Hi Matt,
I recently went through what you describe. My vibration was from 55 mph
& up. I went through the usual steps making sure all my drive train
components were in order. The strange thing about it was , although it
was always present, it was not always consistent. Some times the
vibration was more noticeable & other times very slight. Eventually I
could hear a rhythmic thump when I shut the engine & coasted from 20 mph
down. The last differential I cracked open was twenty five years ago on
my 240Z with an R200 LSD. I kept blowing the little spider gears. I
really have never rebuilt a differential completely before my TR6.
Following your thoughts on being mechanically able but unfamiliar &
wanting to save a few bucks, I pulled my trusty Bentley manual & started
to read up on differential voodoo. As always I got plenty of help from
this awesome list. After disassembly & inspection I replaced the axle
bearings, seals & a missing fiber washer behind one of the sun gears.
The carrier bearings & pinion bearing looked perfect as well as the
pinion & ring gear. I checked clearances and reassembled the unit . It
felt buttery smooth but after installation and a test run I still had a
vibration. The slop was gone & the unit was quiet but the initial
problem was not gone. To satisfy my male ego I'm going to blame it on my
not changing the side carrier bearings & pinion bearing. It was a short
cut I should have not taken. The pinion bearing is the more likely
culprit but I wasn't about to keep dropping the exhaust, differential
for repairs & making this a weekly event until I mastered differential
rebuilding. Just on a side note here...........The case spreader was not
necessary to remove the carrier. Dick Taylors suggestion of gently
prying the unit out with a pair of bars or screwdrivers on either side
worked perfectly.
I had to make a decision that you will come to as well. I could
eventually get the original unit sorted out and get on the road. I
wanted more than that. Because of other performance upgrades I have made
the Nissan LSD differential was looking very attractive. It would solve
all of my fears about reliability,performance and smoothness. It was
competitively priced against a TRF rebuilt but is capable of handling
more HP, and abuse. The Nissan unit has been designed , constructed &
manufactured with modern technology & materials. If you USE your car and
like to drive it allot & hard you can not compare the two units. I was
definitely not prepared to spend the money , especially after just
installing the HVDA 5-speed, but I'm glad I did. The LSD is an amazing
difference. The car is so much more capable through a turn it's hard to
believe. It's quiet & smooth. The installation was straight forward & is
no more difficult than installing the stock unit. If you have a stock
4-speed you will have to shorten the driveshaft. The HVDA Toyota trany
is longer so the stock driveshaft can be used.
I am aware that some times the budget just does not allow but in this
case I would wait until it did. Many things in the car may break in the
future but I doubt it will ever be the differential. There are some
pics on my signature link if your interested.
--
Mitch Seff
Oceanside, N.Y.
75 TR6 SC
http://www.triumphowners.com/384
|