Thread: Differential Question

Firstly, if it is a Discovery, it is a Rover diff, not a salisbury.

For future reference, the distinguishing differences are that in the Rover differential the entire body of the differential, that is, the bit that the prop shaft goes into, is detachable, being held into the axle housing by a circle of studs and nuts. In the Salisbury axle, this is a permanent part of the axle housing, and access is via a cover bolted on to the opposite side of the axle housing to where the prop shaft comes in.

Salisbury diffs were fitted at the rear only to long wheelbase Series Landrovers from Series 3 on, and to Landrover 110 and Defender 110 up to the early 2000s (also a few other rare ones).

Hope this helps.

Glad you asked Spartacus.
I would like to know the pro's and cons of each, and who makes the Salisbury's then ?

Salisbury diffs are a re-named Dana (made by Dana-Spicer)

The Salisbury axle is a Dana axle made under licence in the UK - not sure who actually made them.

The Rover differential dates from 1932 apparently, but continued updates kept up with increased loads until the 1960s. Rather than changing design with the attendant tooling costs and probable issues with patents, Rover bought in heavier duty axles where needed, mainly in the rear of 109 Series Landrovers and later 110 coil spring versions. Mostly these were the licence built Danas, named Salisbury for UK production, although ENV axles were also used. For Series 2B forward control, and for some armoured Landrovers, these were also used in the front.

By the early 2000s the Salisbury axle became unavailable or cost too much, and was replaced by the upgraded Rover diff with four centre gears developed for the P38 Rangerover.

The Salisbury axle has larger diameter half shafts, and the integration of the casting carrying all the works into the axle housing makes for a stronger axle than the Rover one, and it is generally considered unbreakable in normal Landrover use, compared to the reputation of the Rover rear axle in 109s for breaking half shafts and diff centres pins. Much of this reputation is possibly derived from a deterioration in QC after the Leyland takeover in 1967 - certainly quality of half axles varies. The down side of the Salisbury is lower ground clearance and higher unsprung weight.

Originally Posted by JDNSW

Firstly, if it is a Discovery, it is a Rover diff, not a salisbury.

For future reference, the distinguishing differences are that in the Rover differential the entire body of the differential, that is, the bit that the prop shaft goes into, is detachable, being held into the axle housing by a circle of studs and nuts. In the Salisbury axle, this is a permanent part of the axle housing, and access is via a cover bolted on to the opposite side of the axle housing to where the prop shaft comes in.

Salisbury diffs were fitted at the rear only to long wheelbase Series Landrovers from Series 3 on, and to Landrover 110 and Defender 110 up to the early 2000s (also a few other rare ones).

Hope this helps.

Thanks John
I had a feeling that mine was a normal Rover Diff, but wanted to be sure.

re the old lineage of the Rover diff.
Wayy back when I had my RRC, I had soem worn spline diff issues, and trying to keep the cost to a minimum and repair as seamless as I could, I ended up using a Rover diff from an old P5B, in the rear of my RRC, then used the rear to fit to the front of the RRC and sold my front diff to help recoup some of the cost of the exercise.
Hence the ubiquity of the good ol Rover diff. Only issue was that the much older Rover diff casing wasn't the same as the RRC diff casing, so for the front, you had to fit an RRC diff to mount the steering damper back onto the diff as per normal.

Other than the badly worn (10) splines of my 79RRC, I've never had Rover diff troubles.