maxi drive ? so whats the next best

**uninformed** · 23rd February 2008, 04:46 PM

ALL 3 ARE GREAT PRODUCTS!!!

i have maxidrive and wouldnt have anything else

arb's are very good, used world wide they must have sold 100000 these by now, have been proven in competion many many times.......

most of the problems with arb's seem to come with poor installation.....

jacmac has a good reputation as a product but is also well known to be very hard to deal with, the other thing i have heard is that he makes changes to his diffs which i guess is improvement but it may make parts different or dificult to get hold of... also his axles are made from en26 which is not as good as hytuf...

if i was doing it now id get hi-toqure engineering axles(new maxidrive) and a arb locker....

and probably get arb to install so there is no concern with warranty claims if needed

cheers, serg

ps there may still be some maxidrive locker kits around the country at there stockests...

**bushrover** · 23rd February 2008, 09:32 PM

I have run ARB lockers for 15 years in various 4WD's including Rovers with the only problems being o-ring failures (air leaks into the diff or oil back out the air solenoids). In my Rovers I use Maxi axles and drive flanges with the air lockers. I have just taken air lockers out of my County after 150K and fitted them to the TD5 with only bearing and seal changes and no visible wear, but as others are saying set up is important so I set them up myself, because I dont trust anyone else including an ARB dealer who stuffed my Hilux diff.

**rovercare** · 23rd February 2008, 09:37 PM

Originally Posted by bushrover

as others are saying set up is important so I set them up myself, because I dont trust anyone else .

That';s the key

**Grizzly_Adams** · 23rd February 2008, 09:44 PM

Was speaking to M.R. Automotive the other day and apparently they've picked up some of the Maxidrive manufacturing - unfortunately not the diff-locks it looks like they've disappeared completely

However the smaller bits and bobs (excluding the stuff that Hytuff engineering are doing) it looks like they'll do it from now on.

They also told me that at that stage they had 3 of the maxi-drive diff-locks left.

1 x Salisbury
1 x Rover
1 x P38

(I'm wracking my brains but I'm pretty sure Brent said 1 x Rover and 1 x P38, you'll have to give them a call to find out for sure).

**Slunnie** · 24th February 2008, 09:26 PM

Originally Posted by uninformed

jacmac has a good reputation as a product but is also well known to be very hard to deal with, the other thing i have heard is that he makes changes to his diffs which i guess is improvement but it may make parts different or dificult to get hold of... also his axles are made from en26 which is not as good as hytuf...

The data from Outerlimits4x4 supports this re the en26 vs hytuf

Material (other names) / Application / Ultimate Tensile Strength (MPa / psi)

EN26 / 1380 / 200 000

AMS-6418 (MIL S - 7108 / 4625M4 / HY-TUFF) / 1655 / 240 000

You'll also find an extremely interesting comparison by Sam Overton between the JacMac and MD axles, but keep in mind that the thread was produced in 2003 and things change.

Outer Limits 4x4 Board :: View topic - Maxi drive axles strength

**Wortho** · 24th February 2008, 09:32 PM

Do ARB repair their products if there is a problem with it = NO they out source the repair job

Crap, where did you hear that little pearl of wisdom, was it one of those a mate of a mate knows this guy who heard someone say so things.

**Ken** · 24th February 2008, 10:13 PM

I must say Im a little worried as the material Ashcroft uses is 4340 and in the thread on Outerlimits it refers to 4340 as being brittle is this due to a high carbon content in the chromoly ? if thats the case (Ive seen these in the flesh) the Ashcrofts are machined to the same Dia as the splines
As far as I understand this creates a more even disribution of stress through the axle when you have a sudden load or gradual amount of tourque is that correct
Has anyone heard any bad reports on the Ashcrofts ? its a lot to spend when there maybe something better
Do it once do it right I say
ARB lockers and Ashcroft axles sounds the goods but now Im confused

**Slunnie** · 24th February 2008, 10:52 PM

Originally Posted by Ken

I must say Im a little worried as the material Ashcroft uses is 4340 and in the thread on Outerlimits it refers to 4340 as being brittle is this due to a high carbon content in the chromoly ? if thats the case (Ive seen these in the flesh) the Ashcrofts are machined to the same Dia as the splines
As far as I understand this creates a more even disribution of stress through the axle when you have a sudden load or gradual amount of tourque is that correct
Has anyone heard any bad reports on the Ashcrofts ? its a lot to spend when there maybe something better
Do it once do it right I say
ARB lockers and Ashcroft axles sounds the goods but now Im confused

The diameter of the shaft should come down to the minor diameter of the splines otherwise there is a stress concentration at the end of the splines. I'm not sure what Ashcroft do, but with some contributing factors Tusker has broken one - but they do come with a 5 year warranty.

**Ken** · 24th February 2008, 11:13 PM

Originally Posted by Slunnie

The diameter of the shaft should come down to the minor diameter of the splines otherwise there is a stress concentration at the end of the splines. I'm not sure what Ashcroft do, but with some contributing factors Tusker has broken one - but they do come with a 5 year warranty.

So what your saying is that the axle should be machined to the pitch of the spline which in turn creates less stress on the spline itself gotcha

When you say contributing factors was that bigger tyres to much right foot for to long or a wheel spinning in mid air and landing hard on the dirt

Im considering a trutrac for the front as Ive seen these in action and OMG they have plenty of grab ie traction
Still want a locker for the rear though am just wondering if a ARB locker (rear)and a trutrac (front) will affect traction control?

Do you know anyone in Aus who sells Longfield axles and CVs ?

**Slunnie** · 24th February 2008, 11:36 PM

Originally Posted by Ken

So what your saying is that the axle should be machined to the pitch of the spline which in turn creates less stress on the spline itself gotcha

When you say contributing factors was that bigger tyres to much right foot for to long or a wheel spinning in mid air and landing hard on the dirt

Im considering a trutrac for the front as Ive seen these in action and OMG they have plenty of grab ie traction
Still want a locker for the rear though am just wondering if a ARB locker (rear)and a trutrac (front) will affect traction control?

Do you know anyone in Aus who sells Longfield axles and CVs ?

I think more the minor diameter of the spline than the pitch. The pitch would be a very skinny axle!

Tusker was working when it broke, but it seems the bronze bush that supports it wad cracked or something and allowed some movement in the axle. At the time it had already blown the rear diff which does put more pressure on the front, but he wasn't doing anything that should have broken it really. No wheels off the deck or landings though, but it was wheelspinning 35" claws coming up a hill.

You can buy Longs in Aus, but most just go directly to Bobby or Terra in the states because it's usually cheaper and faster to buy direct. The CV's etc that Longs sell were classic CV's not D2 ones. I think Ashcroft are the nly ones that now do D2 HD CV's etc. Actually, I'm pretty sure I heard somewhere that the factory that makes the Rover CV's for Longfield wont supply them anymore, and they're being sent to Ashcroft, but that would need to be confirmed - I'm not sure if Dave Ashcroft or Bobby Long would comment on it.

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