Unimog Axles

[MogLite]

I'm guessing there's a blatantly obvious answer to this, but... If you can buy a C303 off this guy for around 3.5k, complete with portals and lockers all round, why bother fitting the axles to a land rover? Fit a winch to the C303 and off you go. Is it just because they're not land rovers, or are they too big for UK winch challenges? Some other reason?

I'm not an expert on 303's but I suspect unfamiliar at best engine/gbox or at worst lame engine/gbox scares some people off.

Don't they rust ?

6x6 303's are sooper cool

But 6x6 Pinzguaers are better

[dirtydiesel]

I'm not an expert on 303's but I suspect unfamiliar at best engine/gbox or at worst lame engine/gbox scares some people off.

Don't they rust ?

6x6 303's are sooper cool

But 6x6 Pinzguaers are better

6x6 mogs are better still

Or even better an MAN 8x8.....hmmmm............droool........

[FridgeFreezer]

I have to admit, rebuilding the 109 and seeing how cheap a 6x6 Volvo is does make one question why we bother with landies at all.

Sure Volvos have steel bodies, but then LR's rust just as badly as anything else. Plenty of space in a Volvo for a better engine & box.. hmmm, C303 with a T5R lump in

[bill van snorkle]

I'm not an expert on 303's but I suspect unfamiliar at best engine/gbox or at worst lame engine/gbox scares some people off.

Every Volvo that ever donated its axles to a LandRover or similar also had an engine/gearbox/transfercase.

Because the layout is conventional, any engine /transmission assy from LandRover ,Toyota etc can be substituted.

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Don't they rust ?

What, and LandRovers don't rust? Volvo chassis are actually made from real steel and would probaly last 5 times longer than the wafer thin tin Rover chassis.

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6x6 303's are sooper cool

Yes they are.

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But 6x6 Pinzguaers are better

The lack of suspension articulation make Pinsgauers on of the most unstable offroad rigs I have ever seen in true crosscountry terrain. The 4x4 versions are even worse. --------------------------------------------------------

Bill.

[dollythelw]

hmm Volvos

Reju's workshop

Sepo's mobile pub/cook van

Karis tech van

If I dont wave at them they wont feed me

the boxs are strong, bodys last well, they are monsters off road, PAS and engine conversions are common, the space inside is so well used it puts green ovals to shame (4x4's seat 7 in comfort and still carry a load of stuff), possibly the best heater (only marginally beaten by the face of the sun) - guess whats on the shopping list this winter

[reads90]

Jules

spoke to Maxi drive today

some prices for you

Maxi drive shafts, front and rear , with end caps (for rear only). 550 pounds (bloody aussie key board at work , can't find the pund sign) at your house

Maxi drive drop boxes 5600 pounds at your house mmmmm expensive, but nice

could always nick captian tiffy's (what ever his name is) one. after all the axels you want are on that thing he hit the gate with at Beaulieu that time

if you stick with your axels you have now , then you need to fit this arb compressor. Smaller than the one you have and is mud and water proof. put a snorkle on it and can live under the bonnet (does not pump up tyres just does lockers, but one you have is carp at that anyway ). cost 65 punds. Just thought it might tidy up the tomcat.

[jules]

£5,500 to my door is more than I would like to spent for portals

Yes there strong

yes your axles are unbreakable (telling somone that thats driving style dosn't damage axles is still not a major intrest for me)

Thats alot more than the tomcat cost.

May be in a few years untill then I will have to suffer with relying on driving ability and not extra clearance.

I have after all never broken a rear sharft and only two diffs and that was well over five years ago.

I have only broken two front shafts in the ten years of owning the truck and never replaced a CV on it.

I don't tend to hold back when competing.

I may just need a bigger winch

[Jon White]

Hmmmmmm some "interesting" decoration on that volvo.......

[dollythelw]

Hmmmmmm some "interesting" decoration on that volvo.......

it was a revenge attack for some Finnish "choice words of encouragement" and "affirmations of good character" levelled at my navigator that were scribbled on the back of Petal by the support crew........ DPC and Polizie posts became much more entertaining after that

To put the maxidrive prices into context Jules

Base option Portal Tek Generation 3 axle set, (any width you like, Ford or Toy Diff but no reason why you couldnt have Rover), to include Halfshafts, housings, portal boxes, high steer indexed arms, floating disc brakes, 4 pot calipers etc etc $8900 (£4800), or you can go mental and have full CroMo units with 300M halfshafts, longfield CVs and 44Kgs less weight for a bit more. Unlike maxidrive these are guaranteed to cope with 500+ hp and 44+" tyres, big pennies but in terms of axles they dont get any better

The proto car will be running CrMo's next season, the team is in the Baltic cup (effectively 4 Ladogas) so we need ultimate strength, durability and weight saving - big pennies but these are fit and forget jobs.

[reads90]

£5,500 to my door is more than I would like to spent for portals

Yes there strong

yes your axles are unbreakable (telling somone that thats driving style dosn't damage axles is still not a major intrest for me)

Thats alot more than the tomcat cost.

May be in a few years untill then I will have to suffer with relying on driving ability and not extra clearance.

I have after all never broken a rear sharft and only two diffs and that was well over five years ago.

I have only broken two front shafts in the ten years of owning the truck and never replaced a CV on it.

