Thread: Defender 110 front diff pinion angle

The question has not really been answered, concerning the angle of the flange. The following has a video, but it is a bit difficult to understand the voice over.

The company is Tom Woods in the US and several people have used their driveshafts sent from the US.

Choosing Between Single and Double Cardan Drive Shafts for Your Jeep o – Tom Wood's Custom Drive Shafts

Originally Posted by Lotz-A-Landies

Have been thinking about getting front shaft for Iain's 101 with CV's or possibly DC joints both ends

i ran a double carden at both ends in a +4" lifted Puma. The pinion end DC alignment is straight thus does not take advantage of the DC. Having run both a dual DC and now a single DC, there is no material difference in vibration control. I never measured angles at full flex to see if the pinion DC was doing anything of value to mitigate extreme angles. I did find the pinion DC wearing out quicker than the TFC end, primarily being exposed to road grime, water crossing etc. Mechanics tend to forget or chose to not grease the centre bearing, thus they flog out prematurely. To get to the centre bearing, you need to drop the shaft and flex the DC to access the grease nipple. That assumes it has a grease nipple. TW is greasable, while GL (Bailey Morris) is not. They are not cheap to rebuild. the centre bearing is about $120 + the 2 UJs + labour.

D2 is a different flange (larger) to the defender. Traditionally people just swapped the D2 flange onto the Defer to use a OEM D2 shaft or aftermarket like Tom Woods or Gwyn Lewis (Bailey Morris). GL now sell a defender DC shaft that uses the defender flange. TW can be requested as either. If you want the Defer flange, you need to supply the specs of the pilot and bolt spacing.

Long and short, based on personal experience, i don't see the benefit of a dual DC primarily because the pinion DC alignment is the same as the shaft angle so you are just adding 2 extra bearings that 1 would suffice.

Hi MLD thanks for your informative response.

I'm discussing 2 different vehicles. The 101 has a relatively short front drive shaft considering the front Salisbury and height difference between pinion and TC so they vibrate with standard suspension spec, so maybe CV joints may be best over double DC

The other vehicle is my Defender/Reynolds Boughton 6x6. This vehicle is now running 4BD1-T and Isuzu MSA5S+2, making the front pinion-TC length 150mm longer than standard Defender and the TC-middle axle 150mm shorter. The middle shaft not an issue as the flanges are parallel, my concerns are mainly the 17 degree difference between pinion-TC.

I take it I should be looking for a D2 front DC joint. Do I also need swap the flange on my LT230 output?

Originally Posted by Lotz-A-Landies

Hi MLD thanks for your informative response.

I'm discussing 2 different vehicles. The 101 has a relatively short front drive shaft considering the front Salisbury and height difference between pinion and TC so they vibrate with standard suspension spec, so maybe CV joints may be best over double DC

The other vehicle is my Defender/Reynolds Boughton 6x6. This vehicle is now running 4BD1-T and Isuzu MSA5S+2, making the front pinion-TC length 150mm longer than standard Defender and the TC-middle axle 150mm shorter. The middle shaft not an issue as the flanges are parallel, my concerns are mainly the 17 degree difference between pinion-TC.

I take it I should be looking for a D2 front DC joint. Do I also need swap the flange on my LT230 output?

It would be a custom job by the sounds of it, especially if the shaft is 150mm longer than a D2 shaft.

I probably wouldn't run a D2 spec shaft with 1300 uni's, I'd run it with 1310 unis with that motor, especially in the DC joint which I don't think are as strong or durable as a same sized plain uni joint.

I have 1310 DC with standard Landrover bolt pattern(for rear D2 applications) and 1310 DC for D2 front flange fitment from Tom Woods - so you can run either with TW Shafts. I think the Disco2 front flange I think is a bigger and probably better pattern but given that it isn't really a failure point then it probably doesn't matter what you run - but I also think the D2 front flange availability for a DC is far better in case you need to replace one.

I've been running the Tom Woods shafts for years and years and years, I cant speak more highly of Tom or his products.

Is there a local vendor for Tom Woods or do I go to US?

I’ll add a third thought to the mix. LT230 front (and rear) spline (28) is the same as Ford 9” pinion. Opens up options to use a UJ yoke. A 1350 uj has a significantly wider operating angle to the 1310/30 series. And stronger.

yes, if you use D2 spec shaft, you need a D2 flange.

TW is USA, GL is UK. Hardy Spicer are local but are 30% more for a one off shaft than importing a shaft.

Originally Posted by MLD

I’ll add a third thought to the mix. LT230 front (and rear) spline (28) is the same as Ford 9” pinion. Opens up options to use a UJ yoke. A 1350 uj has a significantly wider operating angle to the 1310/30 series. And stronger.

yes, if you use D2 spec shaft, you need a D2 flange.

TW is USA, GL is UK. Hardy Spicer are local but are 30% more for a one off shaft than importing a shaft.

LT230 rear wouldn't that impact the park brake drum?

Originally Posted by Lotz-A-Landies

LT230 rear wouldn't that impact the park brake drum?

Yes,. You wouldn't use a yoke on the rear. I included the rear in brackets as an observation not a suggestion it was a good idea. Im pretty sure there are off the shelf spicer flanges that are LR pilot spec with LR spaced holes that suit 1350 UJs. I know some people that had upgraded their rear shaft to 1350 UJs. Would take some research perusing the spicer catalogue. Failing that, you can buy blank flanges with no holes drilled and the builder of the shaft drill the flange to suit the drum brake bolt spacing.

I only raised the UJ yoke idea as an alternative to the LR stuff, in particular using 1350 ujs with a wider operating angle to avoid the cost and maintenance of a DC shaft.