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What should I do?


bishbosh

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I am in a bit of a dilemma - the axles on the RR are 10 spline with ABS. I stand to be corrected, but that makes them just about the weakest axles Land Rover ever made. Having said that, I have an ARB in the back and have yet to break a shaft, although I have twisted some quite impressively.

After 3,000 miles around France (actually, mid way through it, but that's another story) the front axle is in need of a bit of attention – as a minimum I will need to replace one swivel and a CV. The other swivel is not looking too clever so I should probably look to replace that too.

When I start adding up the prices, I am looking at in excess of £150 and that's without knowing what state the front shafts are in. I have no locker, but they have had five years of abuse off road.

Now I could rebuild the axle and be content that it will probably last for another five years. However, that does limit my options for adding a locker in the future or running bigger / more aggressive tyres than the 235 x 85 Machos I currently have.

As it is my wife's daily driver I don't think I will get away with changing to Toy or Nissan axles with a 3 link set up (although that would be nice). I would also have to address the ABS issue. Also, the cost of spares concerns me as the vehicle cannot be off the road for more than a day or two.

So, I was thinking, would it be worth swapping out the axles for 24 spline disco axles? Not a huge increase in strength as stock, but they will at least allow me to upgrade shafts and CV's as time and funds allow. (10 spline uprated shafts are big money and no one makes CV's ) The swap would also be straightforward and I could keep the recently replaced and rebuilt callipers from the original axles.

I can get a complete front axle for less than £150. True it would be an unknown quantity, but a cursory inspection should give me a feel for its condition.

So, what should I do? Rebuild the 10 spline or swap for 24 spline?

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That's exactly my point - I could upgrade in the future when SWMBO lets me! :lol: They can't be any weaker than the ones I currently have!

Thanks for the shafts - wish I'd thought about it earlier - drove past the end of your road this afternoon!

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i've now got a 300 front 24 spline axle less calipers and diff but inc shafts and cvs and fully built up wheel stations if your interested, needs a diff to make it complete with your calipers added.

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Could be.....

So what's a wheel station when it's at home? I presume you mean hubs and swivels? What about discs? Vented?

Was it from an ABs equipped vehicle?

Questions questions......

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whens its at home is everything you get if you unbolted the swivel from the axle and pulled the lot off together (eg if you were removing a diff!) shafts, discs, hubs, CVs, and half shafts non ABS and non vented but then only £40 to a nice man like you!

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Charles you sort of answered your own question really.

5 years of off road driving and it's only just started to fail. No money for the big bling fix. No permission from Marie.

ABS is bl**dy useful on and off road

You run an auto

You are careful and have few issues with your right foot

You don't run a front locker

Stay 10 spline it works well with 32" tyres - and how long will it really be until you look to gain that extra inch under your diffs

Why upgrade for no need and on the cheap?

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Bish, IIRC the CVs will be the same size on the axle you've got now and James. Shafts will also be 32 spline CV end so you won't gain any strength. The only plus side is you could fit a 24 spline locker without changing anything.

If I was in your situation I'd go for James axle, strip it, clean it, check it and paint it - if there are any problems you'll find them. Plus it means you can do the job at your leasure rather than having to potentially rush the job / have to refit dodgy bits if you haven't got a part you need etc if you do the swivel swap on your current axle. Then swap it under the truck when the new axle is fully built. That should give you a reliable axle that should run for a good while without problems.

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I fully understand that in stock form a 24 spline ABs axle is not much stronger than a 10 spline.

The dilemma is, do I spend xxx pounds on rebuilding the current axle with no future upgrade possible or do I spend the same amount on a 24 spline axle with potential for future improvements if I get a pass from the missus? :unsure::unsure:

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What needs doing on your current axle? And what makes you think a second hand 24 spline one won't need the same work?

Rebuild what you have and upgrade diff/shafts/CV's as and when. Can the Ashcroft late type CV's be fitted to your axle? Or the early ones with new or modified stubs?

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