I don't tend to hold back when competing.

I may just need a bigger winch

But jules

would go for the Maxi drive stuff. The front shaft are more expensive than the rears. The rear set with the end caps is £260 the rest if the amount is just for the front two shafts

And would you be interested in the compressor

[Tonk]

the new (small) compressors look a nice little unit, good if u're limited for space by the looks of it

[bill van snorkle]

This thread so far has gone to 5 pages in only a couple of days, with over 20 users participating, which suggests a very real and genuine interest in portal technology amongst the members of this forum.

Bill.

[MogLite]

Maxi drive drop boxes 5600 pounds at your house mmmmm expensive, but nice

If you've got a bit of time on your hands, and can fab - you can build a full on challenge truck on Mog axles for that much - ask me how I know

[bill van snorkle]

If you've got a bit of time on your hands, and can fab - you can build a full on challenge truck on Mog axles for that much - ask me how I know

I don't think 5600 pounds includes the cost of difflocks or housing reinforcement.

Bill.

[Astro_Al]

I don't think 5600 pounds includes the cost of difflocks or housing reinforcement.

Bill.

Ah - I was gonna say something about that. Standard Rover axle casings aren't exactly the ideal base for adding portals... Man, for that kind of money you have so many better options, even if you can't do the fab work yourself.

Personally I'd be looking at some Mog9s for that money with 416 boxes. But a better bet for you is probably to go with the volvos and just spend less.

Good to hear you are seriously looking at it Jules - another one comes to the dark side!

Al.

[Tonk]

so wot r the options for building portals onto rover axles? preferably without having to add different swivels.

[bill van snorkle]

so wot r the options for building portals onto rover axles? preferably without having to add different swivels.

Volvo and Mog swivel housings bolt onto flanges on the banjo housings in a similar fashion to how LandRover swivel balls bolt onto theirs. to fit Mog portals to Rover housings you need to cut the flanges off Mog housings and weld them onto the Rover housings. The Rover diff must be turned upside down so that the wheels turn in the correct direction. The Mog upper halfshafts will need to be cut and resplined to suit the Rover Diffs. It would be so much easier to track down some Volvo axle assemblies and fit those.

Bill.

[Tonk]

ah yes, didn't think about i'd be travelling in reverse if fitting portals

[Daan]

Good to hear you are seriously looking at it Jules - another one comes to the dark side!

Al.

I think the challenge events are getting quite interesting with this variety of vehicles; So far not convincingly towards portals though. Interesting still; I keep watching and see what happens.

Daan

[reads90]

I don't think 5600 pounds includes the cost of difflocks or housing reinforcement.

Bill.

no it does not it is just the end portals bits

[jules]

These cost are getting me confused

No one has yet said how much a Volvo Axle costs ball park figure.

So I don't have the time to trapes round the eastern block looking for a old volvo so I think I'm wasting my time I think I will stay with the normal axles.

What speed can a portal do on the road as I drive everywhere at 90 would the truck axles shake themselve apart at anyting over 50mph

[Astro_Al]

>"These cost are getting me confused"

Maxidrive portals IMHO are uneconomical and on their own leave othe bits of axle to sort out (trussed housings, lockers etc). Pay though the nose for a completely re-worked axle or forget them.

All 'proper' portal axles are cheaper.

Mog 404s are a bit under a grand used and a bit over a grand new.

If you can buy a complete volvo C303 for the amounts discussed above, I suppose these axles are similar amounts, maybe less - there is your ballpark. Someone will no doubt say in a minute. I've never bought any Volvos. John / Jez / RPR / someone - post up!

Remember thats complete axles with no trussing to be done, and lockers as standard.

I don't think you need to trapse around the E.B. - I've got a garage full of portals (if nothing else...) and I've only ever made 1 trip abroad. Just look for some in the UK. No-one's gonna find some for you and deliver them for free, but it's not THAT hard.

Speed on portals is dictated by gearing - just as it always is. Work out the ratios with your tyre size and engine revs for the magic number. Treat it like a normal axle, but multiply the portal ratio by the diff ratio and use the overall axle figure in place of the regualr 'diff ratio' figure in your calcs. Easy. B)

There are rumoured to be heat buld up issues with some portals hidden behind drum brakes caning it all day long at high speed. But a swap to discs allows more ventilation and in reality it's not a problem.

Al.

[Ex Member]

For 5600UKP, you could get fully custom, new and unbreakable axles.

http://www.portal-tek.com/

[dollythelw]

These cost are getting me confused

No one has yet said how much a Volvo Axle costs ball park figure.

figure on just over £2k for a pair of take off axles

What speed can a portal do on the road as I drive everywhere at 90 would the truck axles shake themselve apart at anyting over 50mph

Bear in mind the most popular Volvo final drive ratio that people want is 5.99:1, the axles wont shake themselves apart but your motor wont rev that high, how big a tyre were you planning on fitting?

Red90 - read a couple of posts higher up

[jules]

So if I look around hard enough. I find out where to look I could get some axles for around £2k then what 1k in mods to fit to the tomcat.

I will do the chassis mods now with the Idea of fitting axles early next year.

As Al said. No one will find them and deliver them for free.

but

no one apart from red90 now will tell me were to look either