10 spline halfshafts which are apparently weaker than the later 24 spline type, can I fit the later complete 24 spline axles front and rear as a direct replacement from a 300tdi? Ashcroft can supply the bits ect for either but if/when I move to a newer Discovery i want to take these expensive mods with me.

Fitting larger wheels will compromise the strength of CV joints ect does anyone have experience of the ashcroft strengthend units? Also should I lower the diff ratios to compensate for the wheel/tyre combo?

Which bumper/winch combination?

Anyone with experience of which is the most reliable/complete suspension kit in use?

As things start to break I will be replacing with stronger/modified components, I am a mechanic by trade so let fly with anything I should know about or other ideas/mods ect you may come up with which I can consider.



Mucho mucho gracias in advance

regards

Dave

for the winch bumper i would go for a guardian one (check ebay) and my cuz has a milemarker winch on his S3 witch is more than up to the job!
as for suspention i have seen britpart yellow springs sag after a couple of weeks so i avoid them. but the pro-comp ones seem good
EXPLORER UK Land Rover

Thanks for that its a good start, I had actually seen the Britpart ones but with little experience it pays to wait awhile.

regards

Dave

yeah up until recently i would have said get the britpart cause there cheap but if you hunt through the landrover parts bin there will be somthing you could use, i seen to remember my uncle fitting 110 hd rear springs to the rear of his rangie and diesel springs to the front and getting a moderate lift, my cousin has disco rear springs on the front of his disco bobtail hut the ride is quite harsh but there is prob a set of springs that will give you the lift and the ride quality if you can get hold of a parts book with the poundage of the springs

Dave,

fitted 235/85's to my 300tdi and with the standard diffs it was very sluggish. I fitted lower ratio ones instead and it brings it back to standard. I believe you could fit a transfer box from a Defender but I believe this only effects one of the gear ranges ie high or low but someone can confirm this.

As far as the Ashcroft CV's are concerned - they're really expensive(£400?). Personally, I would leave them as standard and carry a couple of spares as they are way cheaper! Just a thought but there's a couple of guys out here running larger tyres on their Discos and they haven't had any problems so far - and we don't have much in the way of paved roads here so they're constantly used and abused! (Tanzania by the way).

If I think of anything further I'll let you know mate.

Cheers for now,

Terry

Thanks for that, its would make sense to carry spares anyway. Have you or any or your friends had trouble with the early 10 spline halfshafts?

regards

Dave

Dave, no mate. As far as I know they've had no problems.

Watch teh2 inch lift mate. When I did it, the front propshaft tended to bind now and again so I swapped it out for a Disco 2 front prop (double cardinal joint). All you need to do is make sure you get the output flanges for the transfer box and front diff. I had a custom wide angle made up for the rear (from QT) which does the job nicely.

You might want to thinkabut castor corrected radius arms and rear trailing arms as well. I know it all adds up but the Discovery can be a bitch with a lift if it's not done properly.

Later!

Hi and thanks for info, I was hoping to drive over to UK and get Ashcroft to sup and fit 4.11s and ARB lockers front and rear. During same week buy and fit lift kit and wheels. I will not have a lot of time in UK to muck about so want to get it right first time, if lift kit not an issue on tarmac I might be able to drive back to Spain and fir props/arms ect at a later date. I may have misunderstood the complexity of a 2" lift, I was under the impression that 2" was the max WITHOUT other mods? Any more info you or anyone else can offer please do as I am running out of preparation and ordering time.

Thanks again

Dave

if yer go up 2" don't forget to extend yer brake hoses

Yep got that on the list, apparently stainless steel is the way to go?

regards

Dave