Thread: Review: Ashcroft LT230 ATB centre diff

When the auto box I ordered from Ashcroft arrived in Darwin the freight company started playing games and would not release it.

The freight company said customs had to inspect it. They said I would also have to complete customs forms, and that it would be a difficult process understanding what was required. Once I sent the forms to customs it would probably take a week or more for customs to reply. In the mean time the freight company would charge me storage fees on a daily basis. Alternatively, the storage company could complete customs forms for me and have clearance in a day because of their experience in dealing with customs on a regular basis, but for a hefty fee roughly equivalent to a weeks storage.

You might want to talk to customs in advance.

I did a very similar thing a while back .
Talk to customs first is very good advice [ in person , over the counter ]
A letter from Ashcroft stating that it has come direct from a reconditioning factory would have saved me a lot of time and money not having to have it cleared by the ag dept, for foot & mouth etc.
The customs import form has a thousand very vague catagories , that is where the agents get you , but if you talk to a friendly customs dept staff , they can help a lot .
Having done it once , it is fairly easy , but the first time can be a trap for the unwary .

Interesting.

I had no issues buying an ATB plus TC rebuild kit from Ashcroft's, or two Tom Wood driveshafts (admittedly they came in under the $1000 threshold) or any lot of smaller stuff from the US.

I think the Ashcrofts stuff came via DHL and the TW shafts via UPS while most of the smaller stuff was USPS.

Mine was a complete box , well over the $1000 threshold .
Came via DHL , fairly good service , but I had to either pay or do all the running around myself .
If you knew the process , it would be quite easy , but it is hard to get anyone to tell you .
I was fairly lucky that the customs officer I spoke to was helpfull.

Originally Posted by workingonit

When the auto box I ordered from Ashcroft arrived in Darwin the freight company started playing games and would not release it.

The freight company said customs had to inspect it. They said I would also have to complete customs forms, and that it would be a difficult process understanding what was required. Once I sent the forms to customs it would probably take a week or more for customs to reply. In the mean time the freight company would charge me storage fees on a daily basis. Alternatively, the storage company could complete customs forms for me and have clearance in a day because of their experience in dealing with customs on a regular basis, but for a hefty fee roughly equivalent to a weeks storage.

You might want to talk to customs in advance.

Having been bent over when importing an Ashcroft R380, I would very much have to agree. I had a thread on here somewhere.


Here we go: Importing stuff...Grrr...

Well gear box and transfer was built on Friday. Received notification tonight that the package is been sent off tonight (Australian time) with TNT.

Ashcrofts are including a letter stating package is not a bio hazard as it has come from a sterile rebuild facility so hopefully no hold ups with quarantine.

spoke to customs on Friday for advice. Told them the package was coming with TNT door to door.

they advised that TNT will be in contact once the package arrives for the duty and gst tax. Appariently TNT will do all the paperwork.

Heres hoping. We will see how long it takes to arrive in Darwin.


CHEERS Chris

Ive got the Ashcroft atb and output shaft combo in mine and its unbelievable. The sense of security and invincibility it gives you is amazing. Even in low range i forget to lock my diff centre sometimes cause its so effective. No clunking and definitely less noisy then before. Highly recommend it!

well after a long wait Chaffy is finally back on the road. picked him up on Friday night. Ran around town for two days and then drove down to KTOWN.

There is no clunking at all from the drivetrain which is amazing. The shift on the 5speed is still a bit stiff and firm. Hopefully will loosen up as we get a few kms on it. The box has been adjusted a couple of times to try and get the shift to be a bit easier. Slipping back into first and changing into third are the main two.

Should have over 1000km in the next two weeks on the new drivetrain and will drop the oils and refill with (very expensive) fresh golden goodness. Hopefully the shift will have started to free up.

I feel the temps area running a bit high in the gearbox at the moment and hopefully it is due to the box been new. Up here Inthe Territory doing 120-130 box was up to 94 degrees.

Big shout out to Leigh and the lads at Nightcliffe Service Centre for all their hard work.

Cheers, Chris