From: Noddy on

"RainbowWarrior" <emailaddress(a)tgr.fr> wrote in message
news:4XGSi.2639$CN4.2128(a)news-

> Hmm no, Hilux and even Landcruiser axles are a bit borderline, with age,
> backing a trailer etc is no problem but try doing something like a burnout
> or launching hard with a heavy load in 2WD low range and you could hear a
> lovely Pting noise as your axle fails. It may not happen the first time
> but it will happen eventually if you ned to pull it hard double your
> traction and spread the toque in 4WD :)

Years ago when I used to drag race I did everything on a budget as it was
all coming out of my pocket, and I happened to discover (exactly how I can't
remember these days but anyway) that early 80's Toyota Hi-Ace axles had the
same bearing size as a small hole 9 inch Ford, and as they were already 5
stud Ford pattern I thought they might be worth a try.

They were long enough and thick enough to be cut down and resplined, which
was a godsend compared to Ford axles as they tapered off after the factory
spline making shortening a pain, and they proved to be quite durable in a
2000lb car which was then making around 800hp. I could stand the thing on
the rear bumper without snapping one, and they'd last a season on average
before the splines would start to twist and I'd have to turf them.

The best part about it was that they cost around 80 bucks a piece which
included buying the used axles and having them cut * splined, compared to
500 a shot each for something like a Srange or Mark Williams axle that I'd
have to get cut & splined anyway as I couldn't buy them off the shelf in the
length I wanted.

I'd pull the Toyota axles out and check them after every meet just to be
sure, but they were quite tough and very, very hard.
--
Regards,
Noddy.


From: JD on
Daryl Walford wrote:

> Noddy wrote:
>
>> One thing that certainly doesn't make any sense to me at all is that Ford
>> would be seriously contemplating the idea of such a vehicle for
>> production when the market for them at the time would have been next to
>> nothing.
>
> Just as well Toyota didn't think that way when they started making
> Landcruisers all those years ago or they would have missed out on a lot
> of money.
> The market for 4WD utes may have been small in the early 70's but its
> huge now and if Ford had known that they could have developed a good
> product over the last 30 odd years that could have been a competitor to
> the Japanese who have a strangle hold on that market.
>
>
>
> Daryl

The Landcruiser, of course, was developed at the request of the Japanese
government for government use (I seem to remember originally for police
use), and Japanese government civilian and military sales propped it up for
the first twenty or so years of production. Ford in the US had been in a
similar position in the US during the war, but opted not to pursue it after
the war, leaving it to Willys, so there is zero likliehood that Ford
Australia would have tried it without government backing.
JD
From: Kev on
Noddy wrote:
> "RainbowWarrior" <emailaddress(a)tgr.fr> wrote in message
> news:4XGSi.2639$CN4.2128(a)news-
>
>> Hmm no, Hilux and even Landcruiser axles are a bit borderline, with age,
>> backing a trailer etc is no problem but try doing something like a burnout
>> or launching hard with a heavy load in 2WD low range and you could hear a
>> lovely Pting noise as your axle fails. It may not happen the first time
>> but it will happen eventually if you ned to pull it hard double your
>> traction and spread the toque in 4WD :)
>
> Years ago when I used to drag race I did everything on a budget as it was
> all coming out of my pocket, and I happened to discover (exactly how I can't
> remember these days but anyway) that early 80's Toyota Hi-Ace axles had the
> same bearing size as a small hole 9 inch Ford, and as they were already 5
> stud Ford pattern I thought they might be worth a try.
>
> They were long enough and thick enough to be cut down and resplined, which
> was a godsend compared to Ford axles as they tapered off after the factory
> spline making shortening a pain, and they proved to be quite durable in a
> 2000lb car which was then making around 800hp. I could stand the thing on
> the rear bumper without snapping one, and they'd last a season on average
> before the splines would start to twist and I'd have to turf them.
>
> The best part about it was that they cost around 80 bucks a piece which
> included buying the used axles and having them cut * splined, compared to
> 500 a shot each for something like a Srange or Mark Williams axle that I'd
> have to get cut & splined anyway as I couldn't buy them off the shelf in the
> length I wanted.
>
> I'd pull the Toyota axles out and check them after every meet just to be
> sure, but they were quite tough and very, very hard.
> --
> Regards,
> Noddy.
>
>


George Wagner up at Landsborough was running a Hiace diff in his lil
datsun 1200 coupe for as long as I can remember, it was running a 302
and C4 auto
he has won so many meets because of his consistancy but I don't think he
ever went faster that 11 secs

