Disco axles with leaf springs
- Thread starter mickdj
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Pikey
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G Spot ya wanted
G-man
BBQ king
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did i hear my name?
G-man
BBQ king
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its not too bad if you can weld and measure, it took me about a day to convert my rear axle
G-man
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not done the front yet not had chance but you will need to get a steering rod made to the correct length, but the for and aft location is done with the spring i will find a pic of the brackets i used
G-man
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G-man
BBQ king
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oops they are out of sequence
G-man
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the diff is in the same place, as i was going from a salisbury to a rover type axle i had to get a longer propshaft part no: STC573 as the rover diff is shorter, and i had to make new shock brackets for the chassis, i am on mk1 shock bracket at the moment and its not right, so i will be making shock bracket mk2 soon when i havei will upload photos for ya.
oh yeah i am using disco front shocks on the rear
oh and i bought a new set of ubolts as its not worth re-using the old ones i used part no: 592182 all bits from paddocks
oh yeah i am using disco front shocks on the rear
oh and i bought a new set of ubolts as its not worth re-using the old ones i used part no: 592182 all bits from paddocks
Last edited:
mickdj
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Land Rover Defender Rear Axle Weld-On Spring Mount on eBay (end time 20-Jul-09 13:51:12 BST)
is the what you used to weld to the axle
is the what you used to weld to the axle
G-man
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yep made of 5mm steel got mine from paddocks as i had an order going in anyway, you need an 18mm hole drilled in the centre ( i had an engineering firm do mine as it has to me dead centre) then weld them on make sure you get them in the right position or your axle will be on the ****! (mine is out by 3mm to the right which looks massive on the vehicle!)
dr pepper
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doesnt look too hard to do, the bracket is not hard to make up, I spose the tricky bit is getting the things in the right place, and then theres the prop shaft.
Is the ratio an issue, ie is the disco the same as the salisbury.
Is the ratio an issue, ie is the disco the same as the salisbury.
mickdj
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spoke to a freind who`s freind did this some years ago and said never again he had nowt but problems said the back was ok to do it was the front with the track rod arms he had to twist the axle ment the arm kept rubing on the spring some thing else with it and kept nocking off uj`s on the prop and think there was some thing else, then told he would sooner do a chaissis swop as it was less work and hassle.
Teflon
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Be very interested to know how you tackle the front axle G-man; even more interested in 'honest' appraisal of final result, and the 'niggles' you have to de-bug when done.....
Few people manage to make this conversion work and work well, if at all.
See here:- LRNet:- Fitting Disco swivels to a Series III axle
And here:- LRO:- Disk brakes
Both notionally enquiries about converting a series to discs, using coiler components, that eventually reveal themselves as looking to exploit a 'cheap' coiler axle as the way to do it, resulting in suggestion of using the whole axle.....
I looked to do the conversion, about eight years ago, but didn't due to inordinate work, time, money and complexity of doing it 'right' to my engineering sense of sensibilities.
Way I WOULD have done it detailed, in outline in the LRNet thread. Be VERY interested if any-one does follow that suggestion.
Most common way of doing it would seem, from comments on those threads, and detail discussions with others that have tackled it over the years, is by using 'wedges' between front axle and spring to get the correct castor angle and gain the clerance over the spring for the track-rod.
Most however, have run into the problem of that lowering the ride height and robbing suspension travel, causing hassles with the damper mounting and or other niggling fouling issues, as well as the problem of the shorter steering arm making steering effoff heavy..... oh, and incorrect diff nose angles knocking out UJ's and eating pinion seals, if not pinion gears and bearings! and not often mentioned, but finding a master cylinder appropriately sized for the coiler calipers, that has lead some to the recourse of cutting out the pedal box and using Rangie or Defender pedals, only to find that the wings wont fit over the top..... or living with 'better brakes' that dont actually work better!
Subjects not MANY have actually given 'genuinely' honest answers to, most shrugged off as 'doesn't bother me that much.....' or 'I only uise it.....' kind of things, though some have admitted that the after conversion 'niggles' are a little more troublesome than can be completely ignored!
Which was the deciding factor in my conclusion that IF it was to be done, it had to be done 'right' which to my mind meant detail setting setting up and fettling; getting the diff nose angle right on the springs, by careful alignment of the spring mount; getting the castor angle right, by filling the swivil flange on the axle with weld and re-drilling, then avoiding the stering 'hassles' by copying the series steering arrangement on the front of the axle, through custom, billet machined radius arms to fit coiler swivil.
