wow, open diff drifting sucks.

and most of you are probably about to say "you just realised that?" but yeah, i did. ive never really thrashed my car very hard, but today, it was raining and the unitec parking lot was empty, so i said wtf. but seriously, i never realised untill now how horrible open diffs are for drifting. even in the rain swinging and clutch kicking barely work. its handbrake or nothing. i cant even do god damn donuts without this shit correcting itself. oh sure, i break traction, but the ass refuses to swing out. i still have that s14 lsd i need to install but its a question of when i can get my god damn mechanic to get off his ass and do it. he said tomorrow, time will tell. /rant

and whats funny is that i probably dont have enough power to spin both wheels...

you have to rely on lots of inertia with open diffs (swinging hard left and right)

ok i could do doughnuts w/an open diff, but drifting was a challenge. ipulled it off acoupletimes though but doughnuts were never aproblem. and thats with a stock KA24E. 135hp, 149ftlb.

not me man, the ass stays firm and wont kick out, with one wheel spinning. im pushing 140hp, prob less tq

before my car went into surgery, i could still pull a good donut ^-^. Can't wait to see whats up when i get MINE back on (supposedly) tuesday : (.

Everythings better with an LSD :smooch:

Say I wanted a shop to weld my diff, how much would it cost?

oh yeah metalhead. i forgot you only got an SR20DE. yeah i can see how that would be harder.

Say I wanted a shop to weld my diff, how much would it cost?


If I remember correctly my friend got his welded for 80 bucks.

would most shops do it though? Its that...legal or whatnot. For instance, you figured mom and pop shops wouldn't care, but its illegal to patch a motorcycle tire and noone and i mean NOone would touch it, lol, had to buy a brand new tire to replace my brand new tire :(

Why not do the LSD install yourself and save the money and feel great about what you've accomplished! The only mechanic I use is me and of course the tire guys. Has anyone ever tried taking and tire off of a rim and replacing it without a tire mounting machine? Don't!

still have that s14 lsd i need to install but its a question of when i can get my god damn mechanic to get off his ass and do it. he said tomorrow, time will tell. /rant


Is it a complete unit, or just the internal?
If its a complete unit then grab a jack, some spanners and socket a wrench bloody well do it yourself.
If its the internal then its a bit harder, as you may, or may not have to set up first.

Is it a complete unit, or just the internal?
If its a complete unit then grab a jack, some spanners and socket a wrench bloody well do it yourself.
If its the internal then its a bit harder, as you may, or may not have to set up first.
heres what ive got.
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a293/moparcharger450/diff.jpg
The only experience i have is shock/spring install and an oil change. do you think i would be able to do this? ive got all the tools. are there any guides for this?

ok read up on how to do runout checks on your ring gear and shit to make sure how well the gears between your diff and your axle pinion mesh. after that, its pretty much a bolt in bolt out affair. you just need to know how to adjust the spacers in the diff so it lines up correctly or else you might be shedding teeth.

http://www.roymech.co.uk/images9/gear_diff_1.gif
ok basically 'A' is the driveshaft and driveshaft pinion gear. 'D' is the diff housing and ring gear. thats what you have on the right of the pic. 'B' and 'C' are the axle ends and side gears on the inside. thats whats on the left of the pic. the side gears are what you weld together when you have a welded diff. what you have to make sure works is the green gear and the red gear have to mesh correctly or else itll chew up the diff. the green section is what youll keep from your diff on your car, and the red section is what you are installing, plus the blue axle sections.

^
Nice pic

Also + to have a friend help you out (jacks it up slowly while you line it up or whatnot)

this looks kinda complicated. so unhooking the driveshaft, axles and unbolting my diff from the subframe is all i need to do to get the diff out? i guess that will be pretty self explanatory. and then the housing just unbolts apart or something? anybody have any links on getting the gears to mesh correctly?
you just need to know how to adjust the spacers in the diff so it lines up correctly or else you might be shedding teeth.
more info on that? i think i have big enough balls to try this.

go zaid! lol

I'll pray for you :rolleyes:

lol thanks guys. if it doesnt rain tomorrow il atleast try to get the diff out. i guess i wont have too much trouble with that part. if worst comes to worst il just get a mechanic to put the internals in for me.

