Series 3 springs above axel conversion?

Hi there, was wondering does anyone know about this conversion, is it possible to put the leaf springs above the axles to give a suspension lift? i saw the conversion in a recent land rover magazine about some bloke thats done it in america and wondered if anyone in england has done it and what i might need in order to do it!? Any help would be appreciated, also anyone know where i can buy a cheapish 90 defender to add to my collection!!!? THanks.

Do a search. It's not recommended on safety grounds and it looks bloody stupid too.

any ideas how to get a bit more lift apart from pairobollocks?

Bigger tyres.

Basicaly cut your spring mounting pads off the axel and weld em on the top of you axel casing then fit the springs on top of the casing, bolt it all up then roll it round the first bend you come to. Dont do it unless you want to get crushed under your rolling landy The series is far to narrow to lift by that amount. Fit pairofbollics for about and inch or so of lift and have a comfy ride. Search for Rocky Mountain in the series forum. I started that thread quite a while ago. Found the post so click on here... http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f6/rocky-mountain-47067.html

thanks mate thats what i was after, i guess parabolics is the way to go with bigger tyres, i have the 16" 8 spoke rims (you know thw white ones everyone has!!) any idea what teh biggest tyre you can get on them is?

hyland770 said:

thanks mate thats what i was after, i guess parabolics is the way to go with bigger tyres, i have the 16" 8 spoke rims (you know thw white ones everyone has!!) any idea what teh biggest tyre you can get on them is?

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265/75/16

9.00x16 or 255/100R16 plus 1 ton Shackles. 13" clearance under Diffs, with Standard Springs. How much clearance do you need?

Fookin ell! You got big enough tyres?! What tyres are they anyway?

well i was just hoping to get a few more inches clearance cos i was grounding out on some banks which defenders were managing, so really just a few more inches match a standard 90 defender...

jmattley said:

Fookin ell! You got big enough tyres?! What tyres are they anyway?

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Michelin XL 9.00R16.

hyland770 said:

well i was just hoping to get a few more inches clearance cos i was grounding out on some banks which defenders were managing, so really just a few more inches match a standard 90 defender...

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Clearance under the Diffs is exactly the same as a Defender, if it's got 235/85R16 and you've got 7.50x16. It's the spring hangers that hook up on a Series.
A standard Disco has 8" clearance under the Diffs. I've got 13". It's all down to tyre size. Spring over Axle doesn't give you any more clearance, it's just dangerous. The only other way of getting clearance is Portal Axles and that's fortunes.

Spyderman said:

9.00x16 or 255/100R16 plus 1 ton Shackles. 13" clearance under Diffs, with Standard Springs. How much clearance do you need?

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If I could afford a set of 9.00 16 tyres I think I would give this a go. How far have you gone with this? Have you basically altered the chassis to a 88" one ton spec by grafting on extended spring hangers and bump stops? Have you fitted a lower ratio one ton gearbox. Surely they don't just fit on properly with only extended shackles do they? - I have 7.50s and they already rub on the insides of the rear seat boxes, when cross axled.

hyland770 said:

well i was just hoping to get a few more inches clearance cos i was grounding out on some banks which defenders were managing, so really just a few more inches match a standard 90 defender...

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Although 90s and 88" have the same ground clearance (with the same tyres) I've noticed that when in ruts leafers are more likely so get hung up on the clamping plates which go under the leaf springs. Parabolic springs have fewer leaves so these plates would be a bit higher up and less likely to get caught on rocks and tree stumps.

13" Clearance on the diffs. Nice. Mine is just under 9 as standard.

Fenby, Things I had to do were; 1 ton Shackles, didn't extend the fixed ends of the Chassis. Gives about an inch of lift, downside is Axles sit at a slight angle to standard, so UJs don't last as long, due to Prop angles.
Bumper needed trimming on lower section as the tyres hit it.
Front Wings & Front Light Panel needed trimming, again the tyres touched.
Rear Tyres touched the inside of rear panel very slightly as it started to articulate as well as cornering. Minor filing sorted that.
Rear Tyres rub the underside of the rear seat tub slightly on maximum articulation.
Gearing has been fine, apart from a bit too quick down hill in Low First.
I have fitted a fully rebuilt 2.5N/A engine though, so the little bit more power from it means it will still pull away from a standstill, better than my old 2.25 & 7.50's.
Tyres are mounted on 6.5Jx16 Snatch Land Rover tubeless rims, never had issues with rubbing the inside of the tub.
I did have to adjust the steering stops slightly, to avoid the tyres touching the springs.
I always got stuck in ruts before - hooked up on the spring hangers.
Now not a problem.

That Landy certainly looks good on the 9.00 16 tyres. I've heard about people machining up wedges to sit between the axle and springs to correct prop angle problems. What I've thought about doing to mine is to make extension brackets which bolt on to the existing spring hangers so that the front ends of the springs are in the same place as they would be on a 1 ton chassis. I'm a bit worried about MOT and insurance issues with that idea though.

dont worry , your landy looks fine!

Where did you get that bumper extention from ?? looks like two good recovery points, I could do with that !

Please tell !

spidy where did ya get yer whinch bumper from??? i need one for me s3, i am looking into getting a set of extra long shackles made out of high tensile steel (as i am already running as a one ton) this combined with pairofbollocks shoul see me sitting at +3 or 4 inches i am also fitting discovery axles (wider with disk brakes) and i have found a company that can supply simex coppies(fedima not sure of the exact model) in 35x10.5R16 yes a septicsize tyre in a 16" fitment!!!!!!!!! (you really need 8X16s to put these on but you can get away with 7X16s) the tyres are £155 each delivered(just the tyres no rims)