Fairey Overdrive: S2A to S3 swap possible?

[Brisso57]

Would a Fairey overdrive now fitted to a S2A LWB be a straight bolt-on job to fit to a S3 LWB?

If not, what is the complication?

* For added bonus points, was there basically just one model of Fairey O/D (for Series LR's)?
or was there a series of models? If a series, what were the changes and which is the most desirable?

cheers

Doug

[LandyAndy]

Hi Doug
Straight swap.
Basically only one model ever made.
Mods,OK here is a conversion a WA bloke did to his,Ian Lynne is the man.
The biggest problem with a Fairy in your gearbox is they have too smaller oil sump,they overheat the oil then feed the oil under pressure to the transfercase where its lost and not replaced.
Ian sliced the bum off the fairy and had a custom sump built so the oil dont boil.You need to find a competent alloy welder to do it but its a must do on the changeover.From memory Ian created a 2Lt plus sump!!! It also made it so much quieter!!!!
If you are after a spare overdrive and casing I have both.The input gear is stuffed as most are.
I bought the spare casing to do the above conversion but went big V8 instead.So if you want the spare housing to cut up and experiment with send an offer via PM.
Andrew

[BlueBandit59]

Hi Doug
Straight swap.
Basically only one model ever made.
Mods,OK here is a conversion a WA bloke did to his,Ian Lynne is the man.
The biggest problem with a Fairy in your gearbox is they have too smaller oil sump,they overheat the oil then feed the oil under pressure to the transfercase where its lost and not replaced.
Ian sliced the bum off the fairy and had a custom sump built so the oil dont boil.You need to find a competent alloy welder to do it but its a must do on the changeover.From memory Ian created a 2Lt plus sump!!! It also made it so much quieter!!!!
If you are after a spare overdrive and casing I have both.The input gear is stuffed as most are.
I bought the spare casing to do the above conversion but went big V8 instead.So if you want the spare housing to cut up and experiment with send an offer via PM.
Andrew

Andrew what was the cause of overheating ? Long trips or just general driveing around ?
cheers Nev .

[LandyAndy]

Faireys are well known for overheating and the expansion of the oil forces it into the transfercase thru the oil seal.It cant recoup the lost oil which results in the overdrive running dry getting more noisy and eventually its death.If you check and top the oil weekly not much of an issue.The expanded sump fixes the problem.
Andrew

[BlueBandit59]

Yes thanks Andrew.
The reason I ask is because I had an overdrive in my first landy a series 2A of about 18 years ,the overdrive in about the last 5 years of ownership. I used the landy as a everyday transport to and from work and general runabout at weekends and never had any trouble. ie no noise or overheating.
cheers Nev.

[Tank]

Yes thanks Andrew.
The reason I ask is because I had an overdrive in my first landy a series 2A of about 18 years ,the overdrive in about the last 5 years of ownership. I used the landy as a everyday transport to and from work and general runabout at weekends and never had any trouble. ie no noise or overheating.
cheers Nev.
If you run a breather tube off the sheet metal cover plate (weld a 1/8" ID spud onto the plate) and run it up high into the engine bay with a one way fuel filter on the end you wont get a pressure build up that will force oil out of the O/D

[MajorNeb]

Hey thanks for that Tank. I too am looking at putting a Fairy Overdrive in my SIII.

That mod sounds like the go to me.

Nathanial

[Brisso57]

If you run a breather tube off the sheet metal cover plate (weld a 1/8" ID spud onto the plate) and run it up high into the engine bay with a one way fuel filter on the end you wont get a pressure build up that will force oil out of the O/D

I'm not familiar with the term "spud". What is it?

Ta

Doug

[isuzurover]

Fairey's were well known for having:
A high-pitched whine when engaged
Oil loss
Overheating problems
A fine-splined input gear with oil lubrication problems.

The toro OD doesn't have any of these problems. But try finding one...

[Brisso57]

<Snip> The toro OD doesn't have any of these problems. But try finding one...

Yes. I'd read that comment elsewhere.
If not Toro then, are there yet other makers of O/Drives for series LR's?

???

Doug

[Tank]

I'm not familiar with the term "spud". What is it?

Ta

Doug
It is a brass or steel fitting which has a Male thread (same as hole in diff housing where old diff breather was screwed in) on one end, with a hole through the centre, and a tube, usually barbed, on the other end, the same I.D as the plastic/rubber hose you use for the extension. You'll see them on inlet manifolds with vac. hoses attached or on some carbys with the fuel line attached, your local hardware or spare parts place will steer you in the right direction, Regards Frank.

[isuzurover]

Yes. I'd read that comment elsewhere.
If not Toro then, are there yet other makers of O/Drives for series LR's?

???

Doug

I used to own a Toro, they are out there. There was also another OD, but I don't think it made it to OZ.

There is the rocky mountain OD, but these are only available new and $$$.

