Front axle - repair or upgrade?

[Woody3]

I'm currently doing a nut and bolt restoration on my 1989 Ninety (it's been off the road since May).

I noticed yesterday that both swivels on the front axle are leaking - I need to check what is causing this.

Prior to spotting these leaks, I was hoping to upgrade the front calipers to the later td5 110 type, but were (still am) unsure if they're compatible with my existing front axle?

However, now I've noticed these leaks, would I benefit in just taking the plunge and do a whole axle swap (i.e. 300tdi overwards Defender or Discovery1)?

I did swap my rear drum braked axle to a disk braked version with these half shafts a few years ago, so it would be nice if they were matching front to back, but at the same time, if the later axles aren't as good as the early type, I'd rather repair what I have!

 

Any advice on the above would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[landroversforever]

If you're doing a nut and bolt rebuild on the whole car, just rebuild the axle you've got. The early axles like you've got have the wheel bearing further apart than the later axles so better suited to larger tyres or more offset.

[Woody3]

Thanks Landroversforever - that certainly makes sense.

Just need to find out if the larger 110 TD5 calipers will fit - anyone done this mod?

 

 

[landroversforever]

I had my calipers rebuilt with the vented disc spacers in them. However I've not tried them on the car yet and have read since that they can clash with part of the swivel housing I think it was.