[6pack] rebuilt differential on Ebay

[Navarrette, Vance]

 	Bruce

	You are right to be a bit suspicious. There is a wide variation in the work
done for a "rebuild". Some rebuilds will replace all wear items, other
rebuilds will replace only those items that are worn out of spec, other
rebuilds may simply change the seals and gaskets. Personally, I call a claim
that seal replacements constitute a "rebuild" by another name - Fraud.
	I learned this first hand on my "rebuilt" J-type overdrive. It had fresh
seals and gaskets, so I concluded that it was indeed rebuilt (the person that
sold it to me claimed it was rebuilt). I discovered after I had installed it
that the cone clutch was completely worn out, and that the OD slipped badly in
reverse when hot. I subsequently pulled the tranny and OD to replace the cone
clutch which solved the problem. I don't know if the person that sold it to me
rebuilt it himself, or if he too was sold a bill of goods by a third party.
	So to get back on the Diff rebuild, you need to know specifically what was
done to the diff during the rebuild in order to determine if it is a good deal
or not. For that price, I would expect that it was completely torn down,
inspected, and at least the bearings and seals were replaced. The gears can be
reinstalled if they are within specification. There may well be a difference
in the quality of the bearings between TRF and the shop in St. Louis, which
would be the main cost difference. For example, my experience is that US made
Timken are much less expensive than importing an identical bearing from the
UK, so I don't know how that may enter into the equation. Also, if Chinese
bearings were used, I would not touch that rebuild with a ten foot pole. Lots
of things to think about when considering a "rebuild" for any component on the
car.

	Vance

    Vance Navarrette
    Cogito Ergo Zoom
    I think, therefore I go fast

-----Original Message-----
From: 6pack-bounces at autox.team.net [mailto:6pack-bounces at autox.team.net] On
Behalf Of Bruce Simms
Sent: Thursday, November 05, 2009 8:11 AM
To: 6pack at autox.team.net
Subject: [6pack] rebuilt differential on Ebay

A few days ago a rebuilt differential sold for about $525.00 on ebay.
Vendor
was a shop in St. Louis that seems to be a regular ebayer.  We all want to
get
a deal, but, this seems a little too good.   The rebuild kit alone is $400.00
from TRF I believe.  I recall looking at a Leyland shop times manual where a
TR6 differential rebuild was allowed something like 10 hours.

At some point I
guess I'm going to have to do something with my original differential.   I
don't have any special tools or knowledge for a re-build, so not sure how
practical the job is for tinkerers armed with regular tools and repair
manuals.

Thanks,

Bruce Simms
73 TR6