Mate of mine tried the Hiace diff in his 253 powered Torana, he ran 5:28
gears and 32 inch dia slicks and a 4 speed(saginaw I think it was)
but he just kept snapping axles when ever the front tyres got air under them

Kev
From: Kev on
Daryl Walford wrote:
> Noddy wrote:
>> "DAvid" <davideo(a)bigpond.net.au> wrote in message
>> news:UIASi.2510$CN4.1741(a)news-server.bigpond.net.au...
>>
>>> Well that puts a whole new perspective on what I said earlier. Unless
>>> you engaged the front axle, it wouldn't be 4WD.
>>
>> No different to any other "dedicated" 4wd as far as I'm aware.
>>
>> It's only most of the "soft roaders" that have constant full or part
>> time 4wd.
>>
> Most Landcruisers have been constant 4WD since 80 series as are Landrovers.
>
>>> Putting it into low range gives it another gear or three. Now it's a
>>> serious 4WD.
>>
>> When I rebuilt my Jeep's transfer case I left the detent rod out that
>> stopped low range from being selected without the front axle being
>> engaged, which enabled low range for the rear axle only if you wanted it.
>>
>> Why I did it at the time I can't tell you other than the idea of *not*
>> being able to have low range in 2wd seemed stupid to me, and as all
>> that was required to have it was to remove a simple 1/4 inch rod that
>> had no effect on the vehicle's operation I left it sitting on the
>> bench when the box went back together.
>>
>
> Did it have a low range lever and a 4WD lever?
> If I remember correctly early Landys had separate controls for each
> function.
> My Hilux and the BJ40 Landcruiser I owned has one lever that performs
> both functions, if you want low range 2WD you just leave the front hubs
> unlocked but I guess the Jeep didn't have unlockable front hubs?
>
>
>
> Daryl


Landrovers I know had two, one was a lever and the other was a push down
rod, which I think was for low range, once you pulled the 4WD lever into
2WD the push down lever would pop back up

some other 4WDs were like this too

BTW you can buy(or if you have the skills make them yourself) twin
levers for Hilux(and others I presume) that separate the single stick
functions so you can have low range without engaging 4WD
also looks cool, and if you have twin transfers you have three levers

Kev
From: RainbowWarrior on
"Noddy" <me(a)home.com> wrote in message
news:471b3fe3$0$74415$c30e37c6(a)lon-reader.news.telstra.net...
>
> "RainbowWarrior" <emailaddress(a)tgr.fr> wrote in message
> news:4XGSi.2639$CN4.2128(a)news-
>
>> Hmm no, Hilux and even Landcruiser axles are a bit borderline, with age,
>> backing a trailer etc is no problem but try doing something like a
>> burnout or launching hard with a heavy load in 2WD low range and you
>> could hear a lovely Pting noise as your axle fails. It may not happen
>> the first time but it will happen eventually if you ned to pull it hard
>> double your traction and spread the toque in 4WD :)
>
> Years ago when I used to drag race I did everything on a budget as it was
> all coming out of my pocket, and I happened to discover (exactly how I
> can't remember these days but anyway) that early 80's Toyota Hi-Ace axles
> had the same bearing size as a small hole 9 inch Ford, and as they were
> already 5 stud Ford pattern I thought they might be worth a try.
>
> They were long enough and thick enough to be cut down and resplined, which
> was a godsend compared to Ford axles as they tapered off after the factory
> spline making shortening a pain, and they proved to be quite durable in a
> 2000lb car which was then making around 800hp. I could stand the thing on
> the rear bumper without snapping one, and they'd last a season on average
> before the splines would start to twist and I'd have to turf them.
>
> The best part about it was that they cost around 80 bucks a piece which
> included buying the used axles and having them cut * splined, compared to
> 500 a shot each for something like a Srange or Mark Williams axle that I'd
> have to get cut & splined anyway as I couldn't buy them off the shelf in
> the length I wanted.
>
> I'd pull the Toyota axles out and check them after every meet just to be
> sure, but they were quite tough and very, very hard.
> --
> Regards,
> Noddy.

Hmm it's just I knew somone with Hilux who used to break them with a 202
Holden conversion, and a guy with a 253, and even some guys with turbo
2.8diesels, but they all used the in offroad extreme condition with diff
locks in low range, which of course doubles maybe quadriples the load on
them .