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Diff/Shafts etc - Drum vs Disc
RichieC - 31/10/05 at 10:08 AM

Morning all,

Stumbled across a cheap XR4 rear end with diff, shafts and discs/calipers.

Is there much advantage or hassle by gong for this route?

I was happy with drums but this way I benefit from an LSD into the bargain.

Alternatively, can you fit drums to the bolt on shafts which come with the LSD?

Cheers

Rich


G.Man - 31/10/05 at 10:19 AM

I believe the hubs are different for drums and disks and are interchangeable...

Is it an XR4x4 or XR4? only the 4x4 has an LSD


RichieC - 31/10/05 at 10:22 AM

Cheers

Its a 4x4. Ill keep me beadies open but I think this is probably the best bet.

Thanks again

Rich


G.Man - 31/10/05 at 10:36 AM

Yeah go for it, has all the bits you need



Disks look far better behind alloys


smart51 - 31/10/05 at 10:42 AM

I have an XR4x4 rear end. No problems. The hubs are the same on discs or drums. MNR do rear uprights to suit. Sierras with ABS have teeth cast into the rear hub. These foul the upright and have to be turned off (for turned read angle grinder or file if no lathe available).

There's nothing wrong with rear discs and a recent thread here suggests that the weight penalty is only about a kilo if I remember correctly.


RichieC - 31/10/05 at 10:44 AM

Ok thats good news.

I always thought they look better too, but wasnt sure if they were compatible.

Thanks

Rich


marc n - 31/10/05 at 03:44 PM

we can convert drums to discs but not the otherway round

best regards


marc


amalyos - 31/10/05 at 04:40 PM

quote:
Originally posted by smart51
Sierras with ABS have teeth cast into the rear hub. These foul the upright and have to be turned off (for turned read angle grinder or file if no lathe available).


I've got the ABS 4x4 rear end, how much has to be take off to clear the hubs?

Steve


RichieC - 31/10/05 at 06:26 PM

Bit of bad news, the XR4x4 (with leather interior, Konis etc) I was going to buy (for £250) has 4 knackered calipers which the guy says are not worth rebuilding

The MOT/Tax are up so that leaves the problem of moving it the 80 miles.
Considering it was mostly the back end I was wanting, thats a shame.

Is there much else that can be taken from a 4x4? I appreciate the front uprights are different but I assume the column etc is fine.

Did seem a bit too good to be true

Cheers

Rich

[Edited on 31/10/05 by RichieC]


mnr laptop - 31/10/05 at 08:01 PM

hi ritchie

the rack link is likely to be the wrong one as it will be power steering one which is cast, the column will be ok.

re the abs rings anyone who is building our cars we do this for you and will turn them down in the laith, it can of course be done by a grinder but not as neat

best regards

marc


billy - 31/10/05 at 08:15 PM

Just a quick thought, if you put drums on the back just wait till you stand back and admire your car.........then you see those drums on display thro your nice shiny wheels and you think my god they have got to go


RichieC - 31/10/05 at 08:20 PM

Cheers marc et al

Im not going to bother with this one I dont think. 160 mile round trip and a load of grief if these calipers are indeed knackered (it failed the MOT on those alone)

Im sure another one will come along but as Im in no rush I will hang out for the right one.

XR4x4 back end I think, bog standard everything else.
Rgds

Rich

[Edited on 31/10/05 by RichieC]

[Edited on 31/10/05 by RichieC]


JoelP - 31/10/05 at 08:21 PM

quote:
Originally posted by RichieC
Bit of bad news, the XR4x4 (with leather interior, Konis etc) I was going to buy (for £250) has 4 knackered calipers which the guy says are not worth rebuilding

The MOT/Tax are up so that leaves the problem of moving it the 80 miles.
Considering it was mostly the back end I was wanting, thats a shame.

Is there much else that can be taken from a 4x4? I appreciate the front uprights are different but I assume the column etc is fine.

Did seem a bit too good to be true

Cheers

Rich

[Edited on 31/10/05 by RichieC]


If its scrap, pay no more than £100. There isnt much of value on it - i sold loads of columns, switches, handbrakes, gearlevers etc for fivers and tenners. Add in the time to break it, and its not such a good prospect. Leather makes it a bit better, but still bleak.


RichieC - 31/10/05 at 08:25 PM

Yeh quite agree, its becoming less worth it.

Cheers

Rich


mnr laptop - 31/10/05 at 08:28 PM

quote:

Just a quick thought, if you put drums on the back just wait till you stand back and admire your car.........then you see those drums on display thro your nice shiny wheels and you think my god they have got to go



we do some plates that adapt the drums to disc brakes, as using the drum brake shafts saves some weight

best regards

marc


RichieC - 31/10/05 at 08:49 PM

I see. So in terms of weight saving, for a rear brake setup youre better off with brake shafts and then adapting them.

I just need to work out which shafts (bolt/slip in) go with which brakes/diff combo........and there was me thinking there werent many differences between Sierra models



What are your thoughts on 240 vs 260mm and Solid vs Plain for the fronts? I assume both types of caliper accept both sizes and i want the brakes to be as good as they possibly can, but there seems to be a trade off with weight vs stopping power which i doubt needs to be that hairy on such a light car.

