Diff Bashing.

[Disco Muppet]

Not entirely sure if this should be in the technical section, mods move away if desired.
So, against my instincts I purchased the latest 4WDA mag and watched the DVD of Roothy and co out at Bulahdelah, on a particularly rocky track with some bloke in a Triton absolutely caning up, flinging rocks everywhere and slipping around, which got a slight raise of the eyebrow from yours truly.
At on point though, he was well and truly hung up on his rear diff, no visible guard on it, but didn't seem too worried about smashing it around.
So my question is....
How much punishment can your diffs take in terms of dropping them on rocks and such.
Obviously if you have a Sal well then you get to be employed by the local council as a grader, but for the rest of us :p
Cheers
Muppet

[isuzurover]

Apart from the pan area, axles and diff centres are quite strong. Axle housings are 6 mm + thickness, diff centres are normally ~12 mm cast steel/iron.

Usually you will bend the whole axle before you will dint anything.

[isuzutoo-eh]

The Salisbury is not indestructible when bashed against rocks. The cover is thinner than the Rover housing cover. That makes it very easy to dent, and hence liable to let the vital fluids out.
It also depends if you are dragging or bashing your diff. Dragging along the carrier of a Rover housing is going to be far stronger than bashing the cover into the same rock.
That's also the reason most put a diff guard on the front before the back.


How much punishment can your diffs take in terms of dropping them on rocks and such.
The answer you seek is quantified as 42.

[Grimace]

Just FYI I reversed my entire pumkin into a large rock on a steep downhill, so a lot of vehicle weigh landed on the pumpkin. The force pushed the hat all the way to the crown wheel and pinion and I drove the car out of it... I continued to drive the car and over a year later I just replaced the diff.

I have attached two shots of the old housing. One to show how squashed it was. The other of the face with the marking to show the exterior protrusion where the crown wheel was running against the hat.

[O-D]

I recently drove these Bulahdelah tracks and a reliable source tells me the Triton actually blew its front diff on this DVD trip. ;)

[gasman]

Yeh, that bloody Roothy and his mob need a kick up the arse for track wrecking. I seen other dvds where they have done the same thing.
Others want to be like him, so they try and impress at the bush's expense.
The NPs and SFs are there for all to use and not abuse.
Might look good (to some) but they are doing damage to more than their own trucks and then they film it for all the non 4WDers out their to see.

Grow up people.

[sheerluck]

I always thought the expression was 'tread lightly', not 'stomp like bloody Godzilla'

[Westie]

How much punishment can your diffs take in terms of dropping them on rocks and such.

I put a dint in the front of the front axle diff housing with the greatest of ease when I was waved off a vertical creek bank and slid, diff first, into a rock. I also dented the standard-issue steering protection. It didn't even make a noise. 2 lessons:

1) if someone is spotting, make sure that they appreciate that even Land Rovers are not all conquering

2) if I'm driving blind again (e.g. FNQ creek crossings) I'm definitely getting front diff protection

[Hopton1973]

I was recently looking at diff guards for my Disco and the cheapest I could find in Oz were about $80 each. When I look at Craddock's in UK I can buy two for $30 (GBP20) and ship them here for the same price as just the one in Australia, and thats about 6kg in weight. Am I missing something?
I will not accept the argument of R&D costs

[Westie]

I can buy two for $30 (GBP20) and ship them here for the same price as just the one in Australia, and thats about 6kg in weight. Am I missing something?
I will not accept the argument of R&D costs

Especially as some of the ones you can get here seem flat out copies of what you can get from the UK.

[Disco Muppet]

So the answer seems to be how big is a piece of string, I figured as much.
I'm not at all surprised that the triton broke something, the way that yahoo was charging around. Rocket Rod indeed.
I'm normally pretty cautious about getting hung up on the diffs, but if they're not made of glass then at least you've got a bit of peace of mind.

[Westie]

I'm normally pretty cautious about getting hung up on the diffs... Me too - I thought I was hyper-cautious and really only tour so no 'gnarly' four wheel driving.

Front diff experience - see above. Then driving in the Kimberly, pottering down an overgrown track with waist high grass, there was a massive crash from the rear, the back wheels jumped in the air, and it was knocked out of gear. I hopped out and wandered back - the rear (Salisbury) diff had hit a concealed rock. No damage except a scar on the bottom of the diff housing, just glad I hadn't hit it with the thin skinned front diff. Sure - I should have been more careful, but km after km of similar looking track - the attention can wander..

I haven't fitted a diff guard yet, always seem to be other priorities, but if there's another big trip in the offing I'll certainly consider it.

[bob10]

Doesn't have to be bush driving, when we lived in Darwin I took the family in our two door 6 cylinder Torana [ great car] to Mandorah, the opposite side of Port Darwin, as it is called now. Dirt most of the way, with a few gullies thrown in. Nearing Mandorah, we dropped into a gullie, and right in the middle was a huge rock. Fortunately I had been warned about these " wandering rocks", & was taking it easy. Managed to miss it, but if I had hit it, would have been a long walk home.I'm extra careful now on remote dirt roads, especially when there may be disgruntled locals. ;) Bob

[clive22]

For those with a Sals rear. Even if you are going forward the edge of the
cover can catch on rocks etc and peel the edge of the cover away from the main part of the without any apparent damage unless you get right underneath

This can allow your oil to flow out and you may not notice. The result can be a severely damaged diff internals.

Really if you're in ruts, grass, rocks touring or going hard whatever you really do need diff guards and compared to the rest of a half decent 4wd they are cheap insurance.

[isuzutoo-eh]

Yeah, protect your plough...
See how thin that original pan is? It distorted just removing it.
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2013/05/1378.jpg
If I ever bend or break that cover, i'll also have much worse things to worry about :D