Disco Axles on a Defender - worth it or not

Advice needed, I have a 1988 V8 with drum brakes on the back. Engine is just being upgraded so would like improved stopping power is possible.

Is it worth the effort to upgrade to Disco Axles and therefore braking and if so, are there specific ones to go for or does it matter which model.

Cheers.

im sure disco axles are 24spline
and i imagine your v8s 10 spline??

not sure if you can swap the axle straight over or swap the diff out of your drummed axle and into a disc braked axle not sure someone will tell you soon

gcoo8154 said:

im sure disco axles are 24spline
and i imagine your v8s 10 spline??

not sure if you can swap the axle straight over or swap the diff out of your drummed axle and into a disc braked axle not sure someone will tell you soon

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I think 200DTi's are 10 spline and 300TDi's are 24 spline.

Im pretty sure you need to go for a disco 1 axle.

you can swap out the 24 spline diff and halfshafts for your original 10 spline ones, but 24 spline is better

not sure on the finer details but it is a common mod that many people with older rovers carry out.

maybe a search will throw some info up.

G

The Mad Hat Man said:

I think 200DTi's are 10 spline and 300TDi's are 24 spline.

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i meant not sure

i thought they were all 24 spline disc braked rear axles im sure someone sed that to me maybe not mind

Using ebay as a reference - dangerous I know - all 200 axles are advertised as 10 spline and all 300's are 24 - looks like your advice is spot on.

What i will try (as it is so much cheaper) is a converstion to the 10 splines, see if it improves things - if I break them then I know what to do - fit 24's.

Cheers

Not all 200 series discos had 10 spline diffs the later ones are 24 spline. It don't matter anyway if you're swapping the whole axle over which is perfectly feasible.

hughesy said:

Not all 200 series discos had 10 spline diffs the later ones are 24 spline. It don't matter anyway if you're swapping the whole axle over which is perfectly feasible.

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ahh so you can just swap axles over then?
no matter if they are 10 or 24 spline disc braked axles?

It is worth the effort btw. Change the front axle while you're at it the disco brakes are better than the pre tdi 90 or 110 ones. You haven't said if you have a 90 or a 110 but assuming it's a 90 it's an easy swap. Salisbury axle on a 110 can either be swapped for a later disc braked one or you could fit a rover axle from a disco if mega weight carrying or heavy towing aren't your cup of tea.

gcoo8154 said:

ahh so you can just swap axles over then?
no matter if they are 10 or 24 spline disc braked axles?

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Yup, makes no difference.

You might want to avoid some of the very early disco axles as they are the same as 80's range rover axles and some bits are getting harder to find now.

hughesy said:

Yup, makes no difference.

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cheers
as my mates in the same boat as the op question
but was unsure if you could use either

You might need to change the flange on the rear axle if it was a 300 disco one with the stupid rubber donut but that's easy enough.