Ulysses

sniper wrote: The video's are great, it's good to see how impressed the Landy drivers are..... It goes up that hill like it's being pulled, sounds great Riccy.

Bummer about the damage, shafts ain't cheap.... There's a firm in Nottingham that makes shafts, I can't remember the name but happy to have a drive by if it will help. I picked up some truck shafts for a buddy once, they had just got back from hardening. Looked to be very serious gear...

Mine sounds quite similar to yours but is lacking in the guts department lol......

sniper

Thanks John, the others were enjoying it almost as much as me

I would be interested in your nottingham shaft maker. Ive spoken to a couple today...

HUN wrote:
That shaft is part of the floating rear axle kit which is not in stock in Russia at the moment unfortunately. Where from you'll get replacement? Do you know an alternative supplier?

Correct. Andrey says he has no stock of the shorter shaft (the other longer one is ok). Likley end of the year before he can supply a replacement. I also learned that the shafts he supplies are not 'HD' shafts, no surprise really with the price of his kit being so low.

Ive called a couple of places today about having some made in the UK and the best price so far is a Birmingham company quoting £190+vat for each shaft. Thats for a heat treated shaft made from high grade material (they did say what but it was over my head a bit, good for 250hp apparently). 4 weeks from order to delivery usually. Probably an expensive option, but I can't see Andrey's spares being a lot cheaper by the time they are posted from the far side of Russia.

Low range off-road are in Fresno California.They list solid tube pinion spacers.

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Roger

wilsondriveshafts.co.uk They are reasonably local if you need anything ferrying about.

sniper

Many messages and phone calls this week about getting some quality shafts made. Settled on Northwest propshafts as recommended by Brett (Maverick on here). They wernt the cheapest, nor the most expensive. I chose them because they would offer a warranty on them, knew what they were talking about and were patient enough to explain it to me in simple terms. They also asked all the right questions about the car. So now I need to send them the existing shafts to measure along with a sample of the side gears in the diff and a hub to use for testing purposes.

So today it was pull the shafts and scrounge out some diff side gears from the scrap pile...

This is the two front and rear diff centres from the grey jimny. A quick chat on our group whatsapp told me that the one on the left is for the rear. Confirmed this with a spare rear shaft and it fits (rear is 26 spline, front is 22). Interestingly the rear side gears can be interchanged with the front for those wishing to use 26 spline front shafts (stronger)...


With the side gears out I tried them on the hub end of the shafts and discovered that the shafts are the same spline count at both ends. Happy days! That should make the machining process easier and possibly cheaper, fingers crossed


Next was to pull the diff out again as it was still leaking from the pinion seal I had ordered new bearings, seal and crush tube to redo it all. Once I had it apart I realized the bearing pullers I have wouldn't work to remove the old bearing race's and also I dont have the correct mandrel for my press to refit them. Old bearings cleaned/inspected and they seem sound so will probably reuse them. Seal to replace obviously, but the crush collar puzzled me a little. The new one is exactly the same size as the one removed. I did look into the solid one Roger mentioned, but I can only see lowrangeoffroad as a supplier and they are in America so shipping is extortionate.





So its read the FSM a bit later and stick it all back together tomorrow, hopefully with no leaks

I bought my spacer from Summit Racing and the total cost incl. shipping £37.10 back in December 2017.

Roger

Day trip up to see mam, and do some jobs (hence the spirit level on the roof). Trailwise2 had a 'new' lane added recently from some research into old turnpike roads.
One ive looked at for many years thinking it would be interesting. Its not a difficult lane, but is pretty in an isolated sort of way and safe territory for solo laning...

Part 1 - off the road and up a farm track to enter the lane. Plenty of gates and get progressively more clarty...


Part 2 - more gates but this time its into the moorland and through plenty of water on the track. Still a nice grippy base though:


And all in a nice detour. Be good for a quiet picnic in good weather or a scenic tour and suitable for any 4x4, perhaps even epic machine territory in the snow

MOT day...

Checkover this morning in the garage found the rear number plate lights wernt working Fiddled about and found one of my connectors had come apart, so bunged back together and working, but needs a better repair at some point. Looks OK otherwise so out to blast off the mud from yesterday and to the garage.



Nervous 45mins later and YAY! passed for another year



Which is good considering the emissions will be all over the place now compared to a normal Jimny. Another years motoring then

Next trip out is my halloween run. Probably around Northumberland this year, depends who wants to come...

Spare day

Trip out then. Up and around Kielder to start with. Went via Newcastleton, where I know there is an excellent spot for a bacon butty

Onto the Forrest Drive, a Forestry commission toll road. 12 miles of easy track with very isolated views at a toll of £3...



This odd thing at one of the higher elevation bits:


anyhoo... nice drive and all that, but I did meet a BMW X1, a Nissan Navara and a Peugeot 10something small car, plus a load of cyclists, so over-dressed for the occasion isnt the word

I like to think this is one of the tracks Colin McRae was blasting down in his prime though, so its nice to me all the same

On the way out of the above track was a nice spot for some posing...







and the tarmac in the area was certainly turning it on with the autumn colours...


An afternoon of dull lanes as it turned out. This is usually the case I find with lanes on Trailwise that have no comments. These were all mostly tarmac stuff that was disused. Still, at least I now know what they are like and will update trailwise. Some pretty views on the old bridge in the last pic.

some videos from today....

the forrest drive but the gimbal batteries went flat less than halfway