RRC Front Axle Parts Interchangeability

[Bigj66]

Will the hub assembly components (swivel housing, stub axle, drive shafts etc) that are mounted to a later 7 hole pattern swivel ball fit to an earlier 6 hole pattern swivel ball? I’m thinking of things like upper and lower bearings and pins.

Is the stub axle bearing on the inside of the swivel ball flange the same for both?

In other words was it just the axle casing bolt pattern that changed?

Are the solid and vented discs also interchangeable if the matching callipers are used? 

[Snagger]

I think different generations of vehicle used different calliper bolts, early being some sort of imperial thread and later a metric thread.  You can’t mix and match as the bolts will have to fit the callipers snugly, not just the threads.

Vented callipers are the same as non vented for that age, just using a spacer block and longer bolts (4 per calliper) to join the halves.  You can swap them, add the spacer or remove it, all as needed.

Since the thickness of the hubs varies with generation, I imagine the brake discs are also specific to the age of vehicle.

[Bigj66]

1 hour ago, Snagger said:

I think different generations of vehicle used different calliper bolts, early being some sort of imperial thread and later a metric thread.  You can’t mix and match as the bolts will have to fit the callipers snugly, not just the threads.

Vented callipers are the same as non vented for that age, just using a spacer block and longer bolts (4 per calliper) to join the halves.  You can swap them, add the spacer or remove it, all as needed.

Since the thickness of the hubs varies with generation, I imagine the brake discs are also specific to the age of vehicle.

That’s what I was getting at. If the swivel housing that goes with the 7 bolt swivel ball has different calliper threads then it’s just a case of matching the calliper to that but will the swivel housing off a 7 bolt swivel ball fit onto a 6 bolt swivel ball or are the top and bottom swivel pins different?

Reason for asking is that used parts for the later 7 bolt axles are much more common and a bit cheaper than the same parts of an earlier axle, up to 1987 I think so if I can get a new 6 bolt swivel ball and fit later components to it then that would be great.

Stub axles will be the same length and have the same bearing points in the hub won’t they?

 

[Snagger]

5 hours ago, Bigj66 said:

 

Stub axles will be the same length and have the same bearing points in the hub won’t they?

 

It depends on the generation.  300Tdi and later have short stub axles and narrow hubs, which by definition means the rear half shafts are shorter and the front stub shafts are shorter.  They also had the thicker half shafts with 24 splines, while the earlier axles had 10 spline shafts.  None of that is interchangeable.

I don’t know if the later stub axles and shafts will fit an early swivel housing, but I have my doubts.  I also have no idea when LR introduced a seven bolt swivel, but I suspect it’s at the same time as the rest of the changes - introduction of the 300Tdi, which I think was 1994.

[Bigj66]

38 minutes ago, Snagger said:

It depends on the generation.  300Tdi and later have short stub axles and narrow hubs, which by definition means the rear half shafts are shorter and the front stub shafts are shorter.  They also had the thicker half shafts with 24 splines, while the earlier axles had 10 spline shafts.  None of that is interchangeable.

I don’t know if the later stub axles and shafts will fit an early swivel housing, but I have my doubts.  I also have no idea when LR introduced a seven bolt swivel, but I suspect it’s at the same time as the rest of the changes - introduction of the 300Tdi, which I think was 1994.

Ok cheers.

I can still get the early bits it’s just that they’re a bit more expensive and I’ll probably have to buy them new rather than used.