Life of Puma Rear Diff's

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Originally Posted by PAT303

I posted up somewhere about the clearance and the P38 had something like 30mm more clearance over a sals even though it ran 235's and the sals had 255's.There's nothing you can do with a sals unless you run 35's and I'm over all that high lift/big tyres mucho BS. Pat

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sorry pat, but it is possible to shave the sals. Amount depends on the skillset.

Btw I crawled a hill locked with my sals and 235s that my mate couldnt with his unlocked portals, and yes the sals dragged a little?

Better to have a low diff that works than one that doesnt.

Its a personal choice. I can see your points going to a rover.

lets see what Ashcroft have come up with (Im hoping not a custom center)

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Originally Posted by PAT303

I posted up somewhere about the clearance and the P38 had something like 30mm more clearance over a sals even though it ran 235's and the sals had 255's.There's nothing you can do with a sals unless you run 35's and I'm over all that high lift/big tyres mucho BS. Pat

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Pat, there's bugger all difference between my Rover front and Sals rear now.
I did measure them both at the time (six-seven years ago) when I cut the bottom off the Sals and IIRC it was 5mm advantage to the Rover ?

I could take that off the Sals pretty easily, just couldn't be bothered now.

So is Ashcrofts working on this new center, as previous chat involving "Ashtrans" seemed to indicate it was just on a wish list and not actually happening.

It would suit me perfectly as I already have Ashcroft half shafts and drive flanges in the rear.

Just an aside for a moment...I have the very first sold Puma in Brisbane (apparently). When I collected mine, none of the others were available to go, even though they were at the dealer. Austral motors told me that all the new ones, with the exception of mine, had to have a "procedure" done on their diffs. When I asked why mine didn't, they said my diffs (well, my vehicle as per it's VIN) was unaffected by the issue.

Interestingly, I have done 90,000km in mine, many with big loads and offroad, and have had zero diff issues....both still original and going strong.

I have not had any issues either, front and rear still original. Done some big trips all with big loads on board.

I have Ashcrofts half shafts, drive flanges all round and their CV's n the front but the diff are original.

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Originally Posted by rick130

Pat, there's bugger all difference between my Rover front and Sals rear now.
I did measure them both at the time (six-seven years ago) when I cut the bottom off the Sals and IIRC it was 5mm advantage to the Rover ?

I could take that off the Sals pretty easily, just couldn't be bothered now.

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Just measured both,the sals has 30mm less clearance underneath. Pat

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Originally Posted by Scallops

Just an aside for a moment...I have the very first sold Puma in Brisbane (apparently). When I collected mine, none of the others were available to go, even though they were at the dealer. Austral motors told me that all the new ones, with the exception of mine, had to have a "procedure" done on their diffs. When I asked why mine didn't, they said my diffs (well, my vehicle as per it's VIN) was unaffected by the issue.

Interestingly, I have done 90,000km in mine, many with big loads and offroad, and have had zero diff issues....both still original and going strong.

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Makes you wonder why all the P38 RR's are driving around without diff changes every six months doesn't it?.There's nothing wrong with the P38 diff,it's the excessive backlash from the factory that causes the trouble. Pat

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Originally Posted by PAT303

Makes you wonder why all the P38 RR's are driving around without diff changes every six months doesn't it?.There's nothing wrong with the P38 diff,it's the excessive backlash from the factory that causes the trouble. Pat

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while I agree with you Pat, we cant be 100% sure there hasnt been a material change, some machining changes or small design change (read bear counters) that is also coming into play.....

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Originally Posted by PAT303

Just measured both,the sals has 30mm less clearance underneath. Pat

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yep......until you shave it :D

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Originally Posted by uninformed

while I agree with you Pat, we cant be 100% sure there hasnt been a material change, some machining changes or small design change (read bear counters) that is also coming into play.....

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It's a set-up problem not a design problem,look on Ashcrofts site at one he has pulled out and look at the CW/P mesh,it's not there,going on from that think how the two work and you'll work out why the bearings flog out so quickly,simply setting the backlash correctly would fix 99% of the problem,why they don't is beyond me. Pat