I am not a techy and gear ratios make me glaze over so I need someone to supply me with a ford 9" diff, someone who knows what they are talking about because I dont.

Based in UK, I have a winch challenge truck with Volvo C303 portal axles on. The lockers do not act fast enough for the events I compete in and want to upgrade to spidertrax axle casings, 9" diff and ARB lockers. I will get some flanges made to attach my existing portal boxes to the Spidertrax casing.

What I need is a supplier to sell me the diffs with ARB lockers in. Links would be useful to take me directly to the info/supplier I need as I have trawled for hours now and am still no wiser than when I started.

I will then need halfshafts from the volvo portals to the 9" diffs, these I can get made if they are non-standard.

look here. pretty good. this diff will run upside down and effectively be a high pinion set up with the portal gears. you want to stay below a 3/1 reduction in the nine if you are running the planetaries.

http://www.strangeengineering.net/catalog/index.html

these guys however are bad asses. i don't know if they make a low pinion, but they will answer any questions you have and i am sure they will build you what you want for a fair price. and their stuff is incredible.
http://www.truehi9.com/

It is very difficult to go wrong with anything from Strange Engineering. They are very popular with the stock car racers where they withstand much horsepower and continuous high load use.

As you need to run upsidedown (hi pinion), the Truehi9 is really the only good choice. A 9" though is overkill for a stock 303 portal. Why not just use a Toy 8" elocker center or even a Rover center. Cheap and better clearance. More than strong enough.

There is always full custom. http://portal-tek.com/

As you need to run upsidedown (hi pinion), the Truehi9 is really the only good choice. A 9" though is overkill for a stock 303 portal. Why not just use a Toy 8" elocker center or even a Rover center. Cheap and better clearance. More than strong enough.

There is always full custom. http://portal-tek.com/

actually it is the opposite....
a high nine will have to run as a low pinion diff in a portal config. using a regular nine inch has to be flipped so it becomes high pinion. the planetaries reverse the rotation. you would have to have actual planetary gears, ie a true sun gear with three "planet" gears rolling inside a housing. where the housing is basically the "third" gear in the system and it would be bolted directly to the hub like in the kubota tractor and gradeall style portals. the mog/volvo portals like the hummers have a two gear planetary in a fixed gear box just like your transfer case and the box is stationary.

thus causing both a reduction and a change of direction.

not trying to sound like a smart ass, just wanted to clarify. what i was suggesting from tru hi-9 was to make a low pinion nine from their amazing stock and it would then be flipped in his volvo system.

however, since he hasn't replied back, i am guessing this was not that important of info for him:shaking:

Hi Aaron, sorry I have not replied back. I spent all of yesterday e-mailing the various companies to ask if they can supply the bits I need. My problem is I dont know what I need. I am a fabricator and gearing etc goes over my head. There is so much stuff out there, I need to find a supplier who understands what I want to do and supply me with the correct bits. So far, none have replied. I appreciate the advice given by you guys and will keep you posted on what happens.

On the Portal tek front, I will be ordering a full set of generation 3 axles for my other truck, the reason I want to go with spidertrax and 9" is because that is what Portaltek use in their setup, this will keep the spares set up simple.

don't the Volvo C303 axles have 3 gears in the portal boxes so the diff would not need to be turn upside down?

Has Portal-Tek shipped anything yet?
I had been trying to get some axles from them for almost a year. They stopped replying to my emails or messages about 3 months ago when I wanted to see photos of the completed front axle with boxes.
I have become discouraged with them. It looks like I might end up going with a regular 9" axle setup.

i'm sure brian at frontrange would be more than willing to build a nice housing. i have a set of diamond toy housings in my garage. brian is super easy to deal with, and when i had my housings built, the wait time was like 4-5 weeks.

don't the Volvo C303 axles have 3 gears in the portal boxes so the diff would not need to be turn upside down?

No there are 2 gears.

I have not had anything from portaltek except their disc brake conversion which is an excellent bit of kit and I can stop when going forwards AND backwards now!!

I did order a set of gen 3 axles but when a company went bust owing me a big shed load of money, they had to be put on the back burner, hence this purchase to get my truck up to spec with a little less cost.

If the only problem is the engage/disengagetime of the lockers, it seems a bit over ambitious to change out the entire axle centre. Why not adress the engagement with a different engagement mechanism. Wire, pneumatics, solenoids have been used before, with more or less success.

T

If the only problem is the engage/disengagetime of the lockers, it seems a bit over ambitious to change out the entire axle centre. Why not adress the engagement with a different engagement mechanism. Wire, pneumatics, solenoids have been used before, with more or less success.

T

I have converted to airoperated solenoids and they work up to a point but are very susceptible to water and mud ingress which stops them working either in the off or on position.

