[Sweenz]

I was going up a steep slope today and I heard a loud bang. After that for the remainder of the day the front tires wouldn't drive when i put it into 4wd hi/low. I also noticed a slight clunking noise whenever I'm driving in 4wd. So I think I've blown my Vitara's front diff but I'm not really sure how to confirm this without pulling it apart. Any methods?

Secondly if it is broken, what is the best course of action? Ive been doing a search and people talk about putting in GV manual front steel diffs. Is this the best option or the cheapest after just replacing it with a stock alloy one? I was actually thinking this would be a good excuse to buy a china soong (Fuck ARB) RD88 front diff (I think that's the one i need??) but I'm unsure as to whether it'll have everything I need or if its strong enough??? As I said I've searched the interwebs for these answers but i haven't really found any conclusive answers.

So yeah can someone advise me on whats next?

[zukmeista]

Pull it apart, only way to be 100% sure, but could be faulty auto hubs. As for a steel diff, really depends what tyres you run and the terrain you drive.

[Sweenz]

I run 235/85/r16 BF Goodrich All Terrains. As far as the terrain I drive it varies and I really don't like the idea of being limited to what I can drive due to my diff.

[atari4x4]

sounds like a broken diff, get underneath & look for cracked housing or pinion carrier... should be pretty obvious, will probably be leaking diff oil. could also be a CV

[Sweenz]

My car is my daily hence my reluctance to pull it apart. If I do pull it apart (the diff) can I just take out the guts of it and slap the cover back on and drive it around? (obviously 4wd won't work)

[atari4x4]

have you worked out that it's the diff?

you can remove the front diff & cv's + tie the front shaft up & roll around as a 2wd no problem, i use spray can lids to seal up the inner hub where the cv goes.

[christover1]

Front shaft needs tying up, as you can't just pull it out,
without losing all your transfer case oil.
I worked that out the hard way

As Atari said, if its diff, it usually very obvious.
A CV is possible.

If you want to drive harder terrain, with locker and less worries,
a steel diff and axle housing from a GV is wise.

[Sweenz]

Yeah its the diff I noticed it leaking oil the smorning. So the parts I need to source are:

V6 Manual GV Front diff (does anyone do an aftermarket one or do i have to source it from a wrecker)
axle housing to suit the GV diff (im guessing I just source the diff and axel housing at the same time)
optional- but an air locker to go with it (might as well do it all in one hit right?)

Just to clarify. So if I buy a Air locker kit with everything included wont i be getting an upgraded stronger steel diff anyway? I was under the impression that it had all the internals and parts necessary to completely swap out and strengthen your drive train with.

[Sweenz]

Now I'm confused. I inspected the diff more closely and realized that it wasn't leaking out of the drainage plug but instead from one of the sides where the CV joins. I can also pull the CV out of the diff partially, is that normal? When i inspected the oil coming out of the diff it was all sparkly. So yeah that's a little more info. Not really sure what to do next.

[atari4x4]

id say that continuing to drive it as it was has done that damage, the CV had just pulled out of the diff centre from articulating. the splines on the end of the CV are probably chewed out, did you continue to drive with the hubs still locked or in 4wd...

you are going to have to pull shit apart to see what is damaged.

air lockers only replace some of the bits inside the diff, you still need to use your crown wheel & pinion + either a steel or alloy diff housing & 3rd member (pinion carrier)

[DarkHorse]

I think we're getting our terminology confused...

When we talk about a steel diff this is what we mean:

The whole housing, pinion, etc. NB - you'll also want to grab the pinion (or 3rd member) mount that bolts to the chassis. It will look like one of these:

Also worth PMing Bruce on here for a support bush that sits inside the driver's side seal and stops the CV flogging out that seal:


Unless you want to pay a couple of years salary for a Calmini version, these are the go - hunt around the wreckers.
You'll need to transplant your diff gears (assuming they're not trashed) into the steel housing.

An air locker looks like this:

Goes inside your diff, doesn't replace it.

If you can afford it all in one hit and you want to go that big step up I'd recommend getting it all done at once, will save you a heap on labour taking everything apart once instead of twice. Given you're running 235/85/16 (31.5") I'd certainly recommend the steel diff at least.

In terms of diagnosing what you've got now I'm afraid you'll have to at least pull the CV out to have a look. If the splines are trashed it's probably not good news for your side gears. If an alloy diff goes it's usually pretty obvious:



But you could have busted crown wheel and/or pinion teeth, which you won't know until you pull them out:


If it's your first time pulling a front end apart allow a full weekend, it can be abit painful until you know your way around (and the bolts haven't been siezed up for 20 years...)