FUCK. i just wrote a whole long post explaining things and it logged me out and i lost it before i could hit the reply button. ill try and repost it in a while. but the best thing you can do is go to a transmission or worthy performance shop and ask lots of questions. preferably with pictures of your diff to aid you in explaining.

damn i could have used that post lol. keep the info coming man. thanks

heres what ive got.



Photo not showing.
Its pretty easy to tell if its a complete unit, it will have 3 flanges on it, one for the drive shaft, and one for each axle.
Its also about the side of your forearm and weights a fair bit.

If is just the internal its about the size a very large can of baked beans, and weghs about the same.

Ok, photo is now working, silly photobucket.

What slideways... said is a pretty good basic introduction.

However, you also have in that photo some bearings, which might or might not need a press, and new out put shafts, which I trust match up with your existing drive shafts? There may also be an intermediate shaft needed, as the LSD internal is a little different to the orginal open one. (I used to have one of these, they are a Fuji Heavy Industries Dif (same as Subaru use), but of course nissan make thier own little changes to them. That said, everything from the Datusn 180B to the lastest WRX is basicly interchangeable, if you get the right combination of parts.

the output shafts should match up. all of this is from an s14, which used the same r200 housing, and the dude i bought this from told me i would need them. i dont think im gonna do the internals myself though. il just drop the diff and take it and my internals to a local shop. shouldnt be too expensive and they would know if my "bearings need a press" right?

BTW, here are some vids of my friends s14 with an open diff. at our local autox lot yesterday
(Basic bolt ons, mild susp. upgrades)

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v312/initial_v/76%20Monsoon%20Race%20Series%202006/Race%201%20of%205/?action=view&current=10-01-06TerrenceDrift01.flv

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v312/initial_v/76%20Monsoon%20Race%20Series%202006/Race%201%20of%205/?action=view&current=10-01-06TerrenceDrift02.flv

Diff. link for you sam

http://www.240sx.org/links/installs/lsd/lsd.htm

pretty cool for a 1 wheeler. i think its about time i started making vids

yeah vids>pics>typing lol

thanks for that link. this stupid rain is preventing me from getting started, as soon as it lets up il drop the diff. i dont really think il do the internals myself though. i wouldnt mind trying but im not risking fucking my car up. il get a vid up the day my diff is in :)

yeah it's been raining like a bitch the whole week, probably even next week..
good luck with whatever route you go sam

BTW, here are some vids of my friends s14 with an open diff. at our local autox lot yesterday
(Basic bolt ons, mild susp. upgrades)

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v312/initial_v/76%20Monsoon%20Race%20Series%202006/Race%201%20of%205/?action=view&current=10-01-06TerrenceDrift01.flv

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v312/initial_v/76%20Monsoon%20Race%20Series%202006/Race%201%20of%205/?action=view&current=10-01-06TerrenceDrift02.flv

that is sickening. stock ka with basic bolt ons? like intake & exhaust? thats some good shit. yea i think there should be a sticky for vids

yup, terrance is a real good driver, hes also a cop lol that probably helps haha

dont they make cops go on that wet race track in cop cars?

yup they have their own lot/ghymkana (sp?) to play in, hes a cool guy.. pulled me over once and let me go lol even raced me with his cruiser on a stop light haha that was classic

hah thats pretty funny. i hope your 240 smoked the cruiser! so today i got some jack stands and one of those skateboard things i can roll around under the car on lol. my car's jacked up and i was going to start unbolting shit but i figure i should get some of that spray to loosen up the bolts. all the stores are closed so il just wait untill tomorrow to get things moving. i dont give a fuck if it rains lol i need to get this DONE. i think im gonna get nissan to swap the internals for me, they can deal with all of the fluids and meshing. *sigh* i hope this works out...

MetalHeadZaid are you out East?

