Michael,

I am fully in agreement with your views on larger or wider tyres - yes it's easier and with less down side to go wider, which is what I may yet do.

I have heard of Disco's stripping their half shaft splines with larger tyres, but I think they have a smaller number of splines than 110's.

You say that if there is increased backlash in a diff, then failure becomes more likely. Does this also apply to factory or military reconditioned units, who have already had one life, where the gears are worn to some extent, but still usable? I ask because after last years trip to Algeria, my salisbury diff bearings became noisy, and the whole axle was replaced with a factory or military unit, the (ex-miltary specialsts) didn't know which. It was in a wooden crate, the axle covered in wax and complete with brakes, so maybe it was a factory job. It runs quiet until about 55 mph when it's starts to whine merrily on the over-run (under power at this speed it's ok). I've had recon gearboxes and transfer boxes in the past and they have all whined to some extent, allegedly because of the mix of gears form several units. I don't know if this argument holds with salsibury diffs though. I don't expect a sensible answer from the place I bought it from, what's your opinion?


Regards,
Andrew.
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Chris,

If I remember correctly, we found ourselves frequently using the swinging steering wheel technique on the long steep dune climbs last year. As you start to lose traction you turn the wheel to either side rapidly and maybe you suddenly regain grip and surge off in an unplanned direction. It seemed that once you dig in to the soft sand going straight ahead you dug in further, like a submarine diving. Turning the wheel, you (usually) shot out of the rut of soft sand, back (if available) on to a firmer surface and kept on moving to the top. Possibly the distribution of soft/hard patches on certain dune ascents is more random than in a flat windblown area of soft sand, and so you have a chance to find firmer going by swinging the wheel. I'm probably talking total balderdash, but that's the impression I got at the time....

Regards,
Andrew.

Regards,
Andrew.