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Ned
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 28, 2002 - 03:07 pm: | 
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FWIW:
I just installed my new Qt Services diff guards and I have to say that these are the best damn diff guards I have come across. I'm not on their payroll or anything, I just wanted to pass along my thoughts for anyone looking to make improvements in the "diff protection" area.
My complaint with the Safari Gard-style diff guards was that they only protected the diff head on. (I found I do more banging to the underside of my diff/axle than head on.) My biggest complaint with the Southdown diff guards was one, the front guard is too much metal and weight. And if you run HD tie rods like Rovertym makes, you really don't need that much metal. And two, while the rear one does a nice job of protecting the diff all around, it was bit of a "clunky" design.
Qt Services has covered all bases. The guards protect the front, the underside, and the back of your diffs. All with one piece of really beefy metal. And the rear one even has a really slick "slider" built into it to protect your U-joint from getting mangled!
It's really nice stuff. Well made. Relatively painless to install. And quite reasonable. I paid $232 for the two, delivered to my door from the UK.
Anyway, just thought my fellow Roverheads would like to know.
www.qtservices.co.uk |
Scott MacGregor (Spm)
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 28, 2002 - 04:55 pm: |
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I've had my QT's for a several months now. I say "Ditto"! By checking the scarring on the front and rear guards I can see how much they have saved my diffs. |
Kennith P. Whichard III (Kennith)
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 29, 2002 - 10:00 pm: |
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Yeah, I saw their advert in LRO. I promptly called up the company and asked about their products, which to say the least, are worth the money.
It's hard to argue with such a low price, 47 pounds, what's that, 80 dollars? The prop shaft drive flange protection of the rear diff model is a great idea, and it's wrap around design looks durable.
Southdown's wraparound model is obviously beefy, but I think it is possibly too wide. I think the QT version is better.
While the Southdown front axel guard may be heavy, I think the benefits would -outweigh-  the drawbacks. The protection may be more warrented if you do a lot of rock crawling. Otherwise the QT front diff protector is more than enough, at an exelent price. The service is great as well.
I'd be interested to hear more on this topic, as I will soon purchase my diff protection. I've been lucky so far (knock on wood) but I've allready wrapped my tailpipe around my axel, and high centered myself on my axel housing several times. I try to favor my diffs, but as you all know it's only a matter of time...
Cheers,
Kennith
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RVR OVR (Tom)
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 29, 2002 - 10:48 pm: |
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Can you guys post pics of yours. I bought mine used from somebody on this site and I have no idea how these are supposed to fit a DI, the front one doesn't even clear the trac rod.
Tom |
Joanna (Joanna)
| | Posted on Thursday, May 30, 2002 - 10:50 am: |
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Glad you guys posted this! I just put an order in for mine front and rear last night. Can't wait to get and install them!
~Joanna |
Paul D. Morgan (V22guy)
| | Posted on Thursday, May 30, 2002 - 10:57 am: |
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Hey Everyone,
In the last 2 months I have emailed that company 5 times requesting a final price to include shipping to the states. I have not received any response. For this reason, I have been looking at SouthDown stuff.
Is there a US distributor?
Paul |
Kennith P. Whichard III (Kennith)
| | Posted on Thursday, May 30, 2002 - 11:04 am: |
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Paul,
That's odd man. They have been nothing but friendly to me. I'd try [email protected] again. But if you want a US southdown distributor, try www.southdownusa.com
Cheers,
Kennith |
Paul D. Morgan (V22guy)
| | Posted on Thursday, May 30, 2002 - 11:37 am: |
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Thanks Kennith,
That's the same email address I have used before. I'll try again after posting this.
Paul |
Kim S (Roverine)
| | Posted on Thursday, May 30, 2002 - 12:52 pm: |
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Just curious ... I'm assuming these will work on a DSII? I've already got some SG front and rear welded on - So far so good, but, knock on wood, (or should I say metal?, haha) you never know! I hadn't realized those were available for the D2 when I was shopping around last year. Always good to hear opinions on different options.
