salsbury axle versus great basin 4 pinion carrier

[glbft1]

Wondering if a salsbury axle conversion on a 109 will reduce my clearance, increase driveline angle etc, is a great basin 4 pinion diff and 24 spline axles a better option??
Many thanks to all just trying to nip problems in the butt before summer!

[KevinNY]

Do a locker or limited slip if you are going in there anyway. Some will argue but having seen it in the woods, a sals can be a real plow/land anchor in deep ruts if you're keeping your tires below 33".

[yorker]

I wouldn't bother with a 4 pinion diff. If you want to stay with the Rover housing then go with a locker or True Track and you'll solve the same issue and increase strength.

BUT Since you have a 109 and already(?) have the Sals to swap in I'd go with the Sals.

[TeriAnn]

Wondering if a salsbury axle conversion on a 109 will reduce my clearance, increase driveline angle etc, is a great basin 4 pinion diff and 24 spline axles a better option??

If you had an 88 I would suggest putting 24 spline guts inside the Rover axle housing would be the best solution. But a Salisbury is the easiest solution for a 109. Series III 109s and One Tens came with Salisbury rear axle assemblies as standard fitment. Just unbolt your old nasty 10 spline Rover axle assembly and bolt in a Series III 109 Salisbury axle assembly and a Series III rear prop shaft and your done. A quick afternoon project for 2 people (assuming you have new replacement U bolts & nuts on hand for when the old ones break coming off and Castrol brake fluid on hand). I went through 7 rear 10 spline axles before switching to a Salisbury in 1996 and have not broken or twisted a rear axle since. And that's with a V8 since 1999.

If you want to go a step farther, you can install an ARB locker and the hardened axles and drive flange that Great Basin sells.

This is one of those times I suggest doing what the Land Rover factory did when they upgraded the 109 rear axle assembly.

[luckyjoe]

Are a Truetrac + 24-spline HD shafts/flanges the only parts required to upgrade a LR housing? Or are there ancillary parts as well (inside the diff)?

Regards,

[scott]

i put a 10 spine trutrack in my 88. the only thing i had to add was the ring spacer and longer ring bolts. replaced the pinon seal while it was apart too. i want and will do a detroit locker w/24 splines someday and the truetrack will be moved to the front

[yorker]

You'll need a spacer for the ring gear and longer bolts IIRC.

[siii8873]

Talk to Bill at GBR he is a wealth of info on what is needed for whatever conversion your thinking of

[LR Max]

Talk to Bill but a few things:

The rover diff will still have the weak rover R&P. Salisbury will have stronger R&P. Also installing a locker into a Salisbury is 4559375493x easier than installing one into a rover diff, cheaper too. Then there is the entire fact of having a rear diff locker, pretty much awesome off road and on road if you like showing off for u-turns. Love my detroit in the rear, just works and I don't have to think about it.

Considering the lack of flex the stock series trucks have (I'm used to rigs with 14" coilovers so in comparison, there is a lack of flex) pinion angle shouldn't be too bad.

You won't miss the clearance. Only a handful of times has my salisbury bottomed out. Everytime there is a simple, "Thump" and I'm like, "wtf was that...oh, rear diff, whatevs" and I keept driving on. No biggie.

I will HIGHLY RECOMMEND an aftermarket Dana 60 diff cover. The stock salisbury cover will dent if you back up the diff cover to a rock and then have the entire weight of the vehicle sitting on it. Won't bust open/bend in against the R&P, but it'll leave a nice character mark. Having the Diff cover would've been a nice piece of mind back there. I ended up putting the "face mask" guard on mine. Looks like butt but it works.

[JimCT]

Salisbury

We are running a Salisbury with the hardened axles and drive flanges, after breaking a Sal axle. Recently installed a detroit locker and that is the way to go. Cheap and bullet proof

[TeriAnn]

Talk to Bill but a few things:

The rover diff will still have the weak rover R&P.

Bill sells a much stronger 4.75:1 R&P that will fit the limited slips & lockers without a spacer plate.

4.75:1 ring gear on left installed in a Trutrac carrier. 4.7:1 and spacer on right installed in a Quaife. SeriesTrek 24 spline front axle in foreground

I will HIGHLY RECOMMEND an aftermarket Dana 60 diff cover. The stock salisbury cover will dent if you back up the diff cover to a rock and then have the entire weight of the vehicle sitting on it. Won't bust open/bend in against the R&P, but it'll leave a nice character mark. Having the Diff cover would've been a nice piece of mind back there. I ended up putting the "face mask" guard on mine.

The diff cover on mine came from the front of an early 1990's Dodge truck with Dana 60 front axles. These are thick and about the strongest stock steel cover plates out there. In addition I have a Dana 60 cover plate protector made by Poison Spyder Customs. I can not see what might be in the way of my rear diff when backing up

I'm running a rear Salisbury with ARB air locker (I prefer to choose when I'm my diff is locked), hardened axles & drive flanges.

[JimCT]

Detroit vs ARB

The one time we laid the ambulance over on its side i could have driven down hill on two wheels and saved it IF the rear had been locked. It was not the kind of place I would have had an ARB engaged, and certainly no time to hit the compressor switch. At that point I changed my mind from ARB and chose the Detroit Locker.

[Tim Smith]

For what it's worth, I used to have an ARB that made use of the spacer plate to get the right clearance. It was a previous owner install and I say "used to have" because the ring eventually came loose. I think the spacer plate adds opportunity for free play and will be more likely to fail if not retorqued every so often.

Bill at GBR sent me a new third member using his thicker ring gear and I have to say, it seems a much better way to go.

[LR Max]

I'm running a rear Salisbury with ARB air locker (I prefer to choose when I'm my diff is locked), hardened axles & drive flanges.

What brand axles and drive flanges you running? I've had some issues with my axles in the past (mainly due to operator error) but I'm thinking of upgrading. Was originally going to send my shafts off to Yukon or see about getting a pair of custom 300m shafts made. Makes me think too much when I've got my 34" TSLs on.

I shouldn't worry, my front axle is probably on the verge of death...whatever. Hate that thing.

As for the ARB, it is solid. Engages and disengages quickly (I'm sure you already know ). But it just seems like everytime I go out with guys with ARBs, their lines get destroyed. No locker.

Not a complaint, just an observation.

[yorker]

But it just seems like everytime I go out with guys with ARBs, their lines get destroyed. No locker.

Not a complaint, just an observation.

I've noticed that too, I was thinking it was just an anomaly though. I've seen the same thing with some trucks with Toyota diff lockers. It can often be tracked down to lack of maintenance, or just an unfortunate happenstance. It does happen though and has sort of pushed me into the fit and forget locker/torsen camp.