Which made the conversion a very expensive one, for the benefit of better brakes and wider track, that could be obtained more easily by other means, and greater steering lock, which was biggest appeal, but to me, at the time, with a 109, as a family fun-truck, an advantage that didn't warrant the effort and expense.
Still remains a feature of my 'dream-rover' though, an 88" leaf sprung, V8 SIIA!
Seeing how often this comes up though, I do wonder whether I could make a few pennies, by marketing a 'kit' consisting of custom cast radius arms, camber corrected swivils, and spring mounts........ only I suspect, that general comment on it would be as Zeus disc conversion, or Haystee CV conversion, it would be too expensive at any price.....
Why do we expect to do all these thing for a few pennies and a bit of welding rod, then wonder why we have so many 'hassles' getting there and sorting them out after?
Few people manage to make this conversion work and work well, if at all.
See here:- LRNet:- Fitting Disco swivels to a Series III axle
And here:- LRO:- Disk brakes
Both notionally enquiries about converting a series to discs, using coiler components, that eventually reveal themselves as looking to exploit a 'cheap' coiler axle as the way to do it, resulting in suggestion of using the whole axle.....
I looked to do the conversion, about eight years ago, but didn't due to inordinate work, time, money and complexity of doing it 'right' to my engineering sense of sensibilities.
Way I WOULD have done it detailed, in outline in the LRNet thread. Be VERY interested if any-one does follow that suggestion.
Most common way of doing it would seem, from comments on those threads, and detail discussions with others that have tackled it over the years, is by using 'wedges' between front axle and spring to get the correct castor angle and gain the clerance over the spring for the track-rod.
Most however, have run into the problem of that lowering the ride height and robbing suspension travel, causing hassles with the damper mounting and or other niggling fouling issues, as well as the problem of the shorter steering arm making steering effoff heavy..... oh, and incorrect diff nose angles knocking out UJ's and eating pinion seals, if not pinion gears and bearings! and not often mentioned, but finding a master cylinder appropriately sized for the coiler calipers, that has lead some to the recourse of cutting out the pedal box and using Rangie or Defender pedals, only to find that the wings wont fit over the top..... or living with 'better brakes' that dont actually work better!
Subjects not MANY have actually given 'genuinely' honest answers to, most shrugged off as 'doesn't bother me that much.....' or 'I only uise it.....' kind of things, though some have admitted that the after conversion 'niggles' are a little more troublesome than can be completely ignored!
Which was the deciding factor in my conclusion that IF it was to be done, it had to be done 'right' which to my mind meant detail setting setting up and fettling; getting the diff nose angle right on the springs, by careful alignment of the spring mount; getting the castor angle right, by filling the swivil flange on the axle with weld and re-drilling, then avoiding the stering 'hassles' by copying the series steering arrangement on the front of the axle, through custom, billet machined radius arms to fit coiler swivil.
Which made the conversion a very expensive one, for the benefit of better brakes and wider track, that could be obtained more easily by other means, and greater steering lock, which was biggest appeal, but to me, at the time, with a 109, as a family fun-truck, an advantage that didn't warrant the effort and expense.
Still remains a feature of my 'dream-rover' though, an 88" leaf sprung, V8 SIIA!
Seeing how often this comes up though, I do wonder whether I could make a few pennies, by marketing a 'kit' consisting of custom cast radius arms, camber corrected swivils, and spring mounts........ only I suspect, that general comment on it would be as Zeus disc conversion, or Haystee CV conversion, it would be too expensive at any price.....
Why do we expect to do all these thing for a few pennies and a bit of welding rod, then wonder why we have so many 'hassles' getting there and sorting them out after?
dr pepper
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Certainly convinces me not to bother, I might have the resources to do it but is it really worth the effort, if you really wanted to save the cash fabricating a disc conversion might be a better idea.
Sounds like its just not made for the job, the castor/steering linkage/diff input are all wrong, sounds like it'd be just like walking into a breakers and picking the first axle you come accross and expecting it to fit.
Just returning to the rear axle for a second, the diff ratios are diffo, so you could only use it for 2wd, that kinda makes that a bad idea too, can this be sorted out practically?.
Sounds like its just not made for the job, the castor/steering linkage/diff input are all wrong, sounds like it'd be just like walking into a breakers and picking the first axle you come accross and expecting it to fit.
Just returning to the rear axle for a second, the diff ratios are diffo, so you could only use it for 2wd, that kinda makes that a bad idea too, can this be sorted out practically?.
