[Joshyboy26]

I just bought a diff with a locker woohoo. But i thought while its out of the car i may as well shave it. I have seen everyone shave them just flat on the bottom but what about up towards the axle tubes as close to the carrier as possible. I think this would mean even less diff on the ground in theory or am i thinking wrong. Will it weaken it too much if i do this?
any insight would be great thanks guys

[ajsr]

IMO
I dont think it would be worth the effort for the possible gain, and the center would still be the lowest piont anyway.

[Gwagensteve]

X2. The third member is the limitation. The biggest shave in the world won't make the diff smaller than the third. It would also be hard to keep the strength.

Steve

[just_cruizin]

Sierra diffs are small anyways compared to patrols etc

[Fatzook]

If you have some time to kill, why not? If nothing else, you will increase the height of the objects you can drive over, and reduce the surface area that you need to slide upon, allowing you to retain more momentum.

Biggest chop in the world..

[Fatzook]

[DarkHorse]

Nutter.

[alien]

if that gave him 12.5mm extra clearance its equivalent to going up an inch in tyre size, pretty good value IMO - although it'd want to be mega-plated so it'd never dent! lol

[Fatzook]

alien wrote:

if that gave him 12.5mm extra clearance its equivalent to going up an inch in tyre size, pretty good value IMO - although it'd want to be mega-plated so it'd never dent! lol

Thats the main reason I did my chop.....the pumpkin was fubar.

At the bolting flange of the third, I gained 15mm between the lowest 2 bolts. Accross the rest of the housing I gained 28mm at the lowest point.

[alien]

wow... impressive =)

my front housing has a nice dent in it and i'd been wondering what i was gonna do about it... although this is likely the most expensive option lol

[atari4x4]

your crown wheel guard appears to be flipping the bird.

[Fatzook]

atari4x4 wrote:

your crown wheel guard appears to be flipping the bird.

Yeah. Its in a coily now.

[gregc]

A few other changes you could do to the diffs while they are out might be:

1. (assuming you are staying leaf sprung) change to mounting plate with flush bolts instead of u-bolts.
2. (front diff) put more caster in it for better steering
3. (front and back) move the diff breather to a better location if clearance is an issue under your car

These are all things I would do to mine.

[Joshyboy26]

1. What are flush bolts sorry ill probably know them when i see them haha. Is this similar to changing the u bolts so they are upside down?
2. Im only doing rear at this stage but that will be on the cards when the front gets done.
3 ill have a look at this but i dont belive i have clearance issues at this stage.
Thanks guys for this its been very helpful

[JrZook]

Fatzook wrote:

atari4x4 wrote:

your crown wheel guard appears to be flipping the bird.

Yeah. Its in a coily now.

What a waste

[Rusho]

atari4x4 wrote:

your crown wheel guard appears to be flipping the bird.

It will be flipping the bird to all the gay silver leaf sprung shitters out there

[Gwagensteve]

Joshyboy26 wrote:

1. What are flush bolts sorry ill probably know them when i see them haha. Is this similar to changing the u bolts so they are upside down?

Here is one way of doing bolts rather than U-bolts:









This is an MQ diff, but the principle is the same regardless of the diff.

CJ and I set up these spring pads to accept U bolts (for engineering) and then swap to countersunk bolts and flat plates afterwards.

Joshyboy26 wrote:

2. Im only doing rear at this stage but that will be on the cards when the front gets done.
3 ill have a look at this but i dont belive i have clearance issues at this stage.
Thanks guys for this its been very helpful

When you have the housing apart to shave it, run a 1.8" BSP tap down the stock breather and then you can run a proper brass barb and 1/4" fuel line (or similar) as a breather.

Steve.

[Joshyboy26]

That looks good. so for the bolts could i just weld a plate onto the stock mounts or should i cut them off and completely remake them. Im asking this as i dont have a jig or anything to set up the correct angle.

[alien]

the ones in steves would also give some lift, as the plate is so close to the diff housing, unlike a sierra perch.

i wouldnt weld a plate onto the stock mount personally, theyre too thin for starters, and the leverage would likely crack them off.

[Gwagensteve]

alien wrote:

the ones in steves would also give some lift, as the plate is so close to the diff housing, unlike a sierra perch.

i wouldnt weld a plate onto the stock mount personally, theyre too thin for starters, and the leverage would likely crack them off.

X2.

A jig isn't required, just lots of measurements and a level.

Steve.

[Joshyboy26]

Rightio ill give it a shot haha. Surely i wont be able to stuff it up too much. Anything else while im chopping shit?

[alien]

brace the diff housing while its out.

[Bruce]

alien wrote:

wow... impressive =)

my front housing has a nice dent in it and i'd been wondering what i was gonna do about it... although this is likely the most expensive option lol

That's why you should get one of my diff protectors

[monley]

alien wrote:

wow... impressive =)

my front housing has a nice dent in it and i'd been wondering what i was gonna do about it... although this is likely the most expensive option lol

Can i chop your diff up please?

[alien]

Bruce wrote:

That's why you should get one of my diff protectors

i prolly should, but was undecided about shaving it anyway...

monley wrote:

Can i chop your diff up please?

finish my half doors first =) lol

[Joshyboy26]

Is bracing it really necessary? I always thought it was a bit of overkill if its not a full blown comp truck? Or do diff really bend that easy?

[alien]

they dont bend often, but they always bend when you least expect it =) and it'd be a waste to spend all that time shaving and re-perching etc just to bend it and ruin it.

[Joshyboy26]

Fair enough then cheers fellas!

[Gwagensteve]

I think if you are going to brace the housing you will need a jig AND the diff will need to be straightened afterwards, adding significantly to the cost. Welding across the housing will do little to bend it, welding along the housing (like welding in a brace) will cause distortion.

I have braced some housings before and they bent quite badly.

It's less of a problem in the front where the floating design (and steering knuckles) means it can be corrected to a certain extent, but on the rear a bent housing will mean frequent wheel bearing and seal replacements, and potential locker issues.

I've seen a few bent/cracked housings but it's fairly rare in vic. I think mostly because we rarely jump our cars and rarely overload them (payload wise)

As an aside - get hold of a junk third member and make sure it's bolted in when you are welding up the shave. leaving the diff centre out whilst welding is just asking for the third member mounting flange to distort leading to alignment/installation/leaking problems.

Steve.

[Fatzook]

Gwagensteve wrote:

As an aside - get hold of a junk third member and make sure it's bolted in when you are welding up the shave. leaving the diff centre out whilst welding is just asking for the third member mounting flange to distort leading to alignment/installation/leaking problems.

Steve.

X2. That be what I do.