Replacement Axle Housings / Diffs / Drivetrain

[I Leak Oil]

Always!

[o2batsea]

If it were me, I'd contact Safari HP and get in line for one of the Snatch HD salisbury front axles he has coming in (assuming the truck is RHD) Then you'll only have to deal with the spring perches if you stay leaf sprung, and the steering shyte as well. However with all that meat under the chassis you better be putting power steering on your list of mods, then you won't have as much re engineering of the front end to deal with.
I'd also pop for a salisbury rear and do the disc brake swap on it.
I question the NV4500. They aren't all that wonderful a transmission and fitting is a pain especially on a series. What engine are you using? A very nice setup is a Rover 4.6, Stumpy R380, LT230 1.4 and the front and rear Salisburys with 265 tires.

[TeriAnn]

I question the NV4500. They aren't all that wonderful a transmission and fitting is a pain especially on a series. What engine are you using? A very nice setup is a Rover 4.6, Stumpy R380, LT230 1.4 and the front and rear Salisburys with 265 tires.

Having driven a LR with a T-18 granny low gearbox for 10 years before replacing it I question any gearbox with a granny first gear ahead of a transfercase. Maybe if I had a full on rock buggy where a 70:1 or lower ratio would be needed but not on an all terrain Land Rover. The granny first is for trucks that do not have a transfercase. You use second on up for the street and the granny first in lieu of having a transfercase.

The NV4500 has a huge jump between first and second gears:
GM - 6.34:1 first & 3.44:1 second
Dodge - 5.61:1 first & 3.04 second
Stock LR C suffix & later - 3.60:1 first & 2.22:1 second

Compared to the LR gearbox the NV4500 has a huge gap between first and second gears where there are no ratios available. So for street driving the NV4500 is a 4 speed gearbox. When you switch to low range, low first is too low for all but rock crawling and you will still find yourself using second & third gear off road.

When Land Rover went to a five speed gearbox they chose close ratio five speeds to put in front of their transfercase. All the gears are useful on pavement and there is no huge ratio gap between first in second when off road. All the gears are useful all the time.

A stock Series truck with suffix C and later transfercase (stronger then the suffix A & B) has a low range first ratio of 40.70:1 at the axle. Personally I always thought that was too high and often found myself feathering the clutch to try and go slower through rough areas. For general off road driving in a Series rig I feel that something in the area of 50:1 to 55:1 would be ideal for all but the rock buggy terrain.

If I were looking for a 5 speed I would be looking for a close ratio gearbox that has a first gear somewhere around 4.5:1 and an overdrive fifth gear. When I gave the T-18 the boot I opted to stay with a four speed because it would not require any modifications and would be a less expensive swap. The longer 5 speed would require redoing the transfercase cross member, shortening the rear propshaft, lengthening the front propshaft, possible front propshaft to under the bulkhead crossmember clearance issues under full articulation, possible modifications to the mechanical brake linkage and who knows what else. My truck was already dialed in the the length of a four speed gearbox so I stayed with one.

I chose a close ratio NP-435 and kept the Ashcroft high ratio transfercase behind it. If I were starting from scratch to engineer a system I would look closely at close ratio five speed options. The drive train that o2batsea mentions makes a lot of sense except I'm not convinced that the R380 is strong enough to be uber reliable behind a 4.6. They have a reputation of occasionally breaking for no apparent reason behind a 3.9.

I've never researched the newer 5 speed options it there should be a rugged close ratio top loader five speed out there somewhere. The newer light trucks can't all be automatics. I hope.

[nz rover]

Just checked Safari HP and didn't see what you were referencing. Do you have a direct link?

As for power - probably just a mild crate small block chevy (not LS). And transmission - NV4500 looks like a ton of fabrication so I am open to other options as long as there is a built in overdrive, but it's the best I've seen so far. The body is coming off of the chassis so I'm ok with fabrication work - but I notice the installs to date are rather intense.

In a nutshell the proposal is SB 350 -> NV4500 -> Series Transfer Case - Salisbury front / rear.

I was looking into the 4.3L V6 but thought the NV4500 was too much transmission for it. 4.3 obviously has it's appeal though.

[o2batsea]

Sorry. Found original post on d90:

Hi All,

Found one Snatch Salisbury ft axle. Complete with arms. Comes off of a 1988 Snatch. Runs/drives now. Would assume all brake parts will need to be replaced.

Overall nice shape

$1450 delivered to Atlanta

Will be here in about a month to 6 weeks.
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As for your engine choice, nothing wrong with a small block chevy, 'cept it's a cast iron engine so it weighs quite a bit more than the all aluminum Rover V8. The Rover engine with a mild cam and stage 2 heads will get the HP you want and you avoid all sorts of fitment issues. You can bolt up the Stumpy R380 to it and have your 5 speed, and an LT230 transfer case gives you all the low range you can eat.
A 4.6 is very competitively priced to a SBC, and an R380 with the stumpy bellhousing is about 1600 straight from Ashcroft including shipping. LT230s are almost free for the asking.
Matter of fact I am hoarding a 3.9V8, R380 and LT230 from a Disco which can all be yours for $800 plus the ride. It's ready to drop in and go. Was going to use it for a project but....
Anyway that's just an example. All it would need is the stubby bellhousing from Ashcroft and the R380 input shaft swapped.
Nothing against a Series transfer case, but since you are going with "modern" drivetrain, the Series Xbox poses some issues with linkage and the handbrake.
The LT230 can be either directly operated via lever linkage or with cables. The hand brake is a little better and you can put an X brake on it no problemo.

[o2batsea]

Depends on your driving style i think as far as the V8/R380 thing goes. Since you are uprating the axles, the drivetrain "fuse" moves up to the next weak link. Instead of busting an axle shaft, you're gonna bust diffs.
"Buck Wild" Dave was using an R380/LT230 behind his Tdi and running Rovertracks axles and 44s. I don't recall him breaking transmissions, mostly diffs.
If you are in a rock garden and feathering the clutch and blipping the throttle lightly you won't break stuff.
Keep in mind TAW has a pretty heavy rig loaded up with gear.

[nz rover]

Still plugging along on this project and want a sanity check - There are two types of diffs on a '66 109", right? Banjo or Salisbury? If it's not one, it's got to be the other--- right???

Second - If paired to an NV4500, does it make most sense to convert to a 3.54 ARB air locker (24 spline) instead of the 4.70? I just want to make sure I've read this whole post correctly.

Thanks all. Pics soon.

[I Leak Oil]

66' should have what you call banjo diffs front and rear unfortunately. 24 spline, ARB, 3.54 should be fine but pricy. You have to change front and rear gears if you go with the 3.54 though.

[toga Rover]

I have front/rear 1-ton Salisbury axles sitting in my barn.
Came off my '73 SIII 109.
They are in Saratoga Springs, NY.
4.70 gears.
All brake bits included.
PM me if interested.
(My 109 now sits on Disco Axles)

[I Leak Oil]

Just to be clear, that isn't a salisbury front though. Just a regular rover diff with the better 6 cylinder brakes. Decent deal though if you're looking for a salisbury rear.