IMHO, a better option, which would cost about the same, would be to get an LT77s from a 200Tdi (they are quite cheap), and buy an adaptor from Ashcroft to mate the box to a series T-case. (the LT77 will bolt straight up to any 4cyl series engine)

This will give you a REAL 5-speed, that is much stronger than the series box, and with none of the problems of an overdrive. The only downside is you will need to move the engine mounts about 4" forward and the rad panel a couple of inches forward, as the overall setup is slightly longer.

[Aaron IIA]

How about fitting high speed transfer case gears? No added in-efficiency of having an extra gear cluster and low range is not altered.
Aaron.

[isuzurover]

How about fitting high speed transfer case gears? No added in-efficiency of having an extra gear cluster and low range is not altered.
Aaron.

Low range IS actually altered slightly, as the intermediate shaft must be moved and all the gears replaced to get a higher high range.

Factory (suffix C on and SIII) is 40:1 (first low), the high range T-case I am aware of is (there may be others) about 38:1. And that is the lowest you can go, it precludes the option of fitting the suffix B t-case gears that I have which give you 49:1 1st low.

Also - it costs about $1500 or so when I last asked, and is knowhere near as good as having a nice low 1st and a proper 5th gear. Also, don't even think about it if you have a 4cyl 109. A mate of mine was told by a retailler that his rebuilt 2.25P would pull a HR TC no problems. He tried it for a week before pulling it out and fitting a normal T-case. He said hill starts were near impossible in high range.

[Aaron IIA]

From what I was told, drive around not using first gear. Always take off in second. If you are happy with this, then consider high ratio gears. If you are not happy with starting in second gear, then don't get the high ratio transfer case gears.
Fourth gear is straight through, which is maximum efficiency. Fitting an aftermarket overdrive still means that fourth is straight through, but you now have the added in-efficiency of an extra gear changing the ratio. In an ideal world, you would be better to fit high speed differentials, with a five speed gearbox, where fifth was straight through, and not overdrive. This could be seen as a four speed with the addition of a built in underdrive.
The simplest method, would be to be contented driving at 80km/h, or wear earplugs and have a larger wallet/fuel tank to drive at 100km/h.
Aaron.

[JDNSW]

.........The simplest method, would be to be contented driving at 80km/h, or wear earplugs and have a larger wallet/fuel tank to drive at 100km/h.
Aaron.

My experience is that the overdrive makes no appreciable difference to fuel consumption, possibly because it encourages you to drive faster than you would without it. The principal real use I have found for it is is conditions where you are driving in low range, but have an opportunity to go faster than is feasible in low fourth (but know you will need low again shortly), engaging overdrive enables you to stay in low range and not have to change into high range. Also useful for splitting gears, particularly for hills too steep for fourth, but not steep enough to really need third (but avoid use in first or second).

I agree with Aaron - if you wanted to drive at over 80 or 90, then you would have a Defender.

John

[isuzurover]

My experience is that the overdrive makes no appreciable difference to fuel consumption, possibly because it encourages you to drive faster than you would without it. The principal real use I have found for it is is conditions where you are driving in low range, but have an opportunity to go faster than is feasible in low fourth (but know you will need low again shortly), engaging overdrive enables you to stay in low range and not have to change into high range. Also useful for splitting gears, particularly for hills too steep for fourth, but not steep enough to really need third (but avoid use in first or second).

John

I agree whith the above - no difference in fuel consumption, but I sit at 60mph on the highway rather than 50mph without the OD. Also very useful for splitting gears - and although not reccommended - 1st low OD was an extremely useful gear offroad.

[dandlandyman]

I have a Toro in my 2a swb. If I do 60mph, there probably isn't very much difference in the fuel consumption most likely because of the inherent increase in wind resistance. However, if I keep my speed about 50mph I have seen 270miles out of a 45L tank. I didn't believe it myself, so I did the experiment over. Same result, 27mpg or 10.51L/100km.
Even allowing for error, it's a pretty respectable figure out of a 40 year old carby'd petrol. I've seen similar factory figures from Disco Tdis and Cruisers.

Dan.

[AndrewGJones]

Has anyone tried one of these?

Heystee Automotive BV (http://www.heystee-automotive.com/)

according to the wiki on them, the Santana rovers has a pretty good rep and these are a straight copy (according to the site)

andy

[isuzurover]

Has anyone tried one of these?

Heystee Automotive BV (http://www.heystee-automotive.com/)

according to the wiki on them, the Santana rovers has a pretty good rep and these are a straight copy (according to the site)

andy

That one is very similar to a Toro OD. Better than a fairey/superwinch, but still not great.

[Homestar]

What about the Roverdrive or Roamerdrive as it is called now... Seems to get a pretty good rap from those who have them - Global Roamer Corporation (http://roamerdrive.com/)

[Blknight.aus]

the fairy wont last if you're using it to split first or second high range, especially if you have a worked up 2.25 or a 6 pot.