Well, the modification of the 110 Salisbury axle to suit the 109 suspension is done. The disc brake conversion is next, but using the complete stub axles, hubs, discs and callipers from a 200Tdi Discovery should make it work well in conjunction with the new calliper brackets (their test fit on the axle tube was perfect). The pipes will be copper-nickel, and will be the last job before installation.
The spring saddles and damper brackets were measured very accurately on the donor 109 axle before being cut off with an angle grinder. Once removed, the brackets and saddles were all cleaned up, removing all signs of previous welds and all the surface rust. The edges where they would be welded to the axle were all then bevelled by approximately 3mm to ensure deep weld penetration.
The lateral separation between the outside faces of the spring saddles and the inside faces of the end flanges of the 110 axle tube was calculated to be 197mm. The saddles were positioned and held with a G-clamp while an inclinometer was used to set the saddles at the correct pitch angle relative to the diff pinion axis. Though this axis appears to be parallel, it is in fact 2 degrees off, with the pinion pointing up slightly if the axle is rested on its saddles on horizontal stands. This was done one side at a time with tack welds securing the saddles. When both had been tacked in place and their measurements double-checked, the saddles were properly welded, first with the recessed welds in the bevels, and then with cap welds to make them stronger. The welds were dressed with the grinder, removing as little material as possible while ensuring that there would be no fouling of the springs’ U-bolts and no dirt or water traps.
Once the saddles were fitted, the damper brackets were tacked and then welded in much the same way. The top face of the brackets is normally set a 37 degrees from the pinion axis, but because my dampers tend to sit at an acute angle from the combination of parabolic springs and 1-Ton chassis and shackles, I rotated the brackets 5 degrees up to achieve a better bottom damper angle.
On completion of the welding, the axle tubes, flanges and brackets were given another thorough cleaning with the grinder’s wire brush – the surface rust had reappeared over the last two weeks – before coating the entire casing with zinc-rich primer.
I supose that you will fit disk brakes as well in the front axle. If not i think it will be dangerous.
If you look at the first of my axles posts (Gearing Up For The Next Mod), you will see I already have that sorted; I have a Discovery front axle which will be modified in a similar fashion to this rear axle to fit the Series suspension.
You are quite right that uprating the rear brakes before the front would be very dangerous, but both axles are to be fully prepared and then fitted simultaneously, so I will be going from drums all-round to discs all-round at once.
I see this web from time to time. I cannot look older entries. It does not seem to work.
Congratulations for your rebuild and thank you for sharing your experience.
Regards from Spain
Feder, you should be able to use the topic sections on the right hand side (in this case “Axles”) or use the “Older Entries” tag at the bottom of the page (in grey) to go back to older posts. If it doesn’t work, please let me know which browser you use, because Firefox, Camino, Safari, MSE and Opera all seem OK. I’ll ask my wife (web designer who set up this blog site for me) to take a look.
Internet Explorer 8
Helena took a look and there is indeed a glitch there, though other browsers don’t seem to be affected. We’ll get it sorted out. Thanks for pointing it out.
Nick.
Hi Nick,
Great site, very useful. Wondering if you can give me some advice?
I’m currently doing a similar thing, and refurbing an old axle. I have concerns of the thickness of the axle end plate, where the stub axle connects as mine was very rusty when i got it. What thickness was yours?
Thinking maybe weld in a reinforcing plate or something.
Thanks in advance.
Ben
Hi Ben
I can’t remember exactly what the thickness was, and without stripping the stub axle off I can’t measure it for you, but as memory serves it was about 6mm. It should be thick enough that the face of the flange protrudes about 1mm from the lip of the stub axle when joined. I’d be very surprised if the flanges on your axle were too thin – the depth of corrosion for that to happen would be horrendous, and it’s more likely that all the suspension brackets would have rusted away completely than the flange to require repair.
Once you have removed allthe rust (a wire brush attachment in a grinder is best), then just check the flange is of even thickness all the way around and isn’t tapered across thebolt holes (tapering there would lead to uneven tension on the bolts and possible bolt cracking and failure). If they’re relatively flat, then all should be well.
Nick
Thanks Nick,
I took the stub axles off and it all makes sense now! Thanks for the advice, good luck with the rest of your project(s).
Ben