Hey fellas, I thought id join up since I just bought my first rover. 97 D1.

We have been overlanding a heavily modified diesel jeep camper that Ive built over the last few years, and decided it was time for something with more headroom room.

Ill be gutting the inferior rover axles/engine/trans and installing my diesel/dana powertrain from the jeep into it, then converting the interior into a camper similar to my jeep.

Looking forward to great rover tech!

 

What diesel and which Dana's?

 

isuzu 4bd1t, from an NPR truck. the axles are a HP44 ford/GM/chrysler combination, rear is a ford 8.8. both locked, chromally shafts etc.

Id prefer to use toyota axles so i can retain the LT230 case, but we will see how it works out.

 

You can build a Rover axle that's better than a HP44 or 8.8, but it won't be any cheaper. I can understand after you put a couple thousand bucks into your current axles, you'd like to swap them over rather than starting over again.

Stock for stock, the Rover axle is better than those axles, and similar upgrades are available.

To get something that's actually better than the Rover axles, you'd need to go to Dana 60 (Rover factory "Salisbury" option), an Ashcroft Force 9, or maybe an FJZ80 swap at the minimum.

The Rover axles are full floaters. The weakest part is the 2-pin carrier which you will swap out when you install lockers. The high-mileage shafts are weakened from fatigue, but new stock shafts are a good design, better than Toyota or Dana. But just like on the 44, you get more forgiveness with 4130 shafts and CV joints.

The stock ring and pinion is fine, but the gearing is too high for oversize tires. When you change them out, you can switch to something like a 7x29 or 8x33 pinion and crown wheel set. The gear tooth profile on those sets will be far stronger than a typical 11x45 on a Dana 44. You get some more gear whine, but they're brutally strong.

You'll have some work to match the 4bd1t and whatever transmission to the LT230, but the Rover V8 is better, more powerful, develops more torque, weighs far less and is less noisy. It can't compare with a modern LS, but otherwise there's not many lightweight alloy-block and head V8's that are better. But it doesn't sound like you're looking for a lightweight.

It sounds like you're looking for a diesel overland camper truck with ton axles. Why not work on the Dodge?

 

It sounds like you have quite a bit of experience with rovers and the differentials, and I respect your opinion.

However stock for stock, I absolutely disagree that a high pinion 44 and a ford 8.8 are the same strength as discovery axles.
if I had rover axles broken down, id do some side by side photos.

Id love to have a discussion about what they can handle however. Ill have a 750# engine above them, a rig at 6500#, and 33-35" tires with lockers. im all for keeping them if they can handle that easily.

I dont have any experience with the rover 4.0 v8 other than most ive seen on the used market have head gasket issues. the mileage is just deplorable given the power output. the light weight aspect is certainly appealing, but gas rigs do not do well off road for mileage. my diesel has a best of 26 mpg on road, with about a 30% decrease offroad.

 

I'm not a Rover fan boy by any means. They have their limits like anything else. The stock axles won't handle what you're talking about, and neither will a 44HP or 8.8, which I imagine is why you upgraded yours.

The Rover axle is a better design than the Dana's, but it is only so big and it won't substitute for a 1-ton axle. The MOD Defenders were fitted with Salisburies instead (Dana 60's), but they proved too weak for the abuse in testing (jumping with heavily laden Defenders) and were ultimately upgraded. I don't know the details of the upgrades, but I imagine they are standard Dana 60 upgrades. You can do all that like the Rover factory did, but most people aren't willing to spend the money because there's simpler ways to get a truck with heavy duty axles if that's what you need.

The Camel Trophy Discoveries had diesel engines and stock rover axles, and they weighed 8000# with all the gear they hauled. The only thing they upgraded was the 2-pin carrier to a 4-pin carrier. An aftermarket locker is stronger, but the sponsors opted out of modifications that were too far from stock because they were trying to promote Land Rover and not the aftermarket. Importantly, they also did not use 33" tires.

A rover axle with an aftermarket carrier like an ARB locker or Detroit Truetrac, 4340 shafts and CV joints (sorry I mistyped 4130 before, but the axle alloy is 4340), and 7x29 ring and pinion is much stronger than stock. It is strong enough to use 33" tires offroad very dependably, and it will take severe abuse.

The type of locker you fit affects axle durability. Detroits are tough on halfshafts because they stay locked and scrub tires when they don't need to, and they have a tendency to break teeth when the axle breaks. The ARB is considered the premium option, but I've had lockers and I prefer the limited slip for front and rear. I have Truetracs now. I like them better, especially with the center diff open, which is one of the best features of the Land Rover compared to average 4x4. Ashcroft has their own versions of the Limited Slip and the selectable locker. They're worth considering. I might have gone that way if I was doing it again.

Personally, I would not do it. I would not run a #6500 pound diesel camper on lightweight axles with oversize tires. I would build that on a 3/4 ton truck chassis with a GM 14 bolt full-floater.

The Land Rover axle, or the Dana 44 for that matter, high pinion or low, are fine axles for a lightweight 4x4. They offer better ground clearance and more up-travel than the big axles because they're easier to stuff higher, so they're ideal for smaller jeeps, Land Rovers, and buggies with tire size and vehicle weight combinations that are more like 5000# and 31's or 4700#'s and 33's.

 

Actually, the 44 is well suited for 33" tires and 6500# vehicles in stock form. that is why nearly every 1/2 ton/ 3/4 ton 4x4 fullsize truck from 1970-1991 came with a dana 44 in the front, and sometimes the rear.

a 1979 f250 weighs 6000#-6500 depending on options, tire size from factory was anywhere from a 235/75/16 (31"), to a 285/75/16 (33").

my axle came from this truck, I think it could handle a 6500# rover on 35's easily stock, especially so with upgrades.