New Newfields SUCK

[FJAfrica]

Sorry to interupt here, but is the 80 series Birfield different to that of the 40 & 60? The reason is I want to start importing some Smurfields / Newfields here to South Africa, and one chap is asking if he can get one for his 1995 80 series?

Out of interest, which would be the better, Smurfields, Marfields, Newfields or Longfields?

 

[RavenTai]

The 80 birf is substantially larger than the mini/40/60 birf, I think the spines are different also (27 vs 30?) but not 100% sure on that,

 

[Tooth Fairy]

FJAfrica,
I think the best bet on the 40 would be to stay away from the Newf's in general whether for 40/60 and most definitely 80!
I've got one smurf and haven't broken it yet on the 40. That's running with a Detroit and 36" tyres.
As far as having Bobby Long work an 80 birf over keep in mind that if it's softer it is gonna wear a lot faster because of the fulltime 4x4. That being said I will probably go with OEM next time and send them off to him before I throw them in.

 

[semlin]

i have a smurfed oem 80 smurf in my truck. No complaints so far, but it is running stock and I am only a few thousand miles into it. travis seems like a fine guy and since he is in Canada you may find the import rules and shipping are different (and maybe better). Both he and Bobby Long need you to ship a donor birf for an 80 or else you have to pay them to buy you a new oem and treat it.

 

[FJAfrica]

Thanks for the help guys, I'll contact him and discuss the options.

 

[Rookie2]

I'm confused here. Why the need to smurf a birf. (OEM that is)? We are talking about some kind of heat treating process here,.. right? I would think Mr. T would already have it as good as it gets.

Thanks,
Rookie2

 

[Beowulf]

Rookie2,
Mr T has the 80 birfs "as good as it gets" when the vehicle is stock. However, we like to put giant tyres, huge lifts, thousands of pounds of armor and other crap, then go out and play in the rocks.

The smurf process supposedly makes an OEM birf more durable when abused by "enthusiasts".

-B-

 

[RavenTai]

I'm confused here. Why the need to smurf a birf. (OEM that is)? We are talking about some kind of heat treating process here,.. right? I would think Mr. T would already have it as good as it gets.

Thanks,
Rookie2

The OEM birfs are surface induction hardened, this reduces wear and they work great for normal service they were built for, IE hundreds of thousand of road miles with some offloading with average tires

But this hardening also makes them more brittle, those with very large tires that spend a lot of time off road tend to shatter them long before they wear out, most of the aftermarket birfs are heat treated softer to give them a little more strength, but they will wear more quickly especially in a full time 4wd like the 80,

It’s a compromise, get the birf that is less likely to be damaged by your type of service

There is more to it than that but that is as far as I can explain it

 

[NW-sickboy]

Full time 4X4?

FJAfrica,
I think the best bet on the 40 would be to stay away from the Newf's in general whether for 40/60 and most definitely 80!
I've got one smurf and haven't broken it yet on the 40. That's running with a Detroit and 36" tyres.
As far as having Bobby Long work an 80 birf over keep in mind that if it's softer it is gonna wear a lot faster because of the fulltime 4x4. That being said I will probably go with OEM next time and send them off to him before I throw them in.

Are the 80s in Africa Full time or part time... if they are part time Bobby long treating an 80 series birf would be the way to go...... you could prolly also smurf it but i think the "new and Improved Longfield" is "it" right now.


In relation to what Landtoy is going through. I was thinking of going the the same route as landtoy but will now just go 2 new OEM birfs and keep the olds as spares. seems like a HUGE mess.

 

[FJAfrica]

NW, this particular 80 I am talking about is a 1995 model, which is part time 4wd, later on they all came standard full time.

Out of interest, how will the OEM Birfield handle 35's?

 

[landtoy80]

HORSE PUCKY!
I am finished with the newfield replacment job and now if see that I forgot to put the gasket between the spindle and the steering knuckle. Now I have to take it apart again.
This will be 4 times taking apart the knuckle in the last 2 weeks

 

[scottm]

I forgot to put an outer seal on a hub, thought of it as I did the other side. Good thing no one else was awake to hear me!