There is more to it than just the lockers, as I have said, when I buy portaltek axles, I want both trucks running on the same axles.

this is a bad week in the us. it is thaksgiving holiday. the day we celebrate when our early english ancestors stole the land of new england from the native population:flipoff2:

you may have better luck after the weekend. i would call the tru hi-9 dudes. they are pretty cool. and you can actually get the head honcho on the phone.

this is a bad week in the us. it is thaksgiving holiday. the day we celebrate when our early english ancestors stole the land of new england from the native population:flipoff2:


Think August Bank Holiday in the UK.

Cheers Guys, August bank holiday (Mayday bank holiday, New Years day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Whitsun, August bank Holiday, Christmas Day and Boxing day). The UK stops on these days also:D

I have been talking to a company in Belgium who are on the ball and can sort me out whith what I need. One of their builds here
http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?showtopic=14475

I saw someone set up the portals to cable operation like on an old G-wagon (I think this is where they got the idea). In any event, it seemed to work very well and very quickly. Could be a low buck solution to your problem.

The problem is not getting the lockers to engage, its getting them to engage in the heat of competition when the lockers need to be in and out constantly and quickly.

I have a mate who uses cables very succesfully but he does different comps to me. He has time to take his hand off the wheel, find the cable and pull/push it.

Sounds like a coordination issue to me then. I suppose you want a paddle on the steering column to activate them with. Seems like something to break to easily during a competition and leave you SOL.

Why don't you put a handicap spinner on your steering wheel then you can use the other hand to operate the levers:flipoff2:

I think you should become a better driver so that you don't need to engage the lockers.

I think you should become a better driver so that you don't need to engage the lockers.

And that was a serious comment:shaking:

Seriously, have you tried adjusting the locker mechanism? Despite your bent axle, the half shaft runs straight from end to diff centre and the locking dog slides on it, so surely it can't be that far off?

Apologies if you have tried all that, but worth an ask.

Seriously, have you tried adjusting the locker mechanism? Despite your bent axle, the half shaft runs straight from end to diff centre and the locking dog slides on it, so surely it can't be that far off?

Apologies if you have tried all that, but worth an ask.

I didn't see the original statement about a bent axle housing, but if that is the case you have a likely reason for the locker to bind. It is a well known reason for Volvo lockers not to operate properly. There is even a part in the FSM that describes how you straighten a bent housing by cutting and rewelding it.

Is this four wheel steer or just front wheel steer?

I didn't see the original statement about a bent axle housing, but if that is the case you have a likely reason for the locker to bind. It is a well known reason for Volvo lockers not to operate properly. There is even a part in the FSM that describes how you straighten a bent housing by cutting and rewelding it.

Is this four wheel steer or just front wheel steer?


Hi Chris, Two wheeled steer are only just starting to be used in the UK off road scene, I only know of 1 that competes, I know there are more on the way. Not a road I would go down persnally, wayyy to much mud over here for them to be effective.

I have straightened the axle as best I can, in fact, it was dead straight the first time I did it, I even have a fancy jig for doing it. With a 3 link, it is susceptible to bending as the 3rd link does not give as much as the other 2.

Fridge, the front half shaft does not operate in a straight line, it is only straight when the wheels are pointing straight forward. I think there is some give in the 3rd member to accomodate the out of alignment caused when the cv moves the other end of the half shaft when turning.

Volvo axles are great, I have had them for 2 years now, they are a very cost effective solution to standard L/R axles when running big tyres. They do however have issues when trying to compete against the big boys on a competition that requires full and proper use of lockers. The delay, although only slight (assuming your axle is straight) can mean the difference between climbing a section or failing it. Multiply the fails through an event means lost points blahdy blah.

As I have said before, I need instant lockers when competeing, Volvo's have done me proud up until now but they need upgrading to be ultra competitive.

I have no idea under what rules you build and race, so this may be irrelevant, but 4 wheel steer will negate much of the need to open the diffs to make the tight turns.

Personally, I think instant lockers is a pipe dream, but my experience is pretty much limited to dog clutch style lockers (Volvo stockers on a C304, MaxiDrive on a Defender 110 and German Hey lockers on a Zuk LJ80).

ARB's will be instant, but I never switch them on when I am hammering down. The most I do is a slow roll. I am not saying they won't hold up. I don't know, but it's not something I mess with.

Faster maybe, but instant?

The control light on an ARB goes to the switch if I'm not mistaken, and not to the dog mechanism as with the others, so how do you really know?

I used to run ARB's in my stock axles and they were instant, or at least when compared to the Volvo. I dont engage the locker with a lot of revs, just before I boot it.

Hi guys, im with Alan on the volvo difflock issue, we both do the same comps and have exactly the same issues with our lockers not working fast enough when we want them too!
The ARB lockers do work alot faster and are far more reliable. I started off with cables that were very unreliable and slow to operate. I then went to the same setup as Alan and they do work well but need frequent adjustment and ive had alot of issues with them sticking on.
http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL153/6310256/16951518/277354776.jpg

Im looking to fit a discovery 2 diff & ARB into my axle then get some shaft made to suit.
B