Category Archives: Axles

New Propshafts

Fuel and Battery Gauge on DashBoth the front and rear propshafts have been on the “hit list” for a while due to the amount of play in the splines. On my competition motor I fitted a Bailey Morris heavy duty prop shaft after snapping a rear one and decided it was worth the extra money for the quality of the splines and the larger UJs so decided to go the same way with the 90. 2 propshafts along with 2 spare UJs for the spares kit arrived last week.

So, I ticked off a few jobs in the end this weekend – I added a foam rubber strip between the tyre rack and the roll cage at the front as it was whistling quite loudly above 40mph, all quiet now. I also fitted both new propshafts, fitted a new steering damper with relocation bracket to the steering drag link – removing the one from the track rod. In an effort to fix the annoying slight oil leak from somewhere around the transfer box I took the bottom plate off it and resealed it while changing the oil. I had a play with a number of ideas to try and mount the ground anchor somewhere and decided in the end it really is too cumbersome to fit in a 90 !

Sunday was spent doing a final fit and gauge calibration for the infamous battery and fuel monitor, in the afternoon we took it for a long run out to make sure the props and steering felt good and that the fuel gauge and fuel consumption was something like. All seemed good, the new propshafts have fixed the vibration we were getting on overrun, the steering wobble is completely gone and the spare tyre rack was quiet at all speeds 🙂

Just to prove that the battery/fuel gauge thing is actually fitted and working at last I even took a picture of it ! It sits quite neatly above the normal centre dash switches…

Brakes sorted

IMG_0325This weekend was a chance to catch up on some maintenance and servicing jobs. My competition Land Rover ate it’s front prop shaft while pulling the caravan back from the bank holiday trials weekend so Saturday was devoted to some well overdue TLC for that given the 90 has been taking most of my spare time up.

With the competition motor back up to spec I set about servicing the brakes on the 90. The front brakes are the vented type from a Range Rover and the callipers are the best part of 20 years old. I rebuilt them nearly 10 years ago with new pistons and seals but they are probably one of the oldest components of the vehicle so well overdue for replacement.

Today was spent replacing the two front callipers along with one of the brake lines that looked a bit borderline. Along with the callipers I changed the rotors/disks too so with a new set of brake pads it should give a bit more bite under braking. I’ll swap the rear disks out too at some point as there’s no point in starting the trip with components that aren’t 100%.

Proper 4×4 now !

We finally had a bit of sunshine today, such a contrast to our weekend away in freezing temperatures !

Anyway, we got the last few bits and pieces we needed from Ashcrofts to complete the front axle conversion so I spent the day stripping the front axle and fitting the front ARB locker and the Ashcroft shafts, CVs and modified stub axles. So, with ARB locking diffs front and rear we have guaranteed 4 wheel drive with the ability to lock both axles as well as the centre diff.

The only bit I was missing were the two circlips and the shims that hold and adjust the end float on the CVs. The drive flanges used to have them in the same box but that was 5 years ago and since then they’ve been to Australia and back and hauled around the UK to a number of challenge events. Somewhere along the way the circlips went AWOL.

As a temporary solution I borrowed the ones off my challenge motor but I’ll need them back for the trial next weekend !

Ready for the snow… I think…

ARB compressor and airline connectorThe last few days have been busy finishing off a number of jobs in final preparation for the trip to Scotland for the Muddy Truckers Trophy, the weather forecast hasn’t improved any… if anything it’s got worse, it’ll be a cold one that’s for certain.

Anyway, got the internal rear window guards all fitted in the back and the rear work lights wired up. The auxilliary fuse box is completely wired back in and providing power for everything it needs to, including the fridge although that may not actually be a necessity for this trip given the forecast temperatures !

Auxilliary fuse boxThe ARBs came back from Crown Diffs so I fitted the rear one together with the spare Ashcroft half shafts. I’ve had those shafts since 2008 when they formed part of the spares kit we took to Australia. They were never used so it makes sense to upgrade the 90 axles with Ashcroft shafts and CVs. The front axle will have to wait until after the Muddy Truckers though as we’re missing a couple of bits.

I plumbed in the ARB compressor, running the pipework for both front and rear diffs, the winch free spool and an airline connector on each side of the vehicle for blowing up tyres etc…

Window guards

Other than packing some tools and the rest of our camping gear, clotting, food, water etc… we’re about ready to go. The pile of bits in the dining room is definitely diminishing 🙂

Giving it a lift

After1Big day today, finished changing the suspension over with new springs and the Koni rear shock absorbers. As well as the suspension change we fitted the new steel wheels and ST Maxx tyres. It’s starting to look a lot more purposeful now.

The Koni shock absorbers are the most aggressively gassed shockers I’ve ever come across. It took two of us and a ratchet strap to compress each one far enough to actually fit it and that’s on their lowest setting…