discovery axle conversion?

[yogurt]

Has anyone in here done it or got any info on it?

[ROBBIE]

Dont do it

[Anton]

It's been done, but LR halfshafts aren't much thicker than SJ ones, which makes me wonder if it's worth doing at all. Most people would rather go with Yota axles.

The axle tubes and diff casings are also larger, meaning less ground clearance. I've got through stuff with my old worn out BF 31" tyres that a mate with brand new Khumo 32" tyres (they really were a couple of inches bigger when measured - the BF's were about 29" in reality) couldn't get through.

He had more aggressive tyres and vastly more power (3.0TD vs 1.3), but he was getting his diff caught on stuff I didn't. On top of that, Zuks don't get stuck in ruts made by LR's. Since moving to the new Kaiman 31's (which are closer to 33's) I walk through stuff he can't handle in his wildest dreams.

Suzuki axles for the win. Really.

[ScottieJ]

I don't really see the point in swapping axles unless you want to run 37" tyres or bigger. But then why would you pick landrover when there's so many better, stronger axles out there, you've gotta spend quite a bit on Landy axles to make them as strong as a standard set of yota axles.

With the upgrades available for samurai axles there's no real benefits, in some ways your actually worse off fitting Landy axles as you then have less diff clearance on the same size tyres and you will also fit in everyone else's ruts, loosing more diff clearance.

The choice of diff ratios isn't very good with Landy axles either unless you want to spend quite a bit of money, at which point you might as well have bought chromo internals for the samurai axles making them reliable on 33-35" tyres.

[RickUK]

May seem like a stupid question but what are 'Yota axles' ??? are they some form of aftermarket axle or from another 4x4.

[twiss]

He means Toyota axles

[Anton]

Yup, Toyota (Hilux or Land Cruiser) axles.

Land Cruiser axles, from memory, have the same diff offset as an SJ, so they line up with the transfer case better.

Don't sue me if I have that back to front.

You can get them with factory fitted lockers too, I *think*, where they were never an option on a Hilux.

[ScottieJ]

Yup, Toyota (Hilux or Land Cruiser) axles.

Land Cruiser axles, from memory, have the same diff offset as an SJ, so they line up with the transfer case better.

Don't sue me if I have that back to front.

You can get them with factory fitted lockers too, I *think*, where they were never an option on a Hilux.

Only lj70 / kzj70 land cruiser axles have the offset rear diff, unfortunately they didn't come with lockers as standard like the 80 series though

[Anton]

Ah, ok. I have a mate with a KZJ70, he was talking about factory lockers for it - I guess he was referring to swapping in 80 series diffs?

That's the same Land Crusher that can't handle stuff with 32's that I walk through on 31's. I love Toyota and I'd have a 70 any day of the week if I didn't have to give up the SJ, but frankly the SJ is the better offroader in my opinion.

It's not nearly as powerful as the LC, it's not as comfy, it's not as "car" for long journeys, but it's less expensive, it's more capable offroad, and to make the LC as capable would cost too much.

Bang per buck the SJ is completely unbeatable. I'm not just saying that as a Zuk fan - I'm also a Yota fan. I'm saying that because it's just true.