Ok, so I'm going to be putting the underdrive in my D90 finally. (well, eventually). I'm thinking that I'll have low enough crawl to go back to the stock 3.54 rover R&P set.

In my research, I've found that the best answer is of course get rid of these rover axles since I'm running heavy 37" tires, a supercharger, and have a heavy right foot. Unfortunately, that's not going to happen quite yet and I have to make do with what I have.

Keeping my current carrier, which is a stronger R&P set: Stock Rover 3.54:1, GBR 4.11:1, or GBR Sooper Dooper 4.11:1?

I'm leaning towards the stock Rover set since I have torn the teeth off of the 4.11:1 gearsets before.

Suggestions?

-John

Im inclined to think you are going to strip teeth from the STD R&P, as you know they are not renowned for thier strength.(Centre bevel) as against a full hypoid set up Toy 8 inch, ford 9 inch.

But there are a lot of guys over here running comps, with the RR R&P using maxi drives or similar.

Other than the above full custom setup dana's or similar.

Not much help but my thoughts.

Michael.

I know there are much better axles out there and I have some great ideas for the future... but for now, if I want to have something to run sometime this year, I have to make do with what I have.

So... let me rephrase the question:

Are the GBR 4.11 gearsets actually stronger than the stock Rover 3.54 gearsets?

Or... if the steel is actually stronger in the GBR sets, can this overcome the lesser # of teeth in contact at the same time?

-John

oh yeah, and I have lots of 3.54 gearsets and open diffs laying around to sacrifice. I can even set up a spare 3rd with a welded diff if I need it.

Probably close. What does it really matter...

37" tires + V8 + supercharger + underdrive + heavy foot = carry spare 3rds and CVs with you and be adept and changing them.....

Go with the 3.54's pick up some road speed.

replace as required. ( most likly not that often) I mainly shatered the carrier when a wheel bounced.

Michael.

Originally posted by Rover Addiction
oh yeah, and I have lots of 3.54 gearsets and open diffs laying around to sacrifice. I can even set up a spare 3rd with a welded diff if I need it.


I think this answers your question for you...

Cost of breaking a few old 3.54's - nothing
cost of breaking new 4.11's - $$$$$$

I doubt there would be much difference. Even if the 4.11's are made from better material, they will probably break (or break other things like axles and CV's) about as often as the 3.54's.

Originally posted by red90rover
Probably close. What does it really matter...

37" tires + V8 + supercharger + underdrive + heavy foot = carry spare 3rds and CVs with you and be adept and changing them.....

you're probably right, however,

Tires: staying
V8: staying
supercharger: may go, gotta meet Cali smog :(
underdrive: Woo Hoo!
Heavy Foot: working on diet plan :bounce:
Spare 3rds: got 'em w/ ARB
3.54 R&P sets: cheap
CVs: Don't need 'em, running CTM u-joints.


-John

I vote 3.54

cheap
strong-ish (tooth count)
cheap
available
cheap

j

John-

I'd say go with the 3:54s. I saw you break your 4:11s in NM and have seen others fail, don't know of any 3:54 failures(mostly cause big tired rigs are running lower gears). Yousef ran 3:54s with his 37s and drives aggressively like you, never broke a R&P until he went to 4:7s:nuke: Don't waste money on parts you will and have broken when you have spares sitting around that will do the job, especially with the crawler.

Tis

Originally posted by Jtisdale
John-

I'd say go with the 3:54s. I saw you break your 4:11s in NM and have seen others fail, don't know of any 3:54 failures(mostly cause big tired rigs are running lower gears). Yousef ran 3:54s with his 37s and drives aggressively like you, never broke a R&P until he went to 4:7s:nuke: Don't waste money on parts you will and have broken when you have spares sitting around that will do the job, especially with the crawler.

Tis

Tis -
Great points. half the stuff on mine I haven't done, as it hasn't broke yet! I even rebuilt my stock carriers in case I need to use them!

j

Runing CTM UJs on a Rover front Axle? Please explain!

So, sounds like you guys agree with the way I'm thinking..

3.54s are the way to go. They're cheap, available, and I think they're stronger than the other options. I know the 4.11s are one of the first mods people make (especially for rocks) so not many people run the 3.54 gearsets on rocks with big tires. From what I've seen, without the crawler, big tires and 3.54s don't mix unless you have a slushbox.

I was wondering if someone might have some strong argument for the 4.11s, but I couldn't come up with any. The crawler negates the benefits I got from the 4.11s offroad and the only difference now is that 5th gear will be only a downhill gear. Even with the supercharger I can't maintain speed when I get to a headwind or small hill in 5th gear unless I'm going over 85 mph! I guess I'll have a few sets of 4.11s available for sale in the near future.

And.. I hope this thread will be good for future reference for other Rover owners including *gasp* Discos and Rangies. That's my public service for the day. :flipoff2:

-John

Some threads on the axle ideas:

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/sendtofriend.php?s=&threadid=32599
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=66084

And the best current solution: Rover 9+
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=187594

Good luck!

What about getting a very good/ lightly used set of the 3.54 R&P and getting them crio'd? A few guys have done this here in CO with much success. Plus it's damn cheap. Get a couple of spares done while your at it.

I think it cost something like $75 for a minimum of 30 lbs. Something like that, don't remember as it's been a while since I looked at it.

I am not sure cryo freezing the R+P's is a great idea. It makes the steel harder but most r+p's break from sharp impact, not wear. The softer the steel, to a degree, will keep it from shearing teeth. just my .02

Not really true. Generally it should increase impact strength.

Read through this:

http://www.coldfire.com.au/Deep_Cryo_Article-Ferland.pdf

You can always swap out your T-case for a 110 unit that has a 1.4 high range instead of the 1.2 high range in the stock NAS 90. Not to cheap but when my T-case died I put a 110 unit in to help out with the 35"s on the highway and now 5th is very usable.

Honestly, I probably shouldn't have brought it up since this truck won't be seeing a whole lot of highway driving. I typically trailer it to the trailhead. Getting 6 mpg in the D90 vs 15 in my tow rig with A/C and a quieter ride, it's worth my effort to tow it. Yeah, yeah, trailer queen... Whatever.. For the past year it's been languishing in my sideyard unused anyway. I'll just be happy to hit a few trails again.

-John