With the amount of metal in your oil I'd strongly recommend changing and flushing the diff oil anyway.

[Sweenz]

Wow mate! Thanks heaps for taking the time to explain all that. Now everything makes a whole lot more sense. Cheers. Ill dismantle the front end next weekend.

[driftr]

great info Dark!

[DarkHorse]

Pleasure bud.

[lee88]

Sounds to me like you snapped your front drivers side CV inside the diff
Were u trying to get up a rutted hill with a hard right foot when it went bang?

[Sweenz]

Quote:

Sounds to me like you snapped your front drivers side CV inside the diff
Were u trying to get up a rutted hill with a hard right foot when it went bang?

Yes...

That's exactly what i was doing when it happened. I realise it was operator error. Is there any tips or tricks that I can do to avoid a similar re occurrence? Other than driving with a lighter right foot?

[Sweenz]

Okay so after a ton of researching and pulling my diff apart I think I've gone and bought all the parts I need. So far I have:

Rd88 air locker (China soong woot!)
Nylon support bushing
GV steel diff housing and pinion carrier (it came with everything like the passenger side CV shaft)
26 spline side gears

So it was my drivers side CV that got munched at the splines that go into the diff. I just wanted to confirm before I go out and buy another one, is the 26 spline cv shaft complete the same length as a 22 spline cv shaft complete? If there not the same length does that mean I'll have to buy a different type of cv shaft for the passenger side? Also I bought a spare 26 spline passenger side shaft to cut and shut so I could run to passenger side cvs down the line. Is it just a cut and shut procedure or more technical than that? I can't really seam t find a definitive write up on exactly what needs to happen for any of the mods I'm about to undertake. Lastly does anyone no where to buy those annoying circlip things that are holding the shaft in at the hub? I cut and bent mine off in frustration.

Sent from my android.

[christover1]

Sweenz wrote:

Lastly does anyone no where to buy those annoying circlip things that are holding the shaft in at the hub? I cut and bent mine off in frustration.

.

From bullet proof front diff topic viewtopic.php?f=17&t=6953&start=150

[got_bar_work]

26 spline from a 1996 1.6 will be the same 2l and gv no

[Sweenz]

christover1 wrote:

Sweenz wrote:

Lastly does anyone no where to buy those annoying circlip things that are holding the shaft in at the hub? I cut and bent mine off in frustration.

.

From bullet proof front diff topic viewtopic.php?f=17&t=6953&start=150

Nah I mean that little circlip at the hub. The one that you need special pliers to get it off. I don't even know what size I need to get.

[christover1]

Oops. Sorry I misread.
I got mine from an auto shop.
But I took in an original to get right size.

[DarkHorse]

I think most of us have used the flange from a passenger side axle and the diff-side splines from a driver's side VC to make the stubby. You want to get both cut as close to the edge of the diff as possible so the flange sits nice and close to the diff.

[Sweenz]

Okay so I just got my diff back from the shop. He reckons that the passenger side drive shaft that pokes out from the diff is now protruding by a extra 15 mm after putting the air locker into the GV steel housing. I have a 1990 SWB vitara. I'm still so confused about what cvs will bolt up to it? Like exactly what cvs from what model or year vitara do I need to go to the shop and ask for?

[Sweenz]

Someone? I want to go 4wd ASAP

[atari4x4]

turn your tap talk signature off before you get banned & i might help.

[Sweenz]

Hahaha had no idea that was a bannable offense. It's goooone now. Anyone that can help fire away

[Sweenz]

Hahaha had no idea that was a bannable offense. It's goooone now. Anyone that can help fire away

[ninjamoses]

I presume that'll be the passenger side short shaft from the GV front diff that you are trying to use. You'll need a shorter 26 spline version from a 96 - 99 model normal vitara (1.6, SV420 or SV620 models).

I've just gone through the pain of sourcing one myself for a reasonable price. You shouldn't have too much trouble being over east.

[Sweenz]

Okay so I just need to source passenger side short shaft from a 96 - 99 sv420 or sv620? I'm assuming that I'll have to get a drivers side complete CV shaft from the same car/year model to suit? But can I use my existing passenger side CV? Or is there a difference between SE416 and SV420 CV lengths. Fuark its so confusing and this is my first time doing this mechanical stuff. Apologies for my intense retardation.

[ninjamoses]

I *think* SV CV shafts are longer than SE ones. So I'd probably buy one from a 26 spline SE Vit (ie. 1996+ models) just to be on the safe side. That will have the correct spline and inner stub length.

Your standard passenger side CV will be fine still, that will just bolt on as per normal.