replaceing diff?

[Legoman]

anyone replaced there rear diff before? just curious to know how easy it is , i noticed a slight whine from mine the other day at about 40mph , not noticed it before but if it is the diff im considering buying another from a scrapyard , send it off for a refurb and fitting it myself.

 

[television]

Not too bad a job, one of the hardest things is the high torque of the half shaft bolts, other than that its straight forward.

If you are going to do it your self I will print off the diff re build info for you

 

[Legoman]

i probably will so yes that would be great malcolm , ive got a 'windy' torque gun so bolts wont be an issue

 

[MIW615]

anyone replaced there rear diff before? just curious to know how easy it is , i noticed a slight whine from mine the other day at about 40mph , not noticed it before but if it is the diff im considering buying another from a scrapyard , send it off for a refurb and fitting it myself.

Might be worth changing the oil first :wink:

 

[Legoman]

could that cause a whining noise then?

p.s what diff oil should i get? (final drive i guess as refered to in haynes?) LSD oil i presume?

 

[MIW615]

could that cause a whining noise then?

Any oil will eventually start to "breakdown" - moisture in the diff will effect the viscosity of the oil and will reduce the oil's lubrication effect - How many miles has the car covered?

It's still the cheaper option before removing and overhauking your diff

 

[television]

Do change the oil first, if no joy and it still whines when you are pulling then do it as soon as possible as you intend doing it

 

[Legoman]

110,000 miles , and i doubt its been done , its something thats overlooked at a guess ,

p.s ordered a 500CC Oil Suction Gun after reading haynes it will be needed , castrol do Lsd oil so ill get some of that. 1.3L to fill according to manual so may as well get 5L and save rest incase it does need replacing.

my knowledge of diff's isnt great as ive mainly worked on front wheel drive cars , can see the logic that oil would break down like any gearbox or engine oil . could possibly have a leak to i suppose , wont know till i get under there though.

 

[MIW615]

110,000 miles , and i doubt its been done , its something thats overlooked at a guess ,

p.s ordered a 500CC Oil Suction Gun after reading haynes it will be needed , castrol do Lsd oil so ill get some of that. 1.3L to fill according to manual so may as well get 5L and save rest incase it does need replacing.

my knowledge of diff's isnt great as ive mainly worked on front wheel drive cars , can see the logic that oil would break down like any gearbox or engine oil . could possibly have a leak to i suppose , wont know till i get under there though.

Change the oil and keep us posted

 

[Legoman]

will do thanks for advice , wont be for a week or so as ive got to wait for delivery of the tool , not gonna attempt it without either given where the drain and fill plugs are.

(yes i spelt replacing wrong i know , wont let me edit it though lol)

 

[Bolide]

Replace the diff bushes and prop doughnuts while you're at it

Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk

 

[C240yaz]

will do thanks for advice , wont be for a week or so as ive got to wait for delivery of the tool , not gonna attempt it without either given where the drain and fill plugs are.

(yes i spelt replacing wrong i know , wont let me edit it though lol)

Not sure of the size of the drain plugs on your model, but I changed my diff oil on my 2001 203 and they were one mother to loosen, especially the filler plug. Eventually got them out with a 2 foot breaker bar and 14mm impact hex. (With forum member advice)

 

[Legoman]

no prob i have all those tools in my shed , ill go for the impact wrench first if it doesnt budge with some plusgas and elbow grease

cant be as bad as the fun i had today changing the missus fiesta exhaust , the downpipe flange had welded bolts and the nuts had totally corroded , ended up angle grinding the bolts flush , cutting the old exhaust off , then drilling the rest of the bolts out . pain in the a**e job.

 

[Jim Lambert]

Fingers crossed the oil change works, the `whine` is usually the sound of pinion bearings rubbing flats onto the rollers. The sound is actually transmitted by the propellor shaft, and often you can silence a diff by replacing only the front bearing. This covers the disastrous failure of the rear pinion bearing! I have successfully rebuilt some diff assemblies by simply marking the positions of all the relevant bits and relying on the high accuracy of the bearing manufacturers. This does not work when someone has `tweaked` the adjustments to remove excessive clearance. Best practice is to replace bearings, not increase load on worn components!

 

[Ian B Walker]

i probably will so yes that would be great malcolm , ive got a 'windy' torque gun so bolts wont be an issue

Oh yes it will. There are two types of bolts that hold on the half shafts. Torex bolts and internal star bolts. Both are real stewards of the bar to remove as the rubber gaiter that covers the inner cv joint gets in the way. If you round off a bolt then its the good old electric hacksaw (angle grinder) to chop the head off. ALWAYS use new bolts and spacers when refitting. For the left hand side you will need to remove the exhaust back box. As for using an air gun, there is not enough room for a proper one and an angled 3/8 one does not have enough grunt to shift 55ft lbs, corroded in bolts. Allow 3 hours to remove the diff. Good luck.