Narrowing Discovery axles ?

[CompoSimmonite]

I've decided to keep, and fully rebuild, by Mahindra MM540 rather than selling now I've also got a 300TDi Disco.
Scrap is at a low & plenty of cheap Disco's with rot beyond economic repair so a plan is brewing - buy a second Disco as a parts donor. That would give me some of the missing / broken trim I also need for my own vehicle as well as all the bits I'd need to uprate the Mahindra to Disco running gear.
Seeing I have the current Disco "in front of me" I intend taking measurements first to see if viable to fit the complete engine, gearbox and transferbox of a 300TDi auto into the Mahindra. The current transfer box is a Dana 18 so the Disco LT230 is very similar and means props in correct position.
Only problem is Dana 18 is selectable 4x4 whereas LT230 is permanent 4x4. You can adapt the LT230 with a kit from Ashcrofts but at £265 for basically something to lock up the centre diff is a little steep for me seeing the FWH's that are included in the kit wouldn't be used as the Mahindra has Dana 44 axles.
Even if I did use such a kit the Dana 44 ratios are very low - 5.38:1
It's therefore got me thinking about leaving the LT230 as permanent 4x4 and using Disco axles converted to leaf springs and narrowed so they fit under the Mahindra bodywork.
The Dana 44's are far stronger axles however parts are dear / expensive to source plus drum braked so whilst the Disco axles are weaker they would be more suitable for my needs - ie cheap, easy parts availability etc.
Looking at the rear shafts on my Disco recently, when changing hub bearings, they aren't suitable for resplining if narrowed and assume front will be the same.
I suppose I could use axles unnarrowed and have arch extensions like the Defender but would like to explore narrowing first.
The shortening of the actual casing isn't a problem - its the halfshafts. They are larger dia at splines so if cut down the new area for resplining is too small. I suspect custom shafts could be made but will be outside my budget.
So - has anyone ever seen a way around making up the difference between small splines to larger spline aperture ?

Cheers.

Paul H

 

[Robotstar5]

Can't you "cut and shut" the halfshafts?, cut the right length out, drill the shafts to accept a piece of bar then plug weld through to it, the opposite of sleeving a shaft.

 

[CompoSimmonite]

Can't you "cut and shut" the halfshafts?, cut the right length out, drill the shafts to accept a piece of bar then plug weld through to it, the opposite of sleeving a shaft.

I've successfully done that on a Reliant axle when offsetting the diff for use on a trike but there is a massive difference in torque and not sure if I'd trust it this time.
I've found these -

and wonder if something similar could be used ?
The Disco shafts and diffs are 24 spline so not as coarse as the earlier 10 spline

 

[stormin]

How much narrower do you need to be?
Could you not get away with narrower offset wheels? Theres quite a variety of offsets in Land Rover pattern.
What about wheelarch extensions to cover any extra width? See plenty of jeeps with them to cover larger wheels.

 

[Kayos]

We used to weld shafts when fitting turbo engines in Nova's, before someone worked out the dimensions to machine hubs, I never had one snap and well I drove it pretty hard

I'd second smaller off set wheels and/or arch extensions, much easier to re weld spring mounts to the casing if you have a failure than start chopping half shafts about

 

[MrFluffy]

You can buy custom made halfshafts for a disco if your wallet is fat enough. I agree you can't respline them as the root of the spline is larger than the major diameter of the solid section between ends, this is done for good engineering reasons not to save material.
It was/is common practice to narrow jaguar halfshafts for hotrods, in that the axle was cut and a piece removed then sleeved into a heavy tube section in a jig then welded all the way round the sleeve. I never saw one break, but I have one in the shed that had come loose that came to me in a box of spares. But it puts a weak spot in the driveshaft for sure. Or just as likely it puts a strong spot which causes another section of the shaft to get overstressed.
I've heard of people narrowing RR axles by fitting two short halfshafts and making the diff central and going massive on the tyres on a small vehicle, but this probably will result in a axle too narrow for what you want.
I think I'd want to call someone like ashcroft and see what options I could afford before deciding to stick with the RR axles for economy... http://www.ashcroft-transmissions.co.uk/halfshafts.html

Funnily enough my sole experience with a mahindra jeep was one hired in malta, and we had to limp it back to base after a few hours in the mountains of country track road but not extreme driving with some very odd noises coming out of the diff...

 

[colnerov]

Hi, Once you have dealt with the narrowing of the half shafts, then you have to consider the issue of the track rod wanting to go through the leaf spring. Might be easier to fit series axles, narrower and leaf sprung.

