Diffs

I made a start on my s3 today and looking over it both diffs have had it. Now the plan had always been to put a 200tdi in but now im thinking of disco diffs to, but how bad will it be to drive with the 200 tdi, diffs and left on series brakes and box?

it will be better ,brakes will be alright if in good condition which they should be anyhow

Yeah the brakes will all be new i was just abit worried my mini had drums all round and it was terrible to drive

ive never found 200 tdi with drum brakes an issue ,and gearbox will be fine if you drive smoothly

cappy01 said:

Yeah the brakes will all be new i was just abit worried my mini had drums all round and it was terrible to drive

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My mini had drums all round and it was fantastic to drive ... The only trouble was it wouldn't stop!!

I dont know if your series is an 88 or 109 , the 88 depending on usage was a little marginal on the brakes the 110 was better , and the 6cyl or 1ton was way better . When i did my 88 with a V8 I used the complete brake system spec of 6 cyl 109 but that was a little bit too good in the wet with the cross ply MT that were available back then!! HTSH

an 88" with 200tdi, 3.54 diffs and 10" brakes is fine if the brakes are kept in good condition/adjustment

3.54 diffs only up the gearing to the same level as using a Series with an overdrive but permanently(OD = 28% increase, diffs = 30% increase)

my 88" when i was still on 10" drums (no servo) would just about lift the rear axle under heavy braking at speed, the problem then is maintaining even traction on the road surface as it can get a little twitchy trying to keep it in a straight line, this is a 3/4 tilt truck cab on paras and 7.50 Deestones (now swapped for General SAG crossplies)

i've now upped my braking by fitting a servo pedal box with dual line master cylinder and a pair of SLS 11" drums to the front axle, it still stops very well (bloody excellently) but without having to make so much leg effort on the pedal

there's nothing wrong with drums if they're maintained correctly and everything works correctly (new hoses really do make a difference as well) until you fill them with water which can easily take a mile to clear

mud is the worst thing with drums as that can take a lot longer to clear and really requires a strip down and wash out, dried mud/dust acts as a lubricant between the shoes and drums as well as a loose abrasive

fitting a 200tdi makes no difference really to a landrover except that it will maintain speed easier and accellerate a little faster (traffic light GP anyone ), fitting 3.54 diffs protects the halfshafts but puts higher loads on the gearbox in every gear, add an overdrive and your motor WILL be capable of 85-90mph, my tdi'd 88" has pulled 2.5tons up Hatton Hill easily in third gear (3.54 diffs) and accellerated all the way up (disco on a towing dolly)

just make sure your gearbox is in good/excellent condition and treat it with a little respect in the first three gears, i made my first gearbox (very tired) last about 2.5 years before having to change it

final note is your cabin noises "will" increase but you will also see a significant mpg increase as well , do the job properly and tidily don't just chuck it in the hole

The main thing with drums seems to be to not over-use them...most modern cars have such light engines that these days people are taught not to engine brake. Running on a long down hill on drums (we have the longest down hill gradient in the country here) will make them hot, sweaty and spongy.

Bigger drums are also worthwhile on motorways - I've just come back from Germany and driving on the motorways there is a nightmare...leave a reasonable gap to the car in front and some donkey will jump into it and slam his anchors on...Audi brakes stop a lot better from 70 down to 40 than 10"ers!

Use your gears and you should be alright...unless the gears like to jump out at inappropriate moments like mine have started to do!

D