Thread: Driveline strength-93 Defender

welcome aboard

plenty of info on this site

i have had my 95 defender for 18 months, i upgraded the rear axles to maxi drive (no more worries now) as the splines were flogged and had to replace a cv a couple of weeks. the cv probably had a heap of k's on it but it broke it by me being silly trying to show up a cruiser owner instead of just using my lockers.

cannot comment on diff centres or gearbox as i have had no problems

plenty of guys on here to the hard core stuff so they will know what breaks and what doesn't

go the fender

93 Fender has LT77 g/box. Try to get R380 gearbox (1995 and on)

Rear diff is very strong. Salisbury unit.

CV's are weakest of the lot. Upgrade (or should that be downgrade) to earlier 110 County. Much stronger.

Suspension is excellent, but obviously on a ute you'll need a load in the back to get the most out of it. Suspension lift is no worries. Body lift is almost out of the question.

The spline wear for the rear axles is only a problem when the rear disc brakes were introduced. If it has rear drums the splines were oil flooded and should last forever. If you're putting a locker in the rear but not worrying about the front, go Maxidrive. It'll be cheaper than ARB's and comes with axle upgrade and new drive members, almost bullet proof for the back then.

Front end will be the weak point, CVs the main problem. With 33s and an open diff it will be OK if you don't get rough with it, otherwise you'll need the earlier CVs as stated above. This gets a little complicated if it's the ealy drum brake rear because that means it's also a 10spline front. I don't think Maxidrive do the axle upgrade to suit the better CVs with 10spline axles, so that menas you'll have to upgrade the diff centre with a later 24spline unit.

LT230T transfer case is strong and will never be a problem with a Tdi powering it. LT77S gearbox is clunky, agricultural and not very robust but neither are the later R380 until you get to the very last generation of them. The fact is though you don't have any real alternative with a 200tdi anyway, the later gearboxes aren't a simple swap without getting some expensive and farly rare parts only normally found in the UK.

Great vehicles, and 200tdi is the best engine IMO, but then I would say that. :wink:

Paul

Welcome to the site...
I have done enough hard trips to comment on a couple of points.
The centre diff should be locked as soon as you hit the soft stuff. It performs its job perfectly well on the bitch of mine, but if you travel a lot in the soft stuff and keep saying "I dont need the centre diff, I am going OK" you will find it worn out after a few months- or years- as they do work hard if the front wheels are spinning and the back are not or vice versa.
As mentioned the Salisbury diff is bulletproof, compared to the Nissan, it would be as strong, but it has an annoying 3" lug that is marginally lower than the Nissan and this will drag if you were to follow a Nissan in rutted clay. I took to mine with an angle grinder many years ago- end of that problem
I might get flak here but I will say the CV's are almost as strong as a Nissan. I managed to crack one of mine, and they are stronger than a Defender, but by the same token I was nearly ejected from the Landie and any vehicle would have been damaged doing what I did 8O Then again I have seen enough Rangie/Landie CV,s crack or worse when flogged, especially with bigger rubber.
Overall I would prefer a Land rover over a Nissan for most uses. Come to think of it- I have

Thanks heaps guys.

The vehicle in question does have a good number of k's but is a very reasonable price (family friends). As much as I love my Patrol it has to much rear overhang and is to short as I mentiond, it picked up both front wheels going up a dirty hill near my place 8O Not a nice feeling. The rear bumper and 1/4's aren't all that pretty anymore!

First thing would be a lift and 33's on Sunraysia style rims. Being a ute I would be softeneing it up for 4wd use rather than "work" use.

What sort of price would I be looking at for the Maxidrive locker/kit? I was considering a Lockrite but I'm not sure that they even make them for a Landie.

I like the idea of the Defender because I've rarely seen one modified. I like the idea of the Patrol because parts are everywhere and pretty cheap. Not so sure about bits and pieces for the Landie!

I'm ringing up tomorrow to see if the guy is going to sell it (he wasn't 100% sure what to do with it- he did give me a price if he does sell it though) I figure for the price he's asking I can't go wrong no matter what

Will keep you all informed.
Thanks again, Glen.

You blokes are making me think I should keep the County. My wife says I don't need to sell it. It costs about as much to run each year as her little jaunts off to other States for a few days break. The difference between her trips away and mine is that she flies there and stays in 4-5 star hotels, whereas I amble there and I stay in billion star hotels.

I get the better deal.

Ron

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DeeJay &#064; May 9 2006, 06&#58;11 PM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>
As mentioned the Salisbury diff is bulletproof, compared to the Nissan, it would be as strong, but it has an annoying 3" lug that is marginally lower than the Nissan and this will drag if you were to follow a Nissan in rutted clay. I took to mine with an angle grinder many years ago- end of that problem
[/b][/quote]


Doesn&#39;t it still drag? The Nissan diff is in the centre of the rear axle and the LR diff is offset.


Paul

Hey guys. I&#39;m picking up the Defender on Thursday morning. Can&#39;t wait.

As for the Patrol both front and rear diffs are offset to the r/h side. I&#39;ve found I normally have the leafs drag more than the diffs in a lot of cases.

Will let you know how it all turns out&#33;