Land Rover project hoping to fit unimog axles

[Deano327]

Hi all, I'm hoping someone on ere can help me...

I've got a Land Rover discovery 300tdi commercial with 37" boggers on with standard axles

I'm now thinking about fitting unimog 404 axles I recently seen a set go on eBay that was already converted to Land Rover including Land Rover hubs discs and calipers to take landy rims

This s exactly what I'm wanting but has anyone done it? Any tips or advice? Does anyone make a kit? If not can you recommend anywhere to have a kit made?

Any help would be much appreciated

Thanks

Dean

[Anderzander]

Deano do a search, there's quite a bit on here. The on-site search isn't the best though - so search the site with Google. Something like this:

Site:LR4x4.com Mog axles

[FridgeFreezer]

Be very wary of ready-done conversions being sold, I've seen some horrors. Look at Dirtydiesel's G-Wagen in the members vehicles forum for things done right.

[Deano327]

Brill I'll have a good look, I've seen the g wagon one which has given me a lot of ideas, lol i was hoping someone would sell a conversion kit lol

[Bentoyne]

Dirty diesels g wagon is a work of art, I've seen that thing progress over the last few years and it is unstoppable!

Dan has also built a jeep cj9 with full size mog axles and 4 link suspension set up.

He's definitely the man to talk to regarding mog conversions, he also builds an amazing roll cage!

[woody77]

Im doing this to my project truck at the mow, was it the mog axles in east sussex youre on about from ebay?

[woody77]

if i knew how to add pics id show you mine so far(im not pc friendly!! )

[Ercial300]

Hi woody, I can't log in to my Deano account so I've set another up, I've private messaged you, I already have the axles just advice and questions lol

[dangerous doug]

A lot of the landrover brake conversions are biased on the death traps conceived by straight forward supplies. The only landrover disk conversion I have seen that looks ok was on the mitsimog which used TD5 disco front disks as they fit over he hub instead of having a hub bolt to them. Dirty diesels conversion using the Toyota(I think) disk is probably the better way to go. My friend Dave is using grand vitara front disks on his spider, again they bolt over the hub, they work but are not a good way to go as he is circa 1200kg and a disco on mogs will be alot more.

Your welding will have to be spot on as portal axles are subjected to a lot more radial torque than a normal axle which will put suspension tabs and links under a lot of stress

You wil want to find a 1:1003 transfer box to keep the gearing sensible or fit the 1:1003 gears

Front prop will be very short due to the long nose diffs and pinion conversion

Keep us updated, it's been a while since a portal truck was built and mines never going to get done lol

[Ercial300]

Hey Doug, updates so far are I've bought the axles lol

I've got a mate who's a welder who's offered to weld me all my brackets on properly for not a lot of money which will put my mind at ease as I wouldn't feel confident doing it my self,

As for the conversion there's a bloke called Nathan who (who I ow a fair few beers to haha) has been helping me source what I need, I'm going for the tranny out of the 83-85 rrc 3 speed it's 1.003 so should be ok as for the conversion he's just waiting on prices back from a mate of his in Germany for the pinion conversion and hubs to landy so hopefully that's the line we are going for lol, as for the front prop I'm hoping to have a very wide angle one fitted.. If I use a td5 transfer flange they are the same size as patrol prop ends which are very wide angled so hopefully that shouldn't be an issue but worst case I'll move the front axle forward a few inch. I'll keep updating as I get more done, I'm just about to go and remove them from the mog chassis hopefully one day you will have it finished ?

[FridgeFreezer]

I 2nd everything Doug said, I've seen so many bad/dangerous brake conversions and inadequate mountings for portals. Not only are they heavier (in the case of mogs, very heavier) but they put lots of extra leverage on all the suspension mounts, and that's before you add in the huge tyres you're likely to run and the reduced gearing giving you more torque. In short, if in doubt, look at what was done on the Unimog for a guide of how strong stuff needs to be. Anything Dirtydiesel has done is also your best bet for how to do it so it won't break.

[Ercial300]

Cheers for your advice fridge freezer, I'm actually using the Unimog shock mounts for my conversion and adrenaline arms front and back with are twice as thick as standard,I agree with the mountings needing to be extra strong that's why I'm not taking on that my self lol, I've messaged dirtydiesel but not heard anything back as yet, luckily the bloke who's giving me heeps of advice has done the conversion a few times so I feel safe in his knowledge and I always check n double check with decisions on the plus side the rear axle is removed lol

[Jamie_grieve]

Following with interest too.