Thanks,
Kim |
RVR OVR (Tom)
| | Posted on Thursday, May 30, 2002 - 01:17 pm: |
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pics?????
thanks,
tom |
Scott MacGregor (Spm)
| | Posted on Thursday, May 30, 2002 - 01:58 pm: |
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I don't own a digital camera so I don't have pics. They don't fit DII's from what I have been told. They are horrible about answering email, I just called them, cost me $17.00! They answered me after I emailed LRE to ask if they were still in business, but after they emailed me and I replied...nothing! So I gave up and called, once some good Dwebbers explained how to call England to me.
To fit the front guard you have to weld the two tabs that come with them. If you bought them used they most likely didn't give you the tabs. You can either fab your own or I bet QT will send you more. The front guard then goes under the tie rod and bolts to the where the old steering dampener and vibration thing go. You can remount the steering dampener to the guard but the vibe thing would require longer bolts and I chucked mine with no ill effect. As an aside, it will fit with RTE HD tie rods, barely.
The rear guard mounts by placing a bracket over the top of the diff by using the top bolts on the diff housing. You then mount the guard itself using the empty bolt holes under the third member. The guard then is bolted to the bracket. The bolt supplied was a little short on mine and I had to go get another.
This is not as easy as slapping on traditional guards but I have been very satisfied. I like the ability to slide over things with them, particularly the rear guard. Several scars on my rear guard start just below the pinion and go down and under the diff. Each one of those scars would have likely meant a hang up without the QT's. |
Kim S (Roverine)
| | Posted on Thursday, May 30, 2002 - 02:11 pm: |
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Thanks, I got confused over who owned what year model ... didn't think they would work on a D2 ...
Kim |
Paul D. Morgan (V22guy)
| | Posted on Thursday, May 30, 2002 - 03:07 pm: |
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Crap! I wanted those for my DII. Maybe that's why they never emailed me.
Paul |
Kennith P. Whichard III (Kennith)
| | Posted on Friday, May 31, 2002 - 12:15 am: |
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Paul and kim,
About two months ago I asked if theyed prototype some for my Disco II, and they told me they would have a Disco II model ready in two weeks. They had allready started the project to expand their line to Disco IIs. Military stuff kept me from contacting them, but I suppose they are done now.
You will have to specifically ask for them, because, from what I understand, in England, Disco IIs are not off roaded much. They are taken on greenlanes which are really just old roman roads and mild trails, so most owners don't need guards of this calibre. They don't expect you to be asking about them, so they don't put them on their website. The few that do wheel their IIs hard, though, warrented their development.
If you are indeed frustrated with their service, you don't have to ask them. I'd contact them anyway, though, what have you got to lose?
Cheers,
Kennith |
Ned
| | Posted on Monday, June 03, 2002 - 05:07 pm: |
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Dave Marsh is the name of the guy I've dealt with at Qt (via email and phone). He's very helpful. For all you having a hard time getting ahold of anyone at Qt via email, maybe do a little name dropping and address the email to Dave specifically. He seems to get back to me within 2 days.
FYI: Be careful when screwing your bolts into the third member. My front guard bolted in just fine. But I sheared the head off one of the rear bolts with a socket wrench, and believe me, I'm not THAT strong. Now I've got to go in there with a drill and "easy out" the sucker. Oh, what joy.
I'll try and get some pics of the guards posted soon (before I paint them black). But you can always check out their site. (They have pretty solid pics of them on one of their D90s.) |
Ned
| | Posted on Monday, June 03, 2002 - 05:20 pm: |
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I forgot to mention...
The bracket that's used to install the rear guard needs to be bent during the install to pull the guard up tight and allow the bolt to line up and thread. (This is by design.) I didn't get this at first and it required a phone call to Dave Marsh in the UK to sort it out. It's a tight place to work, but using a c-clamp or small vise clamp is all that's needed to bend it down.
And yes, the front guard allows enough room to fit Rovertym's HD tie rod, provided you've relocated your steering stabilizer and punted that stupid vibration thing. But anything with a bigger diameter and you're out of luck. |
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