Why Volvo Portals?
	When you start to think about changing the axles of your rig, you don’t do that just for fun. Mostly your stock axles are not tough enough for your, let’s call it, application. Broken U-joints, axle shafts, CV’s and often Differentials are not what we usually like to fix every time we go wheeling. Most of us started with upgrading the stock axles with aftermarket parts. In my case I bought nearly any type of Birfield joint for my Toyota and upgraded Differentials but all that was not really successful. Anyway, added engine power and bigger tires can kill your axles easily if you use them hard!
	So what to do?
	I think everywhere in the world the thoughts of solutions are the same. If we talk about small to mid size rigs, common solutions are swapping in Dana44-, Dana60-, Landcruiser80-, Nissan Patrol-, Unimog-, Rockwell- or Volvo axles.
	But why you should take Volvo axles instead of others?
	C303 or 30x axles are expensive, hard to get and sometimes worn out because most of them are 30 years old. In addition I personally would say: If you buy the rig of your choice and directly swap in Volvo Portals to build a hardcore 4x4, you will save money!

Let me try to explain...
Usually if you start to build up a project you buy a nearly stock 4x4. No lift, no Lockers, not the tires and rims of your choice and of course the axles themselves are not strong enough to rape them in the mud, rocks or anywhere else. Calculation of prices for a Toyota Landcruiser 70 series to make it ready for Off Road: Lift kit 800€, only 2” to save the right geometry of the axle linkage, 200€ additional body lift to clear the tires. 2 selectable Air lockers, 1600€ plus about 300€ up for air management and of course lower gears, 500€ and setting them up for about 500€ Now to be more sure to get in and out of the dirt, new birfields for about 500-800€ depending on the quality you use. Tires and wheels always are necessary, so will not calculate them yet. What you have now is a rig to have a lot of fun with maybe 35” tires and paid about 4500€ to have everything working well. For nearly the same amount you can have also something different, with the following pros and cons:
- Volvo axles are definitely stronger then most of the above listed axles. Well, when you open a C303 axle, remove the portal from the axle housing and pull out the upper axle shaft, you will not be really impressed. That’s for sure! But if you open the Portal itself and see the shaft diameter of the lower one, you will recognize that it’s much bigger then a Dana 60 35spline shaft! Remember that the torque feedback of the tires is 50% to the main axle shaft in comparison to a non portal axle (@2:1 portal ratio). Also it is important to say that tires kill axles, not engine power! At least a view on the outer shaft diameter and spline count lets you know what your axles can handle.
- Next much important point is of course, Ground clearance! Anybody of you who already drove a rig with 36 inch tires and Dana60’s knows what I’m talking about. I like the comparison with D60’s because they are comparable in strength and width but when it comes to ground clearance, we put a step in two different worlds. The advantages in deep mud, trunky forests and rocky areas are huge! If you swap D60 in a Jeep Wrangler, Landrover or Toyota and use 35” tires, the differential hangs deep down like when you use 31 inchers with stock axles!
- Also not to forget is gear ratio! If you like to roll on 36 or 38 inch tires, the stock 5.96:1 C303 ratio will be welcome for you! If you like rock crawling and need a super low ratio, then the 7.0:1 or 7.50:1 out of the 3 axle Lapplander versions will be you choice.
- You need lockers? Selectable lockers? Lockers where no additional air source is needed? The stock vacuum operated lockers work really fine! You just need two electric or manual operated vacuum valves and operate them with your engine vacuum. I would not say that shift on the fly is good for them, but I do it! And nothing broke (up to now)!
- Many of you will say now: “This guy is talking about Unimog axles!” No! Of course, the Unimog axle is a masterpiece of German engineering and is also stronger then a Volvo axle, but there is one important issue against Unimog axles: WEIGHT! For some of you this is not important but just compare about 700kg per set to 310kg per set! On a mid size 4x4 the Unimog axles are overkill. The light chassis and body of your rig will jump from left to right while your axles will move straight forward. If the axle gets an impulse to move upwards, the last thing to stop them will not be the shocks, it will be the frame. I also thought of using them for my rig but when I had the huge and heavy 404 pieces in my garage, I directly searched for another solution. There is no way to move them without a forklift.
- My last big issue for Volvo axles is the easy way of adoption to many of the common 4x4’s on the market. Every rig which comes with front and rear right side differentials is ideal for them. Also a rear middle differential is no problem, because the three axle versions come with a centre differential on one rear axle.
- Of course there are lots of other positive issues for Volvo C30x axles, but lets come to the disadvantages and the right way to solve them! Who likes drum brakes on 4x4’s? Nobody! But unfortunately all Volvo portal axles are equipped with them. My first thought, when I decided to take these axles for my Hilux was: “OK! Let’s use Google and buy the stuff anywhere!” But no result! That was a big drawback for me, because I would never use drum brakes for a competition rig which has to be good in all terrains which are possible. Last but not least, that’s the reason why you can read this here. If it’s not available somewhere else, build it yourself or buy it here!
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