Beefing Up a LR Rear Axle Casing - Pan & Pipes

[Hybrid_From_Hell]

Hi All,

Mini tech DIY Idea - write up

I've bashed my BRAND NEW casing fitted only a year or so ago

so bad that the case leaks at the base where the QT Guard distorted when walloped

it -and another leak on the threads of the filler, which I think is distorted similarly

and I tried to fix it - but failed.

The LR Diff pan is notoriously thin, having cut one off is measures up at just 1.6mm

so its not the strongest out there, and is prone to bashing, denting and spliting, which

is a real PITFA. I have tried many diff guards over the years, many if not most I have been

disappointed with, either from coming off, or not being too good in terms of protection

So, I have been thinking for a while as to options - sewer pipe cover - truly strong, but I am sure that

not having the "Guides" for the Crown wheel affects lubrication of oil to the pinion, also these cost Money

and so I looked about. Devon 4x4 sell a ludicriously bling thing, which is out rageous money, and not my cup of tea,

and I still wonder of the strength, so I thought some more, then one day at work a Toyota 4x4 Axle casing was cut up ...

The diff pan looked sort of 'similar', measuring showed its bigger OD and a tad less in 'height', but a plan sort of formed

in my head, especuially as it was free

Cleaned up with a shot blaster it was popped on one side. Today saw me remove the Rear Axle and strip to just the casing

the the old thin LR Diff pan was cut off, and linished back so no lip remained at all, giving me a wide weld prep, the height being

slighly less in places meant it was tacked up with a suitable gap for Crown wheel clearnce (I Hoped) - a few pics :

And some pics of the new diff pan - the LR one is 1.6mm and the toyota one is 4.2mm

Then tacked it up good and proper, the diff popped back in and the pinion turned yabaa dabaa doo - all clear, then remove diff and

weld it up. I welded it up twice, once just to weld it up, and the second weld around to make sure there are no gaps or pin holes, makes

for a big amount of weld on it, but its no point doing this sort of mod, and finding on fitting its leaking

Then a close check around and all seemed fine, so as its cold and damp I shoved some primer on it :

So, with a near 5mm thick diff pan, I reckon that should be enough, without extra plating time will tell - but

it a hell of a lot beffier than the poor LR Offering - the next to be beefed up will be brake lines.

When you look at the pics below, its really not hard to see why brake lines get ripped off, bent or strained, I bolted a caliper

to the casing added a GENUINE new pipe and fitted it, frankly its a pretty c**p routing, and so this will be next.

I have seen the 10-12mm rod "Ears" added to D4x4 axle and have had some thinking on using this idea but hopefully

a differing outcome which may suprise,.... thats next weekends jobbie

Nige

[heath robinson]

I'm awaiting the next instalment with baited welder. Your timing's perfect, as I'm about to recondition my axles, and had been mulling over the devon 4x4 method. It's simple, but not all that well protected.

Are these thicker pans commonly removed? If so, where might a man of my standing find one?

[Hybrid_From_Hell]

Dear God Almighty - I never learn

After the reasonably quick conversion of Diff pans, (and after 2 days of various Megasquirt work) I had today to 'finish'

my axle mods.................... - Hahahaha hahaha ha ha Bl**dy Ha

About half way ...........

The idea was to ensure the rear axles brake pipes and fittings are reverse and 'scrubland' proof, as I have said

having to reverse in to gawd knows what as a marshal to recover stuck 4x4s, and / or driving into / out of stick

/ bvraches / rocks / etc type of debris and damaging brake lines and the peeling off ARB air lines etc

The idea having sorted the diff pan was a quick 'brake line protector', and also to convert the normally solid brake line each

side of the axle to one with a flexible hose to aid hanging up the caliper(s) when needing to do hub work, rather than the Ooooer

I'll just push my luck bending this solid brake pipe etc

So, started with making some loops, all of this is 12mm rod (they were out of 30mm ) - having worked out the sort of size I was

after I made up a simple former and bent up some loops, these were as small as I could make but large enough to allow brake pipe

and male / female brake mountings pass through them, wanted bleed screws and all nuts and bolts still get attable :

Then I tried the special stainless hoses I had made up to spec, these being crimpled are road legal, but the angle of the coupler means

no more hose in the air issues, this follows the line of the caliper and then follows the axle seam welded line, so I made a bracket

and with a bit more fabbing the line protectors take shape :

