H233B diffs

[RobSmith]

Hi,
My project I am working on is a 1969 Commer camper van. The only thing good about it is the body..and that is not too good either.
The suspension I am replacing with Nissan Cabstar including taking a good portion of the cabstar chassis. This gives me sensible suspension that I can get parts for and also gives me some brakes that will stop the thing.
The engine and gearbox are from a Volvo 2.3 Turbo petrol.
The rear axle is The Nissan cabstar axle from a 1992 vehicle.
The axle ratio is far too low as it was designed for a slow vehicle running large diameter tyres.
Looking on lots of other web sites I am fairly sure I have the H233B differential with the 11 bolt attachement.
I do not know if it is 31 or 33 spline as I have not pulled the shafts out yet.
I found another diff in a Maverick with a LSD which I thought about getting. By counting the pinion/wheel ratio it worked out to be around 4.6:1 ratio which is still a bit too low for my purposes so I left it in the scrap yard.
I have seen mentioned there may be a 4.3:1 or a 4.1:1 ratio diff available. Can anyone help with where one of these might be found?

There was an awefull lot of nonsense on a lot of the web sites so I joined the N&FM4X4OC to get some sensible answers
Rob

 

[Guest]

Sorry I can't help you with this one, its a bit too technical for me, but I'm sure someone will be along soon with an answer.

If I may ask a question? Is the 69 Commer van the one with the wooden chassis and column gear change? or am I thinking of a completly differant vehicle.

Not only am I nosey, I'm always interested in other peoples project vehicles :lol:

 

[Terranosaurus]

I think a 4.6 is out of a petrol model. The later diesels have a 4.375, not sure bout the earlier diesels as theres no manuals for them available not even Nissan ones.

With reasonable size tyres and a gearbox with an overdrive top a 4.375 shouldn't be too low. A lot depends what gearbox you're using.

Do you know what ratio the cabstar had, a really low ratio diff might be useful to us 4x4 types if we can find a matching front one to run really big tyres.

 

[(RIP) PLANK]

Hello, again not much help but I think the LSD would be a great addition I have found with decent tyres the diff is great for getting out of tricky spots!

it may be usefull on wet campng trips!

 

[Toolbox]

If it was a 4wd king cab, it should be a H233B, 2wd had 2 options H190A or a C200
No ideas on the ratios though sorry.

 

[RobSmith]

Thanks for the interest.
The van is a 1969 or 1972 or 1972 Commer PB van. I have three and they all have good bits and bad bits so my project might be a 1969 or 1972 when I decide.
They are not wooden chassis. Most people remember them as the funny rounded vans the post office used and have a very narrow front track.

The tyres will be 26 inch outside diameter. I want to keep them fairly small so I can increase the front track but still have sensible steering lock under the Commer body. The track increase comes from using a Nissan cabstar front end under the Commer body. The cabstar layout and dimensions are nearly identical to the commer, suprisingly, but is considerably more robust. I get disc brakes that work from this change too.

The rear suspension is a little more free to play with. I was going to stick with leaf springs as this is very simple but I am not sure if this layout is that good with a fair bit of power, good tyres, clean tarmac and good traction.

The Volvo engine is happiest around 2800 rpm on a motorway. The gearbox will be Volvo M90. There are two versions one with a 0.8:1 ratio top gear and the other with 0.7:1 ratio top gear.
With 26 inch outside diameter tyres a 4.3:1 diff would be ok, a 4.1:1 diff would be good and a 3.9:1 diff would be great. A limited slip version would be even better.
Where do I find these H233B diff ratios.

The cabstar diff is currently 5.57:1 and is an open diff. The cabstar was running at 53mph in top at 3000 rpm on 27 inch wheels. It would take a long time to get anywhere if I left that diff in.

Rob

 

[Terranosaurus]

What axles do the patrols run as the big 4.2 diesels won't do big revs. Problem is the T2/Mav diesels are pretty modern and rev reasonably thus ned lower (numerically higher) diffs.

5.57:1:smile: now I wonder if i can find a R180A diff to match, then I could run 35 inch tyres with standard overall gearing.

 

[Toolbox]

RobSmith,

I have been doing a little research for you that may or may not help

The Terrano has a H233B 4 pinion rear diff with a ratio of 4.375:1 I think the earlier version was 4.625:1

The 4wd D21 pickup has a H233B with a ratio of 4.625:1

I think the axle that would suit, would be from a 2wd D21 Pickup. There are 2 axles a H190A wit a ratio of 3.545:1 and a C200 with a 3.9:1 ratio, both 2 pinion.
I don’t know if these are strong enough for your application but it seems that to get the ratio you require you need to downsize the crown wheel. Incidentally the 233 200 and 190 from the diff number is the diameter of the crown wheel in mm

 

[RobSmith]

Thanks Toolbox,
I think I may have found the high ratio top gear gearbox I need.
It is not a cheap option but it is the strongest gearbox Volvo put in their RWD cars. After 1997ish the top gear was increased to 0.7:1 ratio from 0.8:1.
If the gearbox is the right one the a Terrano H233B of 4.375:1 would be great. (2800rpm at 70mph)
I might wind the engine upto about 220hp (std about 170) so the 4 pinion diff would be a good bet.

Anyone got one spare? Maybe a complete axle? preferably with an LSD?

Rob

 

[Guest]

Anyone got one spare? Maybe a complete axle? preferably with an LSD?

Rob

Try a PM to Mav he broke one for parts