Wednesday, Aug 19, 2009 at 14:34
Everybody tells me this, but I've been using these current AVMs I have, on 2 Patrols now, and I've never had any issues (other than not having tightened up the small bolts sufficiently when installed them).
I currently own a GU Patrol with a pretty torquey 6.5 Chev V8 diesel, pushing largish tyres (315/75R16) and haven't had any issues with my AVMs. My front diff also has an ARB air locker and I'm running Marks Adaptors 43% reduction gears in my transfer case...... So, you'd imagine if the AVMs were as weak as everybody says, I would've broken them by now.
Having said that, I'm
well past the days of driving to the limits of my machinery. I try to avoid known bog holes and if I'm driving up a rutted track, I try to pick the easiest line to avoid, where possible, the chance of lifting a wheel (and thus placing unnecessary strain on the drive train). I'm certainly not disputing (although I've seen no evidence), that if you were to bench test a AVM and a Nissan hub side by side, that the AVM may very
well break at a lower amount of torque than the Nissan unit.
Having said that, it's been put to me that this might not necessarily be a bad thing. If you are pushing hard enough to get to the point where something is going to break, then if the hub doesn't, the next thing to break will be a CV joint. It'd be far easier to replace a broken free-wheeling hub than a CV joint. So, perhaps it's a better idea to have a slightly weaker hub (if it really is weaker in the first place...)
Roachie
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