This then leaves the flexi vunerable, so with the Oxy Acet and some baending a frame was made to protect these, I have seen the D4x4

and others who have made "Wings" but I am at a loss to understand the logic of having a shaped bar ending in mid air, and there is

no strength to the end part so with mine I have shaped it and taken it down to a spacer made and added to the outside caliper top mount,

this will have a correspondingly longer bolt to compensate, ,,,but makes for a stronger unit IMVHO

I also lathed up a piece of tube, welded to the frame so that the flexi hose shaped protector is competely removable , but the shaper

is shaped to also allow access with spanners to all the nuts and mountings etc :

So, half done... other side to go, ...plus the pipe to be made and mounted and the top of the axle pipe to also be protected

I know many will say this is OTT and not needed, but I also know I do have an issue with rear axle pipes as others do to,

so hence this is a tad 'belt and braces'. The new Braided hoses do reduce the "Stickyoutness" factor a huge amount, I'm hoping

that wuith the protectors too, this will be an issue for me (and maybe otheers) of the past

So far cost is minimal too

More to come

Nige

[muddydisco]

Just out of intrest where did you get the braided flexi hoses from and how much were they?

[Hybrid_From_Hell]

£12 Think Automotive Isleworth

Inc'd bolt, crush washers, hose, stainless shaped thingumy, and crimping

Nige

[Daan]

The good thing of making them out of 12 mm rod is that you can also connect a towrope to it!

Daan

[Hybrid_From_Hell]

:rofl:

Nige

[Boothy]

Nige,

Whilst you have the axle sat there on the bench it is a fantastic time to add some additional strengthening/welding to the ball joint braket, which is not the strongest of fabrications in the world in its factory finish.

I have ripped a couple off or caused some quite significant distortion to them, so now is a belting time to give it a bit of additional welding and strength.

Pity about spoiling the paint job though, oh and try opening your eyes next time you weld,, you get a much better finish,, top tip that,,,,

Anyway off to bath the ferrets now.....

[Hybrid_From_Hell]

^^^

Thats a good thought

(the A Frame strengthening, not the vision of you in a bath with ferrets )

Got any pics ? (A Frame ball joint ONLY please)

Nige

[cieranc]

I did mine a while ago, the only concern was the clearance between the diff pan and the panhard rod.

shouldn't be a problem for you, as your new pan is the right shape, so the bulge for the crown-wheel is right where the bend in the rod is.

I used the arse off a gas cylinder, so there was no crown wheel bulge:

http://www.landroveraddict.com/smf/index.php?topic=376158.0

[Hybrid_From_Hell]

Hi all

I have had a few PMs now asking me about the SS Lines, costs and who from part nos etc

These are "HFH" Made to order specials, but, the good news is I can give

the info that will assist you to get exactly the same

Rough price per side is £15 inc VAT

The compant who made these for me was

THINK AUTOMOTIVE, 292 Worton Road, Isleworth, Middx, TW7 6EL

and yes they do do mail order I think

Tel Number is 0208568 1172

PK for EACH pipe you will need :

1 x Banjo H697-03C 70 BANJO SS SWAGE 10-MM / 3 . 8 @ £3.37

1 X H669-31C M10 X 1 FIXED MALE BLKD SS SWG @ 3.37

2 X FERRULE FERSS-03 -3 TFE HOSE @ £0.84 EACH

2 X HOSE SUPPORT .31 ID .20 HOLE HSC2 @ £0.66 EACH

2 X COPPER WASHER FIXINGS WC-M10 @ £0.11 EACH

1 X BANJO BBSS2-31 M10 X 1 SS BULKHEAD NUT @ £1.71

1 X BBSS2-31 M10 X 1 BANJO BOLT SS @ £3.06

1 X 0.700 METRE TFEPVC3 TFE3 HOSE WITH CLEAR PVC PROTECT COVER £7.08

Nige

[bishbosh]

Out of interest Nige, why didn't you go flexi all the way to the T piece?

I have considered moving the T piece up tot the chassis bracket and using flexi all the way to the calipers (down the a frame).

Could you not weld a piece of angle to the axle case with one leg horizontal and the other vertically down, drill some holes in the legs and cable tie a flexi hose all the way across. Or are my ideas too late now...?

[Hybrid_From_Hell]

Out of interest Nige, why didn't you go flexi all the way to the T piece?

I have considered moving the T piece up tot the chassis bracket and using flexi all the way to the calipers (down the a frame).

