I am about to invest in a set up longfield birfs; however, they are for a landrover. We have a very simliar setup to the land cruisers and I am curious if the stock axles will hold up. Basically I am wondering if anybodies has upgraded to longfields and kept the stock axles and had sucess ei:no breakage We have 24 spline axles and I think that they are stronger than stock LC axles but if someone has stock axles on a LC that has survived I am guessing they'll survive on my truck. Also I am curious if anyone has cryoed stock axles. Basically trying to save some money as the cheap rover bastard that I am don't feel like dropping a grand or so to upgrade my front axle. Any replied would be great appreicated.

-ben
www.neversummeroffroad.com

Help me out... Bobby long makes longfields for Land Rovers?, or are you saying you are going to refit L/C stuff???

since the design is so similar he's adapting his process to land rover cages (cvs) and essentailly heat treating and welding on the ring to keep them together. So in a since I guess he now makes land rover longfields but really they are the same thing as the LC ones just on a different vehicle.

-ben

As far as I know, everybody who has upgraded to Longfields has kept the stock inner axles. This is because I don't think anybody makes stronger Cruiser inners, at least not on a regular basis. People have been breaking them occasionally, but only one Longfield has ever broken, or so I've been told. The Cruiser axles are 30 spline, they are probably pretty comparable to Rover axles.

I only one person (other than me) that has upgraded and he hasn't wheeled his Cruiseer mutch since. I on the other hand have been busy spanking mine. To date I have broken 4 short side inners, and 2 long sides. This is with a combination of different tires since January, 38" tsl's, 35" mtrs, and 37" mtr's.

Right now my Cruiser sits in the garage with something broken in the driver side front on 37" mtr's. I don't want to start a rumor, but since the steering is bound up, I suspect a broken Longfield. I heard some clicking in the knuckle before it popped. I will be dissasembling it this weekend and prepping for Erocc's which is next weekend.

At the last competition the guys from Michigan reported a broken Longfield to Bobby, but I haven't talked to him since. To solve my problem of breaking the inners so frequently I will be adjusting my steering stops tighter, they are as loose as pssible to increae turning ability, and I'm certain I have exceeded the working range.

I also sent a pair of sample inners off to Dutchman Motorsports in Portland to have some chromemoly ones made up. I incorporated some mods that will result in the elimination of the stress riser at the clip groove (where all mine have snapped) and no outer groove at all since it is not needed. They are great people and are rushing this job at my expense to get the new axles back to me in time for next weekends event.

I will post pics, details of the axles, pricing, contact info, and my impressions after the comp. I suggested they actually draw these up since there are prospective customers out here. We also discussed sending a short side to Bobby to test in his jig.

I won't bs and tell you this isn't gonna be a pricey option, longfields and custom inner axles, but by my calculations it is still cheaper than the warn birf eliminator kit (and should be stronger) especially if you upgrade the weak link to a ctm u-joint. But it is far cheaper than a D60 and the ground clearance (with 35"'s) will be better.

To conclude my ramblings, the Longfields are a great product, priced very fairly, and do what they are advertised to do. Bobby is a great guy to deal with and with the recent feature in 4 wheel and Sport Utility, I suspect he will be busy! I recomend then to anyone running bigger meats and getting it on the trails and rocks!

No I'm not affiliated!

I think we would be delirious if we thought Longfields were "Unbreakable"

I have seen some MONGO shit break on the trail in an assortment of rigs.

If you have a broken Longfield....hell, you have DEFINATELY gotten your $$$ out of it.

You may also consider looking at your housing. As much inner axle breakage as you are experiencing, you may have a bent housing.

I know it is better to break an inner axle than a Birf, but DAMN that is still too much breakage. You need to consider some 60's.

I am considering the d60, just need to hold off till winter to tear down and make the swap. I have resisted the SO, which would also be required to fit the d60. But i'm getting softer, so we'll see.

I checked the housing a few weeks ago, and have a cut and turned housing that will be swapped in after this next comp. I believe whats contributing to the breakage is the steering stops. The end of the axle gets bound up when turned too far. So I will be making some adjustment this weekend to try and curtail some of this. But the truth is I have been wheeling much harder this year and breakage is gonna happen. My buddies can break d60's on the same stuff, so much to their amazement I have only had the amount of breakage I have. BTW, these aren't Cruisers, I have yet to see a Cruiser with a d60 around here.

Maybe I am holding onto the origins of my Cruiser too tightly. Until recently I have gone as far as anyone, and as far as I wanted, with similar setups. The bar is getting lifted quickly so now the bulletprooof injected 2F is getting scrutinized, for it's lack of raw power and the resulting wheel speed needed to compete. The tcase is always an area of concern, and so is ground clearance with alternatives. The Atlas is a good choice since it can be rotated up out of harms way, like yours (Nolan's), but how much do you spend to get there?

My Cruiser is too heavy! So if I'm gonna bag the bulk, am I better off to start with a lighter vehicle, say a Sammi? Or another Cruiser, with a SBC and all the goodies? This is my dilema, not the first to be here, won't be the last!

Today I am gonna take this Cruiser further with as little additional expense as possible. I will still get further than anyone else I have met with LC axles, a 2F, stock tcase, and most of the tub in place that is street legal. One day I may grow up and be a "big boy" :roxy:

I think for competition, lighter is better for sure!

That said, I will have a hard time building anything but a Cruiser......

Maybe a contraption like Tracy Jordan keeping the firewall and a narrowed hood?

I don't know the answers.

One thing for sure, for a bulletproof, high clearance axle, don't overlook the 35spline 9". You can shave these and get a lot more clearance and not be in for so much weight.....

As for now, the Newfields are doing great as ar eyou and your rig. We will be pulling for you in Jellico!:smokin:

I finally got around to dissasembling my front end getting ready for the new Dutchman inners. The long side (drivers) did break the Longfield. I haven't contacted Bobby yet, and am cautiously posting this. The inner cage is the only part actually broken, the rest, inner race and outer bell is intact but scarred a bit.

Bobby warned me about the steering stops after he saw what was happening to the ring he welds on, and the number of inners I had broken. I have to take some responsibilty for the damage.

While I was in there with everything apart I installed the knuckle stud kit from All Pro Offroad, pics can be seen with the knuckle rebuild kit on their site. This replaces the 8 bolts on each side that hold the backing plate, spindle, and seal on. Nice functional upgrade if you often break shit!

My break is over, now back to work in the 110 heat index conditions!