Defender 110 double cab with Isuzu turbo diesel build up...

[The Rover Shop]

Removed the front axle assembly out of the donor disco, this axle setup also allows easier upgrade for locking diffs, while I love the supposed strength of the Salisbury diff in the rear they are more expensive to install lockers, change ratios, more inclined to get hung up as the hang lower than the rover diffs etc etc.. and don't even talk about trail repairs, with these in mind I think I will install the rear diff also, this gives the added benefit of the vehicle now having 4 wheel disc brakes..

 

[The Rover Shop]

Got the frame all painted in satin black chassis saver on the bottom, what a pain to get into all the little nooks and crannies, you can see why they dip these things... Flipped the frame over after drying and repeated the procedure from the top...2 generous coats all over.. Looks good.i used a paint called chassis saver, goes on easily with a spray gun and dries really tough, the frame is a galvanized frame but I just don't like the look of the galvy frame exposed...especially in a white truck, with the combination of galvy frame and this chassis saver paint the thing should never rust...well at least the frame....





Cleaned and pressure washed the dirt etc off the front axle assy and since it had no leak gave it a quick shot of the same paint and installed it with the new set of terrafirma 3" lift springs and shocks..

 

[Thon]

Removed the front axle assembly out of the donor disco, this axle setup also allows easier upgrade for locking diffs, while I love the supposed strength of the Salisbury diff in the rear they are more expensive to install lockers, change ratios, more inclined to get hung up as the hang lower than the rover diffs etc etc.. and don't even talk about trail repairs, with these in mind I think I will install the rear diff also, this gives the added benefit of the vehicle now having 4 wheel disc brakes..

The Salisbury axle was specified for it's greater load rating and stronger diff if I remember correctly what I was told when I was working on them. Will the D1 axle be up to the job?

 

[Red90]

More expensive???? It is a Dana 60. More common than dirt.

 

[The Rover Shop]

Have you ever priced out a bearing replacement on a Dana 60.... Or arb air locker install..ratio change etc etc....vs pop both axles out with a couple of bolts and then remove the diff pumpkin on its own, leaving the differential axle assy housing in situ.....much easier on a rover axle than a Salisbury axle..and don't forget about the weight difference...and disc brake ease of install etc etc.. And yes, the Salisbury diff is definitely a sturdier and more robust assembly, but this 110 double cab won't be able to get anywhere near the carrying capacity of a 110 pickup or hi-cap unit so the additional load capabilities of the Salisbury vs the newer upgraded design of the new rover style diffs will more than suffice....heck, my 130 doesn't have a Salisbury diff in it...D1 and P38 style diffs are used in the later defenders for years now..

 

[Red90]

Yes. Cheaper than a Rover and not any more work. It is not like you are paying someone to do it.

I'm not sure I understand the disc brake thing as drum brake Salisburys are simple to change to disc. all factory bolt on parts.

 

[The Rover Shop]

The Salisbury differential assembly needs to come completely out of the truck and the casing spread to get the differential center out, if you look at the rear of the housing there are 2 holes either side of the backing plate...a spreader goes into those the spread the diff enough to remove the center section, best done on the bench......the rover diff center on the other hand...5 bolts either side and your axle pops out..and then approx 10 bolts for the center "pumpkin" to come out, easy peasy.... And this truck will be all over the world...much easier to locate or ship a center pumpkin to the Tibetan plains than a complete dana60 diff assy.. And now the front and rear diffs are the same so much easier to locate a breaking donor. And have you priced out everything to convert a Salisbury assy to disc brakes lately..???.. With the influx of so many defenders coming into the USA and everyone wanting to convert its made the parts a bit difficult and expensive to find.. trust me, I have salisburys in my other trucks and converted to discs and installed lockers on them...and I've done field repairs on rover axles..I know which is easier, quicker and cheaper.even the camels had rover axles in the fronts....and the camels discos onward had front and rear..

 

[The Rover Shop]

The donor truck engine was so badly blown up that I couldn't turn the crank to remove the torque converter bolts so I pulled engine and Trans as one and separated them on the big round...then had to smash the block to allow the crank to turn to get the TC bolts..boy, what a task.. Got the tranny cleaned up and no signs of leakage, painted everything while it was out so it looks cleaner..sat it into place just to verify fit...and needed somewhere to store it until I can mate it up with the engine....running out of space.. new frame requires new style tranny mounts that I had to order.

 

[The Rover Shop]

Pulled the rear digg assy and gave it a good cleanup and repaint, have to press the old bushings out of the arms to install a set of neoprene bushings..and replacing the rear ball joint also..

 

[The Rover Shop]

Pressed out the old rear A frame bushings and ball joint..(took a 10 ton press and gave an almighty noise when it finally let go..), installed new ball joint and neoprene bushings..and fitted to frame..





Have a set of 3" cranked control arms that I will be installing on it soon, but needed to make it a rolling chassis..

 

[tacr2man]

The discovery banjo axle diff isnt rated for 110 , the later 110 used the p38 type axle and diff , obviously modified by landrover to suit 110. Same goes for discovery alloy wheels , OK for 90 not 110 HTSH

 

[The Rover Shop]

If you look at the configuration of a 110 double cab it is clear to see that it is not capable of carrying the same payload as a 110 pickup, hi-cap etc etc... This truck is not being built to be a work horse or to tow your mums oversized perrywinkle blue caravan around... The disco axle setup lends itself to being much more user friendly and easily serviced or upgraded with different axles, diff ratios, locking diffs (air or automatic) etc etc.. I am yet to see a disco diff fail, sure I've seen axles break but I've seen them break in Salisbury diffs too.. He vast majority of trucks being built nowadays are being fitted with the disco drive trains..and for the record all of the bearings and components in the P38 diff are the same defender or p38... And I've replaced more p38 diffs than any other Land Rover diffs..usually the front but that's more to do with the direction of rotation and splash lubrication..but just to appease the naysayers here, I will keep the Salisbury diff and the next owner can install it if he so desires...(betting that won't happen though ) now can we just move on for gods sake.........

 

[The Rover Shop]

Some of the rear tub bottom cross braces have seen better days, so I went ahead and cut them all out and replacing them, what a pain in the ..****..




Once the braces were off everything was treated and painted, and then the braces were installed, riveted and bonded to the tub..



Whipped the fuel tank out, no signs of any leakage and the inside is spotless, so a quick coat of paint...just waiting for new mounting rubbers to arrive..

 

[The Rover Shop]

Soooo, my slackassed little friend finally got around to sending me the necessary parts for the auto conversion. Bolted it all together so that I could make sure it fit right as I was concerned about the front of the motor interfering with the steering box and the oil pan hitting on the front diff/axle.. It fits just lovely and everything sits perfect, not there is plenty of room all around, especially where before the back of the engine was so close to the firewall you couldn't get your hand down there..

 

[The Rover Shop]

Now to cut the old adaptor engine mount brackets off and tack them into their correct place..since they sit ahead of the existing 300tdi mounting points I think I will just leave the 300tdi ones on there also, this way...should... Someone want to install a different setup down the road it will be much simpler..the existing mounts don't interfere with anything..