Can you measure from the axle centre line along the diff back to the end of the pinion spline to remind me how long the diff is as standard please?

The length of your prop shafts will probably dictate the amount of useable suspension travel you can use. the portal offset means you can go up 10" in tyre size for the same amount of body chopping or alternatively and preferably, remove anything previously fitted (probably lots? Bump stops, cranked trailing arms, longer springs etc) to reduce bump travel and keep it as low as possible. This will give you more prop shaft angle to play with for more travel and lower the C of G.

Just to emphasise what the lads have been saying already about the forces and other than the axle mounts, under no circumstances can you use any part of the original rear trailing arms which are made of cheese and the chassis mount for them with the three bolt holes for the front of trailing arm needs reworked for extra strength as they crack really easily when you start to load them up. Below pics for reference are on different vehicles on standard axles with 7.50 tyres used hard. As you can see there's no margin at all for adding portals and big tyres so these mounts need completely reworked. The vertical separation of your links on the axle will determine the forces involved. This will also change the suspension geometry. The TRIAGED calculator on Pirate might be worth a look. Off Road Armoury does some nice boxed chassis brackets which would allow you to use 1.25" joints. The radius arms on the front are easy to punch through the outriggers too, reinforcement needs to happen here too.

Any pics?

Good luck and have fun with it!!

[Ercial300]

I do agree I was gonna plate either side on rear trailing mount with thicker steel and use longer bolts as for the front I haven't looked at that yet :/ rear trailing arm brackets on the axle thickest I've found is 4mm so it looks like I'll after have some made as I want 6mm, strength is my main goal I want to fit n forget with no worries (other than servicing lol) I've not got far as yet the axles and torque tubes are now removed, I plan on buying a bare solid chassis to begin my build which will be within the next few weeks, once this is hear I'll send the axle cases to my mate for the brackets to be welded on, if I'm working with a bare chassis I can pretty much do what ever is needed which would be a lot harder if i was fitting to my disco at present. As for lift kit and springs ... I'm removing all I have and fitting 2" HD springs which will give me 7" of lift, 7" will be about right for my 37" boggers and hopefully enough resistance to stop the axles compressing the springs to much, I will be fitting bump stops but I'll decide on stuff like this once the axles are fitted so I can see what I need and want in travel, the shocks I'll stay with procomp for the minute, I've taken some pictures of the axles which I'll post but not got any further as yet, as I progress I'll keep adding lol I'll measure this diff soon as I get chance to go back in the garage

[dirtyninety]

Cheers for your advice fridge freezer, I'm actually using the Unimog shock mounts for my conversion and adrenaline arms front and back with are twice as thick as standard,I agree with the mountings needing to be extra strong that's why I'm not taking on that my self lol, I've messaged dirtydiesel but not heard anything back as yet, luckily the bloke who's giving me heeps of advice has done the conversion a few times so I feel safe in his knowledge and I always check n double check with decisions on the plus side the rear axle is removed lol

Adrenaline stuff is great, ALL adrenaline parts have a 5 year guarantee against bends or breaks.

Dan (dirtydiesel) the last time i saw him said he is rarely getting onto the forums anymore. He's setting up another business/garage/roll cage builders.

Is it Nathan Flinton you're taking advice from? Tomcat404 on the forums.

[Ercial300]

Ahh id love to speak to him n see what his prices are like his work looks very good and strong, yes I do agree adrenaline stuff is very good and plenty thick enough yes Nathan has been a legend, he's helped me with everything I've needed so far including getting the axles, I ow him many beers haha

[woody77]

to help with the pressure on the trailing arms/a frame etc etc ive gone for some standard RRC 170lb springs (red/white) front and rear instead of the 225lb ones for the front shocks ive used the unimog mounting on the axle and fabbed brackets off the turret to join top pin of shocks (ome's)

if i could work the adding pic id show you how i strengthened chassis mounts ive gone for an adrenaline a frame and trailing arms for the rear

as for prop lengths/modifications ive moved my engine back 9inchs and up 2 1/2 inchs but not got to that part yet just on the mock/weld/strengthen part of my build

[Ercial300]

Hi woody could you inbox me some pictures of yours please sounds ideal