mk3 axle fitting mk 2 continued......

[tuscan440]

yes its me again, continuing form the other post in the wanted section, ive been phoning around and all ive been offered is a 80 wheel base transit for £150 and a someone who is 100% certain they gota 120 wheel base off a diesel for £80+VAT. now the man offering me the diesel axle(if he defineltey has it) was voicing concern that a diesel axle may be different to a petrol because of the diff, tho i cant see how because isnt it just to allow the thing to corner properly???
and i phoned the guy who offered the correct mk2 axle for £175 and he seemed pretty keen to put me off the idea that they wont fit, only the absoluted earliest of mk3 transits, tho that is what i expected (got my mate to try phoning him but he twigged after a while that we were the ones that originally wanted the mk2 axle!!!)

your advice please fellas

cheers

[madmark]

mate i am realy not shure if the mk3 axle will fit the mk2 i think the axles are the same its just the mounts maybe difrent! the only way is you need to meshure one up somehow and check first, do you know anybody with a mk3 that you can lok at to check?????.mark

[tuscan440]

well i would be suprised if a bit of bodging wasn't in order. i dont know anyone who has a mk3 so not much chance of that, thing is the summer is going on and the pricey mk2 axle is looking more and more tempting.

[FredTransit]

two things to remmember, as long as the Mk3 axle will fit when measured. 1, a Mk3 is a newer van and unless theMk2 van stood around for a long time the Mk3 will have lower mileage and therefore less wear. 2, the diesel axle will have a different ratio and may be slower. I am told the best axle is from a minibus, and they have easier lives too. Not too sure about actual ratios, ask Mark.

[Luke]

Mate i have a mk1 and my axle is whining abit ive also got a mk3 one to fit i havent measured it all up but i can't see no reason why it wont fit! I am at home now or i would pop out and measure it for you!!!

i dont know anyone who has a mk3

OK someone on here(with a mk3 swb) measure the spacing between the centres of the leafsprings, and tuscan measure the centres of your mk2's leafsprings and post the measurement here then we shall see if it will fit!!

[FredTransit]

I am sure the Mk1s and Mk2s are same at the back end, so Luke if you think the Mk3 axle will fit yours, I am sure the Mk3 will fit the Mk2 Tuscan.

[madvanman]

pre 1991 mk3 axels should fit, 1991 on the chassis is wider
Mk2 twin wheel distance between center of leafsprings 99cm
Mk3 pre 1991 twin wheel distance between center of leafsprings 99cm
Mk3 post 1991 single wheel distance between center of leafsprings 123cm
the center of the outside wheel distance is 1 inch wider on the mk2 i think this may be due to the different wheel design though.

[madvanman]

ive just been told that the chassis change date might be 1994 not 1991, but as i aint got a tranny from 91 - 94 i cant measure one.

[madmark]

i would have thourt that upto 92 would fit as when the new gen came out they were wider but i have known people fit new gen to old mk3,s so maybe the axles are all the same fitting on mk3,s and wont fit mk2 not shure i dont have a mk3 swb so cant look!

[Luke]

pre 1991 mk3 axels should fit, 1991 on the chassis is wider

MVM are you thinking about LWB's ?
ive just popped round to mi garage so i measured my mk3 axle off a 1991 mk3 and like MVM says 1230mm centres and i also measured my mk1 and thats 1230mm centres the only difference i can see is there is a packer in effect raising the van on the mk1 axle
So if i was a betting man (which i am) i'd wager the £100 that a mk3 axle will fit!!!
the only problem with fitting a diesel diff is the ratio! as the diesel engine redlines lower than the petrol!!
a diesel diff will give you better motorway crusing less acceleration i think!! but mark will confirm!!!
either way most diffs have a tag on them with the ratio on it!!
eg 5:1 is better acceleration 4:1 is better motorway crusing!!

also just to add a bit more i fitted a mk3 lwb front springs and axle to my mk1 and it was an EXACT fit!!!

[madmark]

in a mk3 back axle 5.14 is unusall ,4.63 or 4.56 is the norm this will give you around 55-60 mph but much more and she will start to rev, as luke says 4.1 is the best to get ,but normally only found on 2ltr 4 speed mk3,s also as lule says check for the tag and give it a cleen and see what it says!

[tuscan440]

ah right so it all sounds promising then, i think i'll have to give the diesel axle a miss because we barely do 60 at cruising speed as it is because the van has dropped a valve.been all the way throught the yellow pages for the Taunton area and no more luck, looks like im gona have to make a start on the exeter yellow pages!
also put out a few ads in the local admart so with a lot of luck i could have someone phone up,
cheers for your help guys really appreciated

[FredTransit]

ah right so it all sounds promising then, i think i'll have to give the diesel axle a miss because we barely do 60 at cruising speed as it is because the van has dropped a valve.been all the way throught the yellow pages for the Taunton area and no more luck, looks like im gona have to make a start on the exeter yellow pages!
also put out a few ads in the local admart so with a lot of luck i could have someone phone up,
cheers for your help guys really appreciated

While you are looking for an axle, why not get a head too? That valves not going to get any better!

[Luke]

Just out of interest this evening i measured my mates mk5 smiley and the leafsprings are 1230mm

so apart from the fact they are about 4"wider (too wide for a mk2 with them wheels on) i'd guess that would fit too!!!

[tuscan440]

i know mate but one step at a time, we have spent enough money this year as it is undoing stu's bad work, and because we are all goin to uni the new head will have to wait till next summer (we've decided as we have spent so much time on her she is gona stay for another 2 more years! + i couldn't bare to see her go!!)