Could you not weld a piece of angle to the axle case with one leg horizontal and the other vertically down, drill some holes in the legs and cable tie a flexi hose all the way across. Or are my ideas too late now...?

Bit late

Also £8 per 10" ................... 6 foot =

I looked at many options, fancied being able to lift calipers up and out of the way easy rather than bend pipe

so just need a short length of expensive hose and pipe and bit of fabbing = cheap

Nige

[Bowie69]

Llama hoses, £15.50 inc VAT up to a metre in length....

Can't think that going to 2 metres would break the bank....

[Retroanaconda]

F... me Nige, your brake pipes shouldn't be going anywhere!

How much to do mine?

[David_LLAMA4x4]

Llama hoses, £15.50 inc VAT up to a metre in length....

Can't think that going to 2 metres would break the bank....

Add £ 6-8 per metre over the 1m length then knock off the 10% discount......

David

[white90]

I'm going for some Llama ones from calipers to the T piece

sick to death of replacing the rigid lines

[heath robinson]

Is there a sensible route from the front callipers along the axle, then up? I feel that having the things that far out means that you need too much flappy hose in order to get good articulation. Is it possible/sensible to route them a bit further in?

[white90]

Long lines along the radius arms I guess.

My fronts have been ok

the rear have been replaced a few times and need doing again.

So I am opting for the Llama ones.

[Orgasmic Farmer]

For fronts I have run 1m Llama ones along the top of the radius arms. I welded some bar along there to fix it too so that it wasn't possible for the wheel to catch when on full lock. I ran the copper brake lines down to a point where they meet the hoses near to the bulkhead mounts (Disco)Even on full articulation there is only a couple of inches of movement here.

[heath robinson]

I like that, it has a certain elegance to it.

[white90]

Follow up

I contacted David Llama he is making me a set from the caliper to the T piece all parts included For nigh on £40 plus Davids come with quote:

"the hoses I make would also be pvc coated with whip guards on the ends."

I have had Davids flexi brake lines on the Defender for over 5 years now and they have been faultless So I am looking forward to these arriving as soon as I have paid David.

I measured mine today and the lines measure 700mm and 1070mm from the face of the T piece to the caliper, David is doing 90 degree bends at the caliper so the days of ripping off copper pipes are numbered!

[moose]

I measured mine today and the lines measure 700mm and 1070mm from the face of the T piece to the caliper, David is doing 90 degree bends at the caliper so the days of ripping off copper pipes are numbered!

prob for another thread but do post up some images of the end result as thinking about doing the same.

[David_LLAMA4x4]

I like that, it has a certain elegance to it.

The ones QT have from me for their 3-link kits do this but continue in braid all the way from the usual mountings on the axle and chassis.... they then route them up the arm and back across the chassis and no further modification to any piping is required....

Another way I like is to go the Toyota ( 101's were the same ) route of having a hose dropping down to the diff and splitting across the axle with little jump hoses around the swivels. This ends up being similar to the rear which is far better protected than the front.....

Having said that Tomcat order their hoses to be the same in all four corners dropping from the chassis and straight into the calipers with a banjo - perhaps for racing they are less likely to get ripped off on logs etc and this does have the advantage of making one spare fit all corners....

Gwyn Lewis uses all the std mounting locations BUT what Gwyn has done with the hoses he orders is to very carefully ascertain the correct length - long enough to reach even the extreme articultion of his challenge kit but not so long that they catch or rub. This is I am sure why despite being 'only standard mounting' you never hear of problems with hoses on his suspension setup as long as you have the hoses from himand don't just guess that some Britpart +4" will do nicely...

There are I am sure endless other options but I just do as I am told and make the hoses people ask for

David

[Hybrid_From_Hell]

Bit more of an update.

Now finished the final 2 x protectors between the sides, going up and across the

top of the New Diff Pan, new brake lines are all made, and fit (Just) welded everything up

cut off the silly cups top and bottom of the bottom shocker mounting on the casing

(I think they lock up and hold back on articulation) bit of fettling, and some paint

I lso found that the rear springs seats had got squashed and bent, so have beefed these on both sides

with some 6mm plate - drilled holes etc that should sort them out . The 2 x top protectors are also removeable

just like the ones down by the Hoses.

Now I have an axle about to go back on, diffs back in and onto the 90 more later

And thats the entire day gone - ....again

Nige