Colin

 

[CompoSimmonite]

I think keeping axles original width and having arch extensions might be the sensible way to go so will measure up tomorrow. The bodywork is CJ5 so arch extensions in various widths are available off the shelf.
This kit is €140 so quite cheap -

Steering arm fouling springs isn't a problem as there is a way around that

This is my Mahindra as I bought it -

Bull bar, spotlights and side steps all went in the bin as soon as I got home. Wheels have been changed to steel Vitara items but I've also got a set of LWB Series Land Rover items that can be fitted if I go the Disco axle route.

 

[addjunkie]

Ive seen custom half shafts at about 120 quid each for ford type lobro joints.

Ive done a few ford shafts for trikes, cut, welded sleeved, welded again, fairly common. Didnt break any of them.

 

[Woody.v8]

You could always use a wide track axle and offset the wheel centres or make new centres to suit.

 

[rory1]

Series land rover axles are 4" narrower that discovery/Range Rover axles iirc

 

[CompoSimmonite]

Series land rover axles are 4" narrower that discovery/Range Rover axles iirc

Series axles will actually fit straight onto the Mahindra springs as perches are the same distance apart - legacy of the original Series 1 being developed from a Jeep ?
However there is still the problem of no front CV joints so selectable 4x4 needed plus drum brakes therefore not really any advantage using them over the Dana items.

 

[colnerov]

Yes but the LR series axles have a wider choice of ratios, which is what you was after.

 

[CompoSimmonite]

Yes but the LR series axles have a wider choice of ratios, which is what you was after.

And if I use Disco axles then I'll have it all - choice of ratios, CV joints and disc brakes

 

[MrFluffy]

If you have permanent 4x4 out of the disco the utimate axle strength isnt as big a factor as the torque is split two ways in normal grippy conditions. On snow, mud and ice, traction is likely to be the main issue.
This is the original reason the range rover was made permanent 4x4 because the rover axles of the period were too weak for 2wd and the v8 powerplant...

 

[MrFluffy]

+ if you do it right, the dana's can be sold and potentially fund the purchase of the donor disco.

 

[winchman]

To be honest why bother? Its all too easy to get caught up in a massive project that takes years when you could be out driving it.
I went from some radically modified 4X4s that needed loads of maintenance and often broke to a bog standard Vitara with a 2" lift and mud tyres, it never broke down and hardly needed any maintenance in the 5 years we had it and it had loads of use and in the end I felt a much more usable vehicle..
Whats wrong with the Jeep?
If you must mod it I feel fitting the whole lot from the Disco would be best but on the other hand it may be possible to just buy something similar all ready done
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Jeep-Wran...892425?hash=item1a08ce6009:g:qeYAAOSw5ZBWO53t

 

[CompoSimmonite]

+ if you do it right, the dana's can be sold and potentially fund the purchase of the donor disco.

That it my way of thinking plus I'd have a surplus Dana 18 transfer box that is sellable.

 

[CompoSimmonite]

To be honest why bother? Its all too easy to get caught up in a massive project that takes years when you could be out driving it.
I went from some radically modified 4X4s that needed loads of maintenance and often broke to a bog standard Vitara with a 2" lift and mud tyres, it never broke down and hardly needed any maintenance in the 5 years we had it and it had loads of use and in the end I felt a much more usable vehicle..
Whats wrong with the Jeep?
If you must mod it I feel fitting the whole lot from the Disco would be best but on the other hand it may be possible to just buy something similar all ready done
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Jeep-Wran...892425?hash=item1a08ce6009:g:qeYAAOSw5ZBWO53t

Quite simply I'm an addict and can't help it Over the years I've owned more than 100 cars and a large number of bikes. In fact I've got 5 cars (Smart Fortwo, Skoda Fabia, Marlin Roadster, Disco & Mahindra) as well as a Yamaha quad and 6 bikes (Honda CB400A, Honda CB92 Benly, mini bike, Jawa Babetta, Vespa ET4 & Kawasaki EL250).
I've had a Vitara and agree it was ultra reliable.
Problem with Mahindra is there simply isn't any spares backup in UK. There were never many sold in the first place as the WWII style model was more popular / cheaper whereas mine is a MM540 Marksman - Mahindra's equivalent to a Rangie . Everything has to come from either India or US. Accepted I can get service parts for the engine but that is about it.

 

[winchman]

Quite simply I'm an addict and can't help it .

That's fine then, its just I see so many people with big dreams but no Idea how big the task is LOL