I might be able to give you a hand if your close.

hey man, that would be awesome. im in central auckland. i can drive down to you if that would be better. thanks for the offer.

ok, so i made some progress today. i got all the output shaft bolts undone, and loosened a couple of the bolts holding up the diff just to see if i could. i would have unbolted the driveshaft but i need longer tools for that, which i ordered today and will be at my local repco (the napa or autozone of NZ) tomorrow. theres a chance my diff will be out tomorrow, all depending on if i get help to drop it.

get pics! lol

lol not very eventfull, but here you go

no bolts here
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a293/moparcharger450/diff002.jpg

or here
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a293/moparcharger450/diff006.jpg

loosened one of these (with my leg)
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a293/moparcharger450/diff003.jpg

all of those little fuckers get sprayed :)
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a293/moparcharger450/diff009.jpg

new tools!
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a293/moparcharger450/diff018.jpg

one of these!
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a293/moparcharger450/diff016.jpg

pretty alright progress, damn your tools are still virgins haha. My "roller" (thats what I call it) has a couple tears and two wheels missing haha

theres a chance my diff will be out tomorrow, all depending on if i get help to drop it.


Awsome!
I can't help tomorrow, but I will be out your way on Wednesday.
Could pop in and give you a hand, however! They are not very heavy diffs. You can pick them up with one hand.
If your keen enough you will be able to pull it out by hand on your own, but if you don't want to lower it onto your chest while your under the car, put a trolly jack under it to hold it up while you undo the last bolt.

thanks guys, i think il try to drop the diff myself tomorrow. moppie, il PM you my number.

told you man... you should have gotten subframe spacers...

im an asshole, but i hate to say this, you can drift just fine with an open diff, just takes practice...i would learn before you go with a locker, it will increase your skilllzzz...

anywho...this is old...i've probably posted it 5 million times...but here..

http://videos.streetfire.net/search/open+diff/0/8ac5a536-15e3-4fa2-892c-2f2bb0000234.htm

good stuff man, thats your car before the accident right? looks so different but in a good way. i think that vid gives all of us open diff guys a little courage lol

dude i know you CAN drift on an open diff. your right, i just dont have the skillz. hoosier drifter, i have no idea how to install them! if you want to take pics of all the shit i need to unbolt and how i do it, then i dont see why not.

just a little update, i installed a .80mm (smallest) shim in my lsd head (so now i have 2). still need to drop the diff, and still waiting on the tools to unbolt the driveshaft.

open diff drifting does suck. No matter what anyone says, it just sucks.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a293/moparcharger450/diffout.jpg
got the diff droped today, everything was pretty easy except getting the annoying asshole output shafts apart from the axles. i unbolted the exhaust to give myself a little more room to work. helped alot. the only thing i didnt do myself was lowering the jack. anyways, i should have the internals swapped in within the next couple days, and then have it back together in a few more. thanks alot for the help guys, i wouldnt have done if you hadnt told me i could.

Nice work Sam, I'll pm you my address so you could ship the LSD to me when your all finished haha jk, nice

Sorry I couldn't help you in the end Sam. By g/f bought home a 4 week old kitten, and Iv been the one who has to take him to the vet, feed him, change his kitty litter etc etc etc.......

Glad you got it our on your own though, told you it was an easy job :)

lol nissan240sx get your own!

thanks for the offer anyways moppie, kittens are a pain!

Think of all the money you're saving by doing this yourself. I told you it would make you feel better. Moppie, Did you ask for a kitten or does she owe you big time for babysitting the thing. We got some at our house I could send you for $5 shipped! jk

good posts~

its true you can drift w/ an open but that's most likely b/c its nearly broken and it locks up occasionally... in a sense, making it similar to a welded diff.

here's my friends vid of his ka24de s14 w/ an open (which was used pretty heavily)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1XH0CzlmY0
i think there's two shots of a fastback... that Definitely has a fresh open diff. (its my car) my open diff will kick out in the rain w/o any problems. You mentioned it'll break loose but won't kick out in the rain... you could try turning in first then before you hit the apex, clutch-kick or stomp on the gas. if you spin the tires before you turn in... it won't go sideways.

whatever, he has a s13 vlsd on his car now(s14) and regrets not saving up for a lsd. he had a hard time getting his tires to spin at first due to the lack of power.. but he got used it pretty quick. he competes at beaverun near pittsburgh, PA if anyone knows about it... bottom line, LSD for the win~