Replace Center Diff. or buy used trans.

[2g 6 bolt swap]

Ok so i have come to the conclusion that my center diff took a crap on me after a night of 4 hard launches from a 4500rpm studder box. The next day i went out to leave for work and as i was backing into the street(with the wheels cranked hard left) all of a sudden it felt like my front wheels locked up. But it did not stop the car because it made three horrible clunks and kept rolling backwards. I really did not think much of it and continued to work. Later that night i went for a ride in my car and did a little 2nd gear pull. When i got into boost it felt like my clutch slipped badly. The car would only drive if i drove at a low rpm and if i tried accelerating decent it would just slip. I know what a slipping clutch is like and this it not anything like it because of the clunking and wheel resistance. So i brought it home and started doing research and I am at this point. When i did get home i backed it down the drive way like i did before i left and with the wheels cranked going in reverse i got a few feet and then i felt the resistance again. I would like to know if it is worth buying a new center diff. or buying a used trans for cheap. I am more than able to do the work since I built my motor fully, but the tranny work would be new to me. Any suggestions or opinions on something i may have missed or that it could possibly be something else would be very helpful. Thanks

 

[ilco187]

more cheaper to just buy a trans. center diff's can cost more or almost as much as a new trans.

plus you really dont know the extent of the damage if the broke gears fell out of the diff holes it can cause more damage to the drive gears teeth.

 

[2g 6 bolt swap]

I know that is exactly what I'm afraid of. My trans only has 89k on it and I still can't believe this happened. I get what I deserve tho. The damn studder box tempted me so bad haha.

Is it possible that one of my axles could be broke? I have been searching for quite some time now and people say the car won't drive with a blown center diff. My car drives just fine. It just slips when trying to accelerate hard. Just to note, I had very bad wheel hop on the last launch that I did before I notice all of this. It didn't sound to good at all.

 

[ilco187]

that also could be, i remember when i broke a axle on my last awd it acted like a slipping clutch cause all the power was goin to the broke axle.

in my awd that i have now i busted the center diff and it still drove but not great.

 

[2g 6 bolt swap]

So i was looking at my axles last night and my driver side inner cv boot is ripped. I grabbed the whole axle and wiggled it up and down. I compared it to my passenger side and it moves a hell of a lot more. I can even move in and out to make it click when pulling on it. I took the rest of the boot off and removed the remaining grease in it to check out the cv tripod assembly. The tripod moves a lot when i shake the axle. I can even grab the bearing looking thing on the tripod and move them with my finger. Is this the cause? It almosts seems like it. I rexaly appreciate the help. Thanks

 

[ilco187]

can you get any pics or a video of it, really the axle should not have any side to side play, maybe a little in and out. there is a few things im thinking but i dont want to give you wrong info.

i uploaded the video to my youtube to help show others, i think you might want to pull the axle i have a feeling it "may" have stripped the axle splines im not sayin its is that im not for sure but only way to find out is pull the axle.

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/vBBx7nQuOF8&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/vBBx7nQuOF8&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

this is 2g 6 bolt swap's video not mine.

 

[2g 6 bolt swap]

Thanks for uploading that. If the axle got stripped, would it have stripped in the trans or where the axle goes into the intermediate shaft?

 

[ilco187]

eh its hard to say i have only seen this happen a very few times its really hard for me to say what i would be, what i had thought it was turned out not to be when i seen the video, i was thinking the inner side with the splines had broke like this http://91.103.216.138/~kamdiffs/images/LAND ROVER CV TESTED-V1.JPG but its a hard call unless you pull the axle.

 

[2g 6 bolt swap]

Ok I will def pull the axle. Is there a way to remove the the axle without taking the intermediate out of the trans? The only reason I ask is, I only have like 2,000 mile on my Tranny fluid. Royal purple fluid is expensive .

 

[ilco187]

drain it into a clean bucket and refill later when you find the problem, if the fluid is still clean that is meaning metal shavings etc.

 

[2g 6 bolt swap]

Ok sounds good. I'll let you know what I find.

 

[rstchris]

A good used center diff can be had for a hundred bucks or less shipped just check for excessive play. Putting it in is not so bad, there is a writeup on here somewhere about a rebuild. Just for future reference, don't drop the clutch, never never drop it. You have to slip at least a few feet to soften the shock to the drivetrain.

 

[dsm-onster]

^^^Preload as well with the e-brake.

Weld the center diff and deal with the very tight u-turns. Ultimately stronger than even a 4spider center, but yes you can have some MILD parkinglot driveability issues.

 

[2g 6 bolt swap]

Update time. I found absolutely nothing wrong with my driver side axle. Only thing I found was that my axle carrier bearing has slight movement. So after that I put everything back together and put the car on jackstands so I could drive it in gear. Here is what I found. When I put the car in gear all the wheels but the drivers front spun. So I then let the car drive itself in first gear so i could get out I see what was going on. After a min or so of letting them spin I looked at the passenger front and it was no longer moving. Only the tears were spinning. Also, I notice that when I had the clutch almost all the way out when starting in first, the drivers front spins for a moment and then stops as soon as the clutch was let all the way out. So I am almosts positive the center diff is toast. Could anyone back me on this?

 

[ilco187]

sounds more like the front diff, which drives the front wheels but i could be wrong.

 

[4pistons]

If you have a non-posi center diff (or front diff) there's nothing to 'slip' in it. If it fails it just breaks and scatters parts, or it locks up causing tire skipping. There's nothing I can think of that would cause a center diff to slip.

The part that can slip is a burned up Viscous Coupler. That's easy and cheaper (relatively) than fixing the center diff. Check that out first.

Rick - '91 GSX

 

[GSXeclipsePSI]

So I seem to be having the same problem with my tranny after the same act, mine was in the rain tho. Front tires caught on launch and rear slipped as soon as something broke or blew up in my tranny.

Car seems to be holding back, doesn't feel fast, feels like a mustang now so I'm guessing center diff as I have the same clunk as him. Cair drives, when letting out the clutch it feels like a FWD or maybe RWD or 3WD.

I'm going to pull tranny apart friday while in car still so I hope its one of the two easier fixes.

What would a burnt VS feel like? I seem not able to find that answer yet even searching in wrx sites.


What was the out come of your troubles? Did you fix it?

 

[2g 6 bolt swap]

My center diff grenaded inside my tranny. I had a local tuner on here put in a good diff he had and now my tranny is 100 percent again.

 

[Talon tsi PR]

Im going thru the same as you guys yesterday i got a tranny for $80 bucks it has a broken 2nd gear but my friend told me that it was driving fine but without 2nd gear so im pulling the tranny today to check whats wrong with mine. Im almost sure its the center diff

My center diff grenaded inside my tranny. I had a local tuner on here put in a good diff he had and now my tranny is 100 percent again.

Good to hear that you got rid of your problem http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/images/smilies/clapping.gif