rear axle and wrong buy from ebay

[scooby]

Hi there i am thinking of putting a disco rear axle on my 86 defender which would be the best year to buy for easy swap over. Just want a quick swap so all i have to do is change the brake to fit a comp" rear axle. Or do i have to change more then that when swaping, after buying a shed from ebay were they said all was ok with it i have alot of work on my hands now like body repair chassis holes etc norm" defender wear and tear for a old truck. but as i have to do alot more then i thought i which to do some jobs as easy as poss. One thing as come out of this do not belive everyone ebay, glad i got it a bit cheaper thou, on the final bid.

[Disco Matt]

I think the Disco has a different differential ratio to the Defender? I know the transfer boxes are different anyway.

[craig_midz]

any 200 disco axle will do ya mate will bolt straight in2 a 90 but u might have to change the threads on the brake lines as some are metric thread an early defenders where imperial

[crazymac]

I think the Disco has a different differential ratio to the Defender? I know the transfer boxes are different anyway.

No, no different at all, the difference is purely in the transfer box.

Have a look at the trailing arms, there was two different types fitted if I remember? Go for pre 94 discovery and you should be fine.

[clbarclay]

The only differance in trailing arms I know of is early ones were made from tube and later ones solid bar. Either should fit both axles. For choice the tube arms are stronger.

[V8MoneyPit]

Are there not wide and narrow arms? In which case the axle brackets will be different.

I've put an early Disco axle into my '88 90 and I'm sure I remember asking similar questions a year or so ago!!

[craig_midz]

i know 110 traillin arms are bigger but sure 90 an disco ones are the same

[russ3120]

just this weekend I fitted a 200tdi 92 disco rear axle onto my 200tdi 92 D90 and I had no dramas, fitted straight on

[topless matt]

There is a difference in the thickness of the trailing arms and the radius arms, but if the whole axle is being used then use the trailing arms that came with that axle.
Or get some that fit if yours dont either way, not too much bother really

[MudRat]

300s have different shock mounts, one goes fore, one goes aft.

[topless matt]

I thought that was only on rangerovers where the shockers were on for and aft of the axle

[clbarclay]

The trailing arm bushes appear to be the same part numbers for series 1 discoveries and defenders.

I have seen slight variations in the profile of the bracket on the axle which the trailing arm mounts to, but apart from the possiblity of some brakets not providing enough cleerance for the tube trailing arms I've not found anything that would prevent the tube and bar trailing arms being interchaneable.

[Disco-Ron]

To make things alittle clearer for the OP, i'd like to clarify a few things in one reply,

Discovery axles have the SAME diff ratio as defenders,
Discovery axles have the same width radius arm mounts as defenders.
Only range rover axles have diferent shock mounts,
it doesn't matter if the discovery axle is 10 or 24 spline, it'll fit,
What DOES matter is that you don;t get a 300 disco axle, as they have a three bolt fixing to the prop coupling, not a four bolt as per the defender.

So, to summarise, if you use a 200 shaped discovery axle, it will fit, without drama......... simple.

[Range Rover Blues]

Yeap, that's it in a nutshell.

There are 4 types of trailing arms, the solid ones which are poo, fitted to 91 onwards RRC and Disco as a cost saving IIRC, then the tubular types fitted to early RRC with imperial thread which is rubbish, best avoided though they fit the same bushes.  The later tubular type which are the only ones you can buy new I'm told and finaly the Heavy Duty Defender ones which were extra thick tubular types.

Plus the wide array of after market and cranked types.

[J.D.]

What DOES matter is that you don;t get a 300 disco axle, as they have a three bolt fixing to the prop coupling, not a four bolt as per the defender.

But if you get a 4 bolt flnage with a little bit of agro, it will fit on. I fit 300 axles to Defenders before, and you hgave to take the diff out and swap the flanges over, which is a PITA, but can be done with an angle grinder and big hammer (yes really)!.

[scooby]

Many thanks for your help been told i can use the old axle caseing and just change diff to 24 spline and shafts extra to turn into rear discs once again thanks for all your help out there.