snailracer Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 My rear axle is in need of some tlc and for £285 delivered for a rebuilt axle i thought it was quite good. Has anyone used them and would recommend them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejparrott Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 What's the extent of the rebuild? You can't really do a full rebuild for that, you can't buy quality parts for that little! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 If it's a fixed price - it could work the same way as Insurance - that most rebuilds will not need expensive components, just a bit of adjustment, some gaskets and a coat of paint. The excess on these pays for the ones needing bearings, stub axles etc? Back in reality land though - I'd bet not. You'll get a coat of paint and a load of Blue Box components where absolutely necessary. Rebuilding an axle is pretty easy. It will take more time taking it off & putting back on than the service - so you might as well do it yourself. Servicing the Differential is more of a challenge - but you could use Nigel (MegasquirtV8.co.uk) for this and know it will be spot on. For what he charges, I don't think I would bother servicing a diff again! Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snailracer Posted August 10, 2015 Author Share Posted August 10, 2015 It's on an exchange basis so I think its more refurb. I'd like to have a go myself but I haven't got the space or time for it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retroanaconda Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 They're pretty robust unless they've been abused. The axles on my 88" had sat along with the rest of the vehicle on a driveway immobile for 10 years, when I rebuilt them I just changed the swivel balls (and their bearings/bushes) on the front and basically all the sealing parts. Wheel bearings, differentials, half-shafts, UJs etc. were all perfectly serviceable on inspection so all went back in. One great feature of earlier Series III axles is the replaceable seal lands on the stub axles - a lot cheaper to replace than the whole assembly! The front axle cost a bit more because of the swivel balls etc. but the rear axle probably cost no more than £50 in seals/gaskets and paint to re-furbish. Brakes added another £50 to that. If your axles have sat with water in them or generally not been looked after then it can get a lot more expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejparrott Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 I've just googled them, and I can't see a rebuilt axle for £285 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snailracer Posted August 10, 2015 Author Share Posted August 10, 2015 Have I misread the price list? Is it just differential not the whole axle? It's my Salisbury rear. I replaced the input seal and hub seals and cleaned the breather six months ago. I did everything as per the instructions but the input seal is leaking and throwing oil everywhere. I'm worried that either I did it wrong or the shaft is pitted or both. We're currently down to one vehicle and I was trying to find the quickest way to get it sorted so it's not off the road for too long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 I'd just take it to a local Land Rover specialist - who has a loan car for you - in that case. Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejparrott Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 I can see a diff column in the price list but not axle. but then the notes it says axle £275. To be honest, the Series 3 72-85 says no warantee if fitted with an Overdrive.......wtf?????????? On that basis alone I'd steer clear.'72 to '85 Series would have had a rover axle in the 88 and a salisbury in the 109, which he makes no differentiation between. The work between the 2 is considerably different so there's no way you could charge the same price. The price list is far to vague, meaning you'd need to get into an email or telephone conversation to get a price. I won't do that, it's 2015, website changes are quick and easy, and if you can't make a clear simple website, you don't get my order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 If they void the axle warranty on vehicles with overdrives, then they have no idea what they're doing - the overdrive results in less torque being transmitted to the diff, even in the revolutions can be stepped up while downhill. The forces are less than on standard configurations and markedly less than where engines have been changed, which you don't mention as an exclusion. There is more con than re in the recon business. Look at the prices for Turner Engineering and you'll see the difference where things are done thoroughly. I agree that for £275, it's a tosh up, not a proper recon job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejparrott Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 I agree. I was thinking about it this morning, if I was to do a Salisbury axle rebuild as a 'job', I'd look at An hour to strip the diff out £15 Put the cover back on, blank the ends off ready for shot-blasting £15 Put out for shot-blasting £40 Send cover for galvanizing £10 Quality paint and brushes to paint the casing £40 Time to do the painting £15 New quality bearings, can't remember what I paid now for mine, but lets say £50 New quality seal, gasket, crush tube, can't remember, but say £20 Drive flange, I couldn't find a speedi sleeve the right size, I made a stainless sleeve specially, say £15 New prop and cover bolts £5 Time to build up the diff into the casing with new bolts, shimming as required £60 So as a very rough guesstimate what's that up to, ok, so it works out at £285. No charge is included in there for the shipping, and at something like 60Kg's and a full pallet load that won't be 5p, there's also no VAT in there which I wouldn't be charging but judging by the apparent size of the business they would be. I've also not allowed anything for new stub axles if they were to be included, or any allowance for the shims, and I reckon I'm probably shy on the cost of the bearings, and they wouldn't be making stainless sleeves for drive flange's, they'd be replacing with new, if at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 Timken diff carrier bearings are £60 each, +VAT, so that's £144 for just those two bearings, You still need the pinion bearings and seal, wheel bearing kits at about £20 each side, new brake cylinders, shoes and drums, then there's the media blasting and painting, the labour, the workshop overheads, commercial insurance, rates and such.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanuki Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 Think through the economics. To do a *proper* strip/rebuild on a LR axle's going to take at least half a day in a properly-equipped workshop. That's £300 in chargeable labour alone [£75/hour charged, the technician's likely seeing about 1/3 of this in his pay-packet before he gets scalped for employee's NI and income-tax] - assuming it's being done by someone with any degree of mechanical skill/experience/qualifications. [if you're working in a filthy backstreet hovel and paying the 'technician'-monkey less than the minimum-wage (cash-in-hand) and not declaring any employer's national-insurance/business-rates/VAT or anything, it'll be significantly less] Then you add in parts and materials... There are cheap rebuilds and there are good rebuilds. You don't get any good, cheap rebuilds! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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