[scorpydude]

Was toss around the thoughts of swapping to some WT diffs in my 1L so I can get a little more stability on the hard angles, get rid of some of the terrible wheel scrub I have and install some air lockers front and back.

I have a few queries if anyone has experience with this that would be great

- Is a 1L NT to WT conversion as simple as finding some WT diffs, movin the purches on the diff housings to NT and rewelding then bolting up?

- Did all WT diffs come with rear disk breaks? Or did they start with rear dum then move to rear disk? (If they moved from drum to rear, any idea what year they did that?)

- The 1L has a hand break drum connected to the transfer case. Would you leave that there? Or would you wire the handbreak to the rear disk breaks somehow? Is there the ability to do this on the WT rear brake system?

- Any gotachas that usually catch out the novices?

Cheers

[royce]

perches are as per every NT to WT conversion, 1 litre is no different

Driveshafts are a problem, you have a 1.3 case in yours though? simply convert to WT driveshafts and flanges on the tcase

diff gearing is also different, you have 4.11 now and will go to 3.7, youll need to decide if thats ok for you (about 12% drop)

no sierra had rear discs ever

I would connect the WT handbrake assembly, other people wouldnt, there are good reasons either way

[scorpydude]

royce wrote:

Driveshafts are a problem, you have a 1.3 case in yours though? simply convert to WT driveshafts and flanges on the tcase

Yeah I have a 1.0 case with 4wd switch, so it's pretty much the same.

royce wrote:

diff gearing is also different, you have 4.11 now and will go to 3.7, youll need to decide if thats ok for you (about 12% drop)

Yeah should be OK.

royce wrote:

no sierra had rear discs ever

I would connect the WT handbrake assembly, other people wouldn't, there are good reasons either way

Alrighty. Is that part of the rear housing/drum brakes?

[2stroker]

It is a very worthwhile conversion, if I did it again I would buy the perch kit off Fatzook because it is an absolute pain cutting the perches off without damaging them.

There are some things that need to be taken into consideration like ensuring you end up with the correct pinion angle, it is not that hard there are a number of simple ways to ensure the angle is correct and if you go down that path I am happy to explain them.

You will need longer ubolts especially for the drivers side of the front diff as the housing is substantially wider close to the WT pumpkin, you will also need longer flexable front brake lines and make sure you get the WT rear brake lines.

I usually stick to the transfer hand brake.

[Gwagensteve]

Wt handbrake is on the rear drums, not the transfer. You'll need to find a nt 1.3 transfer drum and yoke if you want to keep the transfer drum.

I would keep the transfer drum as it sounds like you want rear discs. Not having to sort a handbrake is one less thing to worry about when you do.

Steve

[Fatzook]

2stroker wrote:

there are a number of simple ways to ensure the angle is correct

JIG

[scorpydude]

Thanks for the awesome info guys!

Fatzook what are you charging for the welding these days using your jig ?

[Fatzook]

scorpydude wrote:

Thanks for the awesome info guys!

Fatzook what are you charging for the welding these days using your jig ?

You cut the old shit off without hacking into the axle tube, and I'll glue a new set on for $150 including the new perches

I've got just under 40 sets here, so don't take too long

[scorpydude]

Sounds very reasonable to me mate.

You have a PM

[2stroker]

Pete does your jig take bare housing

[Fatzook]

2stroker wrote:

Pete does your jig take bare housing

You mean without the centre? Or completely stripped?

It can take complete diff assemblies, Or bare housings. I just have a dummy 3rd which allos me to get the pinion angle right, and allow for adjustment if required.

[slowsierra]

Fatzook wrote:

2stroker wrote:

there are a number of simple ways to ensure the angle is correct

JIG

very smart and talented man. worth every cent for you to them

thanks greg

[mrw82]

As worthwhile as this mod is the cost will add up very quickly. A cheap alternative is wheel spacers (for 'offroad use only' like what I run). They will give the same offset benefit but without compromising your gearing.

[tanshi]

mrw82 wrote:

As worthwhile as this mod is the cost will add up very quickly. A cheap alternative is wheel spacers (for 'offroad use only' like what I run). They will give the same offset benefit but without compromising your gearing.

major issue is if adding 2 inches to the scrub radius, makes clearancing bigger rubber more difficult. heavier steering. Plus the ability to put in chromos.

WT is not that expensive.

[mrw82]

I run 30x9.5r15 on 40mm spacers and on full lock full articulation the tyres only just scrub the firewall. Chris is only running 235/75r15 so clearance would only be an issue if stepped up in tyre size later on.

By the time you add up the cost of front and rear diffs, wheel bearings and brakes (which will inevitably need replacing), spring perches and welding, u bolts, drive shafts,front and rear airlockers, cromos plus any extras along the way, It's going to get quite expensive.

Don't get me wrong, I think the mod is a great idea and has some uncomparable benefits. But when the cost adds up to 2 and a half times the value of the car you have to question the necessity of such mods and look at cheaper alternatives.

You can buy a lot of 1 litre cv's for that money.

[Gwagensteve]

mrw82 wrote:

You can buy a lot of 1 litre cv's for that money.

If you can find them.

I don't question for a moment that if you're running a small tyre there is little point swapping to WT's. In fact, it might result in lost capability due to the added width reducing the occasions you can high side the deep ruts.

However, if you are contemplating a larger tyre (l think a 31 is the logical crossover point) then the benefits outweigh the disadvantages.

I think if you are seriously in the position of breaking CV's with any frequency then it's time for WT's

Steve.