New Toys and New Problems

[blindeyed]

Well today I went and bought myself some new toys to play with. Came off my friends 2000 Trans Am WS.6.

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He sold me his rear sway bar, Steel/aluminum driveshaft (looks like steel, but weighs light enough to be aluminum, can't tell), his 2 lower control arms, panhard rod, and his torque arm that was powdercoated red by the previous owner. All for only $200, so even if the posi is blown, I just got a rear disc and partial suspension upgrade for a pretty good price.

The only problem... He blew out the rear differential in it, I'm in the process of removing the posi unit. It seems to be in fine shape from what I can tell with it still in the housing. But I'll let ya'll determine whether or not if it's salvagable from the pics. I tried to take close up ones so you can really see how scraped up alot of the bolts are. In one of the pictures, you will see me holdng what used to be a nut, I don't know what happened to that sucker, but it got stripped to hell in back, and looks to have been located in the center ring of the posi unit, where there are only 4 nuts going around it, 2 of them have broken off with the ends remaining stuck inside.

Here's the pics:

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Picture 9 << That's the magnet with metal shavings all over it
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Took me forever to realize that you had to remove the abs sensors on the backside of the drums in order to push the axels in far enough so as to be able to remove the c-clips. So I finally got it out, and here are a couple of pics of bearings which look to be in great shape, and the 2 bolts that stripped off. You guys think it may still be salvagable?

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[Morley]

Oh, Hell no! I wouldn't even thnk of trying to salvage that diff carrier. It made way too much metal and the pan with the huge rip in it..... toss that sucker in the trash
If the ring and pnion gears aren't torn up you may be able to keep them but that's about it. You can get a new carrier for about $100 and transferr the gears to it. Don't even think of trying to reuse the bearings, they are cheap enough to justify getting new ones and you'll know for sure they are good and not about fail the first time you take it out on the highway.

[blindeyed]

Yeah, I figured odds are that was going to be the worse case scenerio. Really, the metal contact that you saw in the pics was the only damage done, every other gear looked as if it were in great condition. Makes me wonder how that damage was even done in the first place. There was absolutely no contact on any of the gears. Just the damage to the outer plate and the nuts. I'm suprised the big ring gear (for lack of any technical term) on the carrier wasn't damaged, the thing still looks brand new. So even in that case, it would still be wise to get a new carrier? And if so, where would I go by getting one? All the websites I've been on only sell the whole units themselves.

[FormulaLT1]

The driveshaft is steel. If it aint 3 inches in diameter and silver. Its steel and anything but 3.23 equipped auto's and 3.42 equipped Sticks came with steel. That differential is a nice find though. That sucker would go for around 300 alone on ebay.

Edit- just for the record Torsen units are set up like detroit lockers, They don't have the clutches and such that get damaged and wear out. They use gears that wind up on 4 smaller geared pegs. Its a very cool design and I have yet to see one get damaged to the point of it not being salvaged and they do pull in alot of money for those units on ebay and threw salvages yards as I found out when I was in the market for the one I now have in my car.

[Morley]

My big question is..what made that big rip in the pan?
In picture 10, the small pits in the cover were made by metal banging into it and there are a lot of dings there.
In pictures 6 & 14, the area around the bolt is missing a lot of metal and that could cause problems down the road.
If you are intent on using that carrier I would completely disassemble it. Grind all of the damaged areas smooth. Then take it to a machine shop and have it magnafluxed to make sure there aren't any stress cracks in the casing or ring gear mounting area.
Also keep in mind that if it passes inspection, it may still fail on you.

[blindeyed]

Originally Posted by FormulaLT1

The driveshaft is steel. If it aint 3 inches in diameter and silver. Its steel and anything but 3.23 equipped auto's and 3.42 equipped Sticks came with steel. That differential is a nice find though. That sucker would go for around 300 alone on ebay.

Edit- just for the record Torsen units are set up like detroit lockers, They don't have the clutches and such that get damaged and wear out. They use gears that wind up on 4 smaller geared pegs. Its a very cool design and I have yet to see one get damaged to the point of it not being salvaged and they do pull in alot of money for those units on ebay and threw salvages yards as I found out when I was in the market for the one I now have in my car.

Yeah his is an M6 and the gears are 3.42, so it probably is steel. Feels really light though, that's why I wasn't sure. As for the differential, you said it was a Torsen? That's a pretty good deal i got then. Neither I nor him was sure. I'm gonna take it up to a couple shops tomorrow and see if anyone up there knows whether or not this thing can be repaired and how much it would cost. The only thing wrong with it, as I stated before, is the 2 broken bolts and the outer ring plate that made contact with the girdle cover. The gears are damn near perfect. I'm hoping the inner 4 bolts (where the 2 broke off) aren't reverse threaded, because if that's the case, I just might be screwed. From what I've been told, no one makes a non reverse thread puller? (I'm not positive if that's what it is called, but it's the thing that you screw into a broken screw and it pulls that screw out).

Anyone else have anymore ideas/input that would be useful?

[Morley]

Originally Posted by blindxeyed

From what I've been told, no one makes a non reverse thread puller? (I'm not positive if that's what it is called, but it's the thing that you screw into a broken screw and it pulls that screw out).

Anyone else have anymore ideas/input that would be useful?

There are easyouts for left hand threads, they are called "super outs" and are at most parts stores and made by Lisle Tools.

[blindeyed]

Originally Posted by Morley

My big question is..what made that big rip in the pan?
In picture 10, the small pits in the cover were made by metal banging into it and there are a lot of dings there.
In pictures 6 & 14, the area around the bolt is missing a lot of metal and that could cause problems down the road.
If you are intent on using that carrier I would completely disassemble it. Grind all of the damaged areas smooth. Then take it to a machine shop and have it magnafluxed to make sure there aren't any stress cracks in the casing or ring gear mounting area.
Also keep in mind that if it passes inspection, it may still fail on you.

My friend had absolutely no idea how that happened. From only what I can see, it had to have been the outer plate that holds on the ring gear smashing into the cover. It baffles me too. In picture 10, those arent dings, pits or anything, just some clustered up metal shaving being held together by some of the old fluid that was drained out. What I would really like to do, is replace that outer plate and get all new screws put in, if that is possible. I've never had to tackle a problem like this, so I'm sure what i can or can't do with this. I would like to finish disassembling it, but as I mentioned before, 2 of the 4 screws that hold the housing to the outer plate are broken off inside the housing. And I'm not sure if they're reverse threaded or not, and haven't been able to get the other 2 screws out since I lack air tools and cant torque it enough to budge it loose while trying to hold it still by standing on a bar I've got through the middle of it.

[FormulaLT1]

Yes, thats a torsen for sure. I can tell by the case and the paddle thats used to seperate the axles.