LWB series 3 axles

[v8bobber]

Hi All,

I'm looking on ebay at the moment with regards to using the remains of a LWB petrol series 3 to upgrade a series truck. Long story.

I have it in my head that the LWB Series trucks had a heavy duty rear axle. Does anyone know if that's the case. I seem to remember that they also had bigger brakes?

Anyone care to shed any light on the subject?

Regards,

Dave

[Retroanaconda]

Series 3s did yeah, they had a Salisbury rear axle same as the later 110s etc.

They also had 11" twin-leading-shoes on the front axle and 10" standard drums on the back.

[Steve_M]

The rear axle on a 109 is a salisbury and the front brakes are 11" rather than 10" on the swb (I am pretty sure thats right on the brakes), so you are right on both counts.

Steve

Edit: Retroanconda types a bit faster than me

[Phil Hancock]

LWB had the Salisbury axle which is a very tough unit which many owners have fitted to 88" models but that involves moving the spring mounts and shortening the propshaft by 2". The front axle will fit directly. Both axles on the 109" have 11" diameter x 2.5" wide brakes unless the front is from a 6 pot in which case it then has 3" wide brakes.

[v8bobber]

Thanks all,

The axles would be going on a Series one which is too far gone to keep original. Plan is to put a Tdi in it and dont fancy the idea of running it through a SWB axle.

I would have to modify the axles anyway to fit to the narrow rear springs on the series one so this would not be an issues. A nice spin off would be the bigger brakes.

Thanks again

Dave

[Rich_P]

I don't think you would need a Salisbury for the TDi. Plenty of people keep their standard drivetrains when having fitted the TDi, with the only common-ish upgrade is to fit different ratio diffs.

[Snagger]

I don't think you would need a Salisbury for the TDi. Plenty of people keep their standard drivetrains when having fitted the TDi, with the only common-ish upgrade is to fit different ratio diffs.

It's worth changing as the Rover half shafts are likely to snap quite frequently in 2wd unless you have a very gentle driving style. Still, replacing half shafts is easier than removing and rebuilding gear boxes, so is a good place to have the weakest link.

A Salisbury axle is nearly indestructible for most drivers, as long as it is oiled, but fitting needs a custom prop and alteration to the spring seats on the axle. Another route would be to have the existing axle's diff pegged to prevent the crown wheel teeth being stripped and fitting stronger half shafts. KAM Diffs and Ashcrofts do both.

You could look for a second hand pair of 10-splines locking diffs on here, which would be strong enough not to worry about the teeth and would likely be from a 90, giving you a 35% gearing increase to match the Tdi's greater performance, saving a considerable amount of fuel, but if they do come from a Defender, youwould still need stronger after-market rear shafts (the front axle's shafts would be fine as in 4wd, the torque is shared by both axles). A diff upgrade is best accompanied by replacing the Series transfer box low gears with SII Suffix B gears to retain a similar overall low-range gearing, as replacing the diffs alone gives excessively high crawling speeds and hill descents. That's all getting a little costly, though.