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RobertDingli

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Posts posted by RobertDingli

  5. What Did You Do With Your Rover Today?

    in Show us your Rover!

    Posted

    I was super excited about fittings my new driveshaft today.

     

    My previous GBR unit failed the pivot ball, lost the needle rollers and damaged the central bearing pin. Since the pin is part of the forging that is welded to the main shaft, I was up for a new assembly.

     

    I found a US made driveshaft supplier on eBay that not only had a very good price for a D2 HD driveshaft ($299), but was also happy to return the first unit he sent me and make a custom length shaft with an extended spline. It turns out that my previous driveshaft would have maxed out at full droop. Discos with a lift over about 2†require a longer front driveshaft. My calculations and direct measurements show that an additional 20 mm is required to be comfortable for my 4.5†lift and 6 deg castor corrected radius arms. This driveshaft can extend way more than that.

     

    b97fdeea640e26253bf4b41bcf3e965c.jpg

     

    However, I found that the double cardan joint was binding in one direction. The uni carrier was interfering with the cardan joint. Note that these uni carriers are larger than my previous driveshaft.

     

    eac6b0f33440ed1f504241326194a847.jpg

     

    I took some measurements and found that the angle was only about 13 degrees which was half of the angle achieved in the other direction.

     

    463ed9643ffc6660e870ced054a40738.jpg

     

    Flap disc to the rescue and a little more clearance was made. I tried to remove the same amount of material on each side.

     

    2afe18ef1a9c1b33ae8c5bba2d40bd83.jpg

     

     

    Now there’s over 24 degrees to play with. This is almost the same as the other side.

     

    cdf73effb65c8ad657330e225941969b.jpg

     

     

    Don’t worry, I touched up the paint before installation.

     

    cc6b2f55dea8d2a758b31a1c26c61c7e.jpg

     

     

    I took it for a spin and the highway vibration that has plagued me since day 1 has disappeared. No mote complimentary seat massage effect while cruising down the highway. There was previously also a notchiness to the driveline at low speeds which has gone. The drive is now pretty smooth with only the MT tyres to be heard.

     

    If your running a reasonable lift, it won’t hurt to check your front driveshaft, especially if you suffer from driveline vibration. The only way to grease the pivot on my truck is to remove the driveshaft at the transfer case end and use a grease needle. They should be greased at every service.

  11. DV in April

    in NCLR Scheduled Trips and Event Information

    Posted · Edited by RobertDingli

    Keep in mind that the Gwynn Lewis guards must be welded on. Here is a local link

     

    http://www.roverware.us/differential-guard/

     

    Tactical Rovers also makes one that I think is good that is bolt on. I don’t have any first hand experience with it, but I believe Robert Dingley has them on his D2. Not a bad option if you don’t want to weld.

     

     

    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

    I also had the TF diff guards. They lasted two trips. I was able to beat them back into shape and reweld the cracks before giving them away.

     

    I have since fitted the tactical rovers units. They require some welding to attach a couple of tabs to the axle housing and a little grinding to get everything to fit nicely. After welding on the tabs, they are a bolt on fitment.

     

    They have the benefit of protecting the underside of the diff and extending toward the driveshaft to protect the drive shaft pinion. I am very happy with the tactical parts and would buy them again. They were actually cheaper than the TF option and made in California by a small person business that supports our club.

     

    The underside of the diff is actually pretty strong and it’s really the front cover of the front diff and rear cover of the rear which are the weakest areas. I was prepared to loose a 1/4†of ground clearance for the extra protection all the way under the diff, especially around the drain plug.

     

    Front

     

    b27e90760761466fb2f379913703a6a2.jpeg

     

    e07e18c274b8f331d889dabf8317b6e0.jpeg

     

    Rear - note how the drain plug is protected

     

    24725ac82a0eee105df7daeb86013633.jpeg

     

    15c7891e3b0bca977cc4c4477289c9f2.jpeg

     

    Apologies for hijacking the DV thread.

  13. What Did You Do With Your Rover Today?

    in Show us your Rover!

    Posted

    I thought I could use a ‘spare’ day to get to a couple of leaks in the front axle. The air locker was leaking more and more and the right side axle seal was leaking.

     

    Unfortunately, the air locker leak was a little more serious than anticipated and wasn’t going to be fixed by some new seals.

     

    5e14ed74c97770a69620b594ddacb7a9.jpg

     

     

    I did reset the backlash and will now order a new air ring to complete the job during the week.

  14. What Did You Do With Your Rover Today?

    in Show us your Rover!

    Posted

    What brand of bushing were those?

     

    So far my SuperPros have held up but if they fail like these, I will be testing their lifetime guarantee.

     

    It will be interesting to see how the rubber units compare. With Johnny jointed body side mounts and disconnected sway bars, the axle end radius arm bushes become the limit to cross axle flex.

     

    I suspect the axle mounting flanges actually flex and so it’s worth keeping a look out for any cracking in the steel.

  16. 17" beadlocks

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    Latest in the ongoing saga:

     

    Went back to Stockton Wheel and convinced them to at least try re-drilling my old wheel. Left it with them this afternoon and they're going to see if they can true it up in their lathe chuck and see what they can do when their machinist comes in. Really I wouldn't have thought this would be so hard but...

     

    If they can't the next options in order of escalating cost are

     

    Take them my spare non-beadlock wheel and have them cut the center out of it and weld it into the beadlock, then buy another generic 15x10 steel spare

    Order 4 new 15" steel Allied beadlocks. Might go 15x8 instead of 15x10

    Order 5 new 17" alloy beadlocks and tires - this is a bit of a budget buster though

     

    In a couple days we'll know if they can re-drill it or not.

    Don’t forget the portal axles

    D2 Rear Lower Shock Mount Upgrade

    in Modifications and Fabrication

    Posted

    Great write up thanks Eric.

     

    An important note is that most aftermarket shocks are different in their compressed an extended lengths and this may affect where to fit the lower shock mount. The Fox shocks in Eric’s case are the same length as the regular Bilstein 12†shocks but the Bilstein short body 12†(as I have) are three inches shorter.

     

    In my case, I was able to take the opportunity to raise the shock mounts about an inch over the stock mounting location. This provides a little more clearance underneath and to take advantage of the 12†stroke without reaching the limits of other suspension components. It does mean that Fox 12†and regular Bilstein 12†(not short body) would require different bump stops to avoid bottoming out the shocks.

     

    After the recent Shaver Lake snow run where there were a few bumps, the o ring shows that I am still an inch or so from bottoming out. The shocks tend to experience more compression when rock crawling and the o rings can get pushed nearly all the way down.

     

    39bb99169d497bc3c44dab325e5e2848.jpg

     

     

    d133cf30fc1d434485183e353720f356.jpg

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