Rgds

Rich


marc n - 2/11/05 at 09:26 AM

hi rich

even with 240s on the brakes are pretty good ( and they are cheaper for the pads recon calipers etc )

best regards

marc


RichieC - 2/11/05 at 01:23 PM

Great cheers, Ill just see what comes along.

Was I right in thinking that both sizes & the vented and solid fit the calipers?

Rgds

Rich


smart51 - 2/11/05 at 01:58 PM

The vented discs are much wider than the solid (they are like 2 discs with a gap between them) you will need different calpipers for solid discs.


RichieC - 2/11/05 at 02:03 PM

Of course - what a numptie

Cheers

Rich


smart51 - 2/11/05 at 06:47 PM

Many people suggest that the solid discs are plenty for a light weight car. Do you really think that you'll need the extra braking force? Is the extra unspring weight a price worth paying? Remember that all up a sierra could weigh nearly 4 times a bike engined vortx and only the high performance versions had the big front discs.


RichieC - 2/11/05 at 07:16 PM

Yep, I agree, but if the donor you end up with has vented front discs, its a shame not to use them.


andy d (rizla) - 2/11/05 at 08:10 PM

i have vented front and solid rears on my vortx,

ive done a few track days and sprint races and they perform really well

id recomend them


Bryan Sears - 2/11/05 at 09:21 PM

So Marc can I use the 3.38 diff that I will have with the shafts that I took out of my donor that had a 3.92 diff both push fit and fit the rear disk brakes and callipers from a 4x4 using the brackets that you make to convert drums to discs.
If anyone can understand this can you advise.


mnr laptop - 3/11/05 at 09:39 PM

hi brian thats correct

best regards

marc


Bryan Sears - 3/11/05 at 11:03 PM

Thanks for that Marc will put it on the list of parts I will need from you. Bryan
MNRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!


RichieC - 8/11/05 at 08:50 PM

What about fitting the Inner CV joint from a Lobro, to the standard shaft of a drum setup?

Rich Rescued attachment 3.jpg
Rescued attachment 3.jpg


Mr G - 14/11/05 at 11:35 PM

I was under the impression that this was'nt possible due to the shaft diameter being different (Lsd Lobro thicker).

Are the shafts the same diameter on non-lsd lobros as tripod fitting? (All the lobro's I've dealt with have been from lsd back ends)


Cheers


G

[Edited on 14/11/05 by Mr G]


RichieC - 15/11/05 at 12:05 AM

Yeh, I was under the same impression but apprently not.

This comes from a bit of a guru over on the Sierra Forum

Rgds

Rich


Mr G - 15/11/05 at 01:14 AM

Is that apparently not for the shafts being different diameters (I know for definate that the exposed part of the shaft is larger on lsd lobro than tripod) or for the non lsd compared to lsd lobro shaft diameter being different?

EDIT: Just seen THIS thread.

All I can think of is shaft size must taper down on the splined section of the lobro then to the same as the tripod spline??



Cheers


G

[Edited on 15/11/05 by Mr G]


RichieC - 15/11/05 at 08:12 AM

Thats the thread. Ive emailed Marty directly because the how to isnt accesible, and thats one of the photos from his how to.

Yeh, for all the shaft diameters are different, the splined section is not (with the exception of the Cosworth).

Im not entirely sure how easy the old joints will be to remove, as I dont have one in front of me, but I dont see much of a problem with a decent set of pullers (might even be bone idle and have the local garage do it)

Rgds

Rich


[Edited on 15/11/05 by RichieC]


G.Man - 15/11/05 at 04:56 PM

it may fit on a 7 inch diff, but don't think so with a 7.5 inch diff...


RichieC - 15/11/05 at 05:20 PM

Yep, thats the way I understand it.

I didnt get the 7.5" diff in the end, the bloke was a muppet so Ive got a 7" 4x4 cossie diff on the way.

Rgds

Rich


Flat Pack - 6/12/05 at 06:56 PM

Sorry to bump this thread back to the top, but did you get anywhere trying to use the tripode outer joints and lobro inners with an LSD?

I've managed to get myself into a bit of a mess with some Golf rear calipers, I can't fit the brake banjo as it fouls the outer lobro joint. I've got an LSD so I can't swap to a complete tripode setup, but if I could change the outer one to a tripode then that'd solve my problem.

Thanks


RichieC - 6/12/05 at 10:17 PM

Nah not had a chance to do it myself, but it is a widely accepted procedure over on the Sierra Owners Forum.

With a bit of luck, Ill get the new joints at the weekend and get it done.

Rich


marc n - 8/12/05 at 09:48 AM

some of the larger drum braked shafts plug straight into the sierra disc diffs after you have removed the outputs


RichieC - 28/12/05 at 05:16 PM

Just an update for anyone wanting to do this.
Finally got the time to fit the new joints. Bit of a pain as you need to get hold of a donor set of shafts if you intend to fit new joints because Ford dont sell the backing plates now and they dont come with the new joints.

All in all a good learning experience. Im happy there is going to be a bit of a weight saving but theyre not the easiest parts to source.

Just shout for any more info

Rgds
Rich Rescued attachment Shafts After.JPG
Rescued attachment Shafts After.JPG