Alright, I need some help. I currently compete in my single seater buggy. My wife wants a camping / Rubicon rig. I have no more $$$ She has a 97 Discovery, Auto, 2.5" Old man Emu lift and 31"BFG's. If I put a rear locker, gears and 35" tires in it. Do you Rover guys think the crawl / axle strength would be alright? Or is it even worth it? I could sell it and buy an already built wheeler? Are the axles, suspension, motor ect strong enough for rock crawling and bigger tires? Thanks in advance. Run Dog

Who is going to drive you or the wife??? :D
35"s on Disco axles=:nuke:

Old scout, thanks for the reply. I think I met you in Grass Valley (wheels). I am tired of driving, so my wife will be doing the wheeling. If we keep it, I am considering mog axles under it. I don't plan on killing it, just being able to get into the springs. What do you think? would it work and is the tranny/ x-fer case stock axles strong enough??? And do I need a rear locker and gears if I left it stock.

Keeping in mind what you can do in a rather "tippy" truck like a Disco without totally trashing the body you can have a lot of fun with it... My wifes truck is a '97 With:
ARB front bumper with a hs90001
TJM rear bumper
Sliders i made
Detroit rear with Moser axles (gotta have some upgrade here)
A TT up front 4.11 gears
Big trailing arms i made
Big drag ling &tie rod with Steering Damper relocation
Custom Sewer caps that i make to put on with out cutting the old diff cover off.
Oversize panhard rod (it really doesn't need this but i was bored one day..
Onboard air ETC:
It's a fun little truck! Will i take it where i take my "silly"CJ7? Nope but the likes of Prichett or Golden crack YUP...
The LT230 is a very tough T Case you won't break that and the ZF422 will work fine for Disco power The motor is strong just don't expect to race up to the top of a sand hill the truck weighs some 5k loaded

i had a relatively built '96 Disco for a while. they're pretty fun for mild to moderate wheeling. you're definately going to have to upgrade the rear axles ... especially with 35s. your fronts 'should' be okay until they start to fatigue, so it wouldn't be a bad idea to carry a stock set around.

FWIW, i ran stock fronts on my 90 (same axles/CVs as the Disco) for ~2 years with 35s and an ARB up front(for most of the time) wheeling places like Las Cruces, Tellico, Moab, and various trails around CO without any failures. The first trip I took with 37s, however, I blew both sides up (tire size + fatigue :confused: ).
T

You have all the right ingredients except the lack of Money!

If you want to wheel a Land Rover you need money. Simple. Should you want to modify it, I'd advise to the follwoing:

4.11s (or 4.75s if you wanna rock)
ARBs front and rear
HD axles
HD CV (AEU2522)
2" OME lift
extended flares
35" rubber
RTE bumpers/sliders
Warn winch

I have 2 Discos now, and one will be a comp vehicle, and the other the "wife's" (she hasn't had the priviledge yet to marry me...
:flipoff2: ). I can safely tell you that they are a money pit, so if cash is your constant, get another truck...

Of course I remember you*. With your fab skills and ability's to swap things out I wouldn't put a dime into upgrades for the rover axles.

Pull them and sell them ( $400-500). You would be better off swapping in a D44/D60s with warn alloys and CTMs for the 44 and 1.5/35 spline alloys for the 60. Do search for Adams Ways RRC here. He has a nicely swapped d44 in his rig.
Mogs would be Cool, but over kill for a little underpowered disco V8 at 7000ft.


You still sttting on a extra 17" TR beadloc????

I was thinking MOGS because They already have the lockers and gears. I would have to swap the front 3rd member to the passenger drop. They would give me the gear reduction I need. Has anyone ever seen this swap? I bet the DISCO would be real top heavy. However, with a 2" backspaced rims and 14" wide tires , it would be stable.

As far as a comp rig, It would be the last rig I would use for a Comp Rig. Even in Cal Rocs or EROC. As far as RCAA I wouldn't even show up with a rig this size!!!

Originally posted by Old Scout
Of course I remember you*. With your fab skills and ability's to swap things out I wouldn't put a dime into upgrades for the rover axles.

Pull them and sell them ( $400-500). You would be better off swapping in a D44/D60s with warn alloys and CTMs for the 44 and 1.5/35 spline alloys for the 60. Do search for Adams Ways RRC here. He has a nicely swapped d44 in his rig.
Mogs would be Cool, but over kill for a little underpowered disco V8 at 7000ft.


You still sttting on a extra 17" TR beadloc????

I'll take your front.

I wheel one (well a RR classic-same drivetrain and operating bits) on 4+ stuff routinely. Driven calmly they are quite capable, and the drivetrain reliable. IF driven calmly. If your wife drives like camo, RUN AWAY. Cryo the axles and you save a shiatload and they will last.

j

Moser axles for a Disco? I am a bit confused.

Brad

Yeah, they're out there.

j

Yep! Moser Axles for the Disco... Got them made up... They require a special shim to make them work but they are the same blanks they used for the 31 spline D60 axles in the back of my Jeep that i've been trying to break for years....