maxi drive lockers

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Originally Posted by rick130

Bloody hell Pat !

19-20mm is easy to take off a Sals without compromising strength or needing any welding.

Makes it within 5mm of a Rover diff.
You can take anything up to another 1" off a Sals if you want to get tricky.

You just wouldn't remove a functioning Sals and fit a Rover diff, it just defies logic.

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I thought you'd like the 5 psi bit,I'm supprised it didn't get a bigger bite:D:D:D:D. Pat

Hi drover, Ashcroft components are bulletproof, however you still need to run a compressor to activate, maxidrive uses vacuume to activate. Arb lockers, which also use a compressor are renowned for blowing the internal seal for the airlines, in some cases you can end up with oil back up the air lines, Ashcroft May have this issue sorted I'm not sure. But the Other thing that is brilliant about maxidrive is that there is a light the comes on only if the locker is actually engaged not just when you push the button, you actually know when the diff locks up, and unlocks which is handy. Ashcroft components are great I just like these couple of differences personally.

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Originally Posted by Doc130

Hi drover, Ashcroft components are bulletproof, however you still need to run a compressor to activate, maxidrive uses vacuume to activate. Arb lockers, which also use a compressor are renowned for blowing the internal seal for the airlines, in some cases you can end up with oil back up the air lines, Ashcroft May have this issue sorted I'm not sure. But the Other thing that is brilliant about maxidrive is that there is a light the comes on only if the locker is actually engaged not just when you push the button, you actually know when the diff locks up, and unlocks which is handy. Ashcroft components are great I just like these couple of differences personally.

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The MD locker light only tells you the locker has started unlocking, not finished.
The ARB seal issue is a non-issue these days. 99% of the time it was down to faulty installation.

MD, ARB, Jacmac and Ashcroft are all good quality and reliable.

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Originally Posted by PAT303

The problem is Rick everyone looses their heads on simple matters,if I broke my P38 diff for arguments sake why would I go to all the trouble of finding and fitting a sals when I can buy off the shelf an Ashcrofts P38 diff and axles that are simply plug and play remembering my vehicle is used for touring?.If I had a D1/RRC again why stuff around when Ashcroft rover centres with upgraded CW&P,pinned CW axles etc are bolt in?.Personally I find it hard to understand why people find the need to go completely overboard when better than 90% of people on this forum use thier vehicles as daily drivers,towing rigs or tourers in regards to upgrades,look at the locker thread,T/C combined with an ATB type centre is without doubt the best option based on price,effectiveness,ease of use and on outback roads you use them constantly but lockers which can't be reign suppreme,don't forget also many people are not interested in spending their weekends underneath their LR,I don't,I hate it and I've been a fitter for 25 years,I'd rather a bolt in fit and go travelling.I want to ask also,why did Telstra go the P38 over the sals in thier field service 130's?,a rover or P38 will break but they will still get you home. Pat

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If I had a P38 style rear end and it failed I'd use the Ashcroft hypoid centre too.

The Telstra Rover rear ends were the Wolf ones, really, really heavily trussed and braced.

Ross/130man has one, it's bloody impressive.

With a md the light does indicate when the locker is on or off regardless when you push the button to activate/deactivate unlike arb, ashcroft etc? To put it simply, when you push the button on arb locker the light on the switch is on, that doesn't mean the locker is engaged, with a maxi- drive you pull the swith the light doesn't come on until the locker engages, this is handy to know before you enter an obstacle so it doesn't engage when the wheel goes to spin, which can cause damage. Than whist using a locker you generally get wind up in the diff. So with an arb, ashcroft locker, when you turn off the switch the light goes out, that doesn't mean the lockers disengaged. With a md the light goes out when its disengaging meaning it cannot lock from this point, For those that are not aware the Best way to disengage any diff lock and centre lock in a defender is to deactivate the front/rear difflock or centre lock, the same applies,put it in reverse and go full lock. So basically reverse in a big circle, this somewhat helps reversing the effects of wind up when diff locks are engaged making it easier to unlock diffs. At the end of the day it's not a huge thing but I believe is a good thing as to actually know if your locker is working or not, not guessing!

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Originally Posted by Doc130

With a md the light does indicate when the locker is on or off regardless when you push the button to activate/deactivate ...

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I know what you are trying to say, the only problem is you are not quite correct.

This may help...

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Originally Posted by isuzurover

The two bolded bits are contradictory!!!

As explained, the light turns on when the locker is fully engaged and the actuator piston touches the isolated bolt that provides -ve to the light. However, when unlocking, as soon as the piston starts to move away from the bolt, contact is lost, the light turns off, but the piston still needs to move another 1" or so until the diff is unlocked.


EDIT - I have attached a pic which hopefully makes things clear.
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachment...rive_light.jpg

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Because MD lockers work off low pressure (vacuum) and have the longest spline engagement of any locker (which is a good thing) they are slower to fully engage or disengage than other lockers. The light goes out long before the locker is fully disengaged.

This is the right link here.

Maxi Drive

Cheers,
Brian.

This is true isuzurover! However I believe its still a better setup than just a light that comes on with a switch. Md gives a much better "indication" of locker engagement or disengagement at the end of the day.

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Originally Posted by rick130

If I had a P38 style rear end and it failed I'd use the Ashcroft hypoid centre too.

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Something to keep in mind for the present time is that Ashcroft have only the 3.54 C&P for hypoid unit. If you are planning to change ratios, say to accommodate larger rubber, it's not a one stop shop fix. No doubt if the hypoid unit gathers popularity and there is a demand Ashcroft will come out with a range of ratios.

I'm a +1 for having pulled the P38 from my Puma 130 and bolted in a sals. I had a sals set up with a MD locker so it made sense and in light of the hypoid unit not accommodating different C&P it was not an option for me. As for ditching the sals because you want clearance, that makes no sense to me. I'm happy to give up clearance for peace of mind that the sals will be turning years after i have lost my license from old age and infirmity.

As for the argument which locker unit is better. It's all hog wash. Each unit will do what 99.9% of the forum members require of it. It comes down to budget and personal preferences. Save your coins, buy the unit that best suits your needs and don't skimp on (arguable) necessities like axles and flanges.

Doc130, gotta ask, do you have a MD locker? Just curious as to the origin of your deep rooted passion for that brand.

MLD

MLD,do you drive around Picton or Wedderburn?,that was a common place for us to go as it's all sandstone steps that really worked the suspension,same as Porters Road at Dural or Heart break ridge at Bowral,you tube them and see what you find,I'm saying this because clearance is an issue with the sals,watch the video's because I was the only one with a sals diff and I was the only one who constantly got hung up because of it,it's pretty ordinary for a then new Defender to get stuck when a '66 2a walked through,I went to 255/85's to match a rover on 7.50x16's. Pat