LA diff centres

[Sideshow]

seeing that price it went for makes me more interested in removing my housing......

[larace]

wow, hoonboys diff centre went for similar $$$$ to what it cost for a

B/W cut down, custom 28 spline ;) axles, NEW gears of my choice and a mini spool

[stealth]

i made a jig for shortening the borg warner housings to suit la lancer
then its just a matter of axels $120 each and install a center lsd,mini
spool or full spool
cheers stealth

[HoonBoy]

Borg warners would be great if you could get something like 4.8:1 gears and they didn't have hard to weld axle tubes(for the average guy anyway)

[DanTurboLancer]

mmm id have to say Limited Ratio selection, and having to spread and properly Shim the centers instead of simply Unbolting, to swap out centres are the BWs down falls

[stealth]

i have to agree the centre removal and install is just a pain in the a
cheers stealth

[Sideshow]

well i pulled the 4.22 out of mine today and its in immaculate condition. i'll pull the housing out next weekend and take some photo's, then she'll be up for sale.

[DanTurboLancer]

ok guys here is where im at with my diff.

After seeing how much a stock LA diff went for I was pretty surprised!
Sure they are rare, and cool to keep a car in original Cond. but they are 30 years old....

Anyway started to go ahead with the Commo diff, but after some phone calls.
I was looking at $1,000 for a LSD centre,
$1,000 to have housing and axles shortened
and then getting low enough Gear ratios was a hassel,
One engineering shop told me i could get a 4.1:1,
A supplier said no, they could only suppley a borg 3.6:1 from a Falcon Ute diff ratio,

or they could supply lower, but either the Gears or the LSD centre would have to be modified.
So adding more cost again....
so $2,600 plus and that was with a free Diff!

Id been quoted $3000 for a 9"!!
Or similar money for a Hilux!

So i rang some mates and did some research, and alot of the Tuff truck comp guys are Running GQ Nissan Patrol Diffs.

Dont laugh just yet!
some drag racers are using them too.

I picked up a set(front and rear) for $500
Apparently they have a really reliable and strong LSD standard.
HUGE axles 43mm at Hub, and 33mm at Spline
Heavy duty high load bearings.
Massive Brakes, and vented disks.
And best is they are cheap to rebuild the clutch kits, or you can buy cheap Mini or Full spools!
Or if you are abit adventurous, you can run an airlocker set up...
They come in 3.9:1
Diesels run 4.1:1
you can get a 4.2:1
and the hard to find 4.6:1
(this ratio makes their speedo correct if they are running 35s,
so they all chase this ratio)


Less than a thousand to shorten axles and housing,
And for $1,500 i have a super strong and reliable diff!!!

i have the Calipers in getting a birthday.
I am going the cheap option and getting adapter plates made so to save getting Stud pattern changed, and having to change brakes etc,
but may do it later so i can swap to a rear wheel drive set of wheels.
(I run FWD whhels, so the spacers make up for the offset,
But the axles will be factory width)



However,
and this is where you purists will bork,

I am pretty sure it will hit the fuel tank,
So i may have to modify,
Or remove and fit a fuel cell in boot,
Or get a custom tank made....

And i have a horrible feeling, going off my measurements, that the Tail shaft tunnel may need some modifying!

She is a bloody big unit!

You can see the Large bump on the front top of the Patrol diff... That is where i think im going to run into trouble....





Its out getting all the work done atm, ill let you know in coming weeks!

Cheers Dan

[stealth]

dude it might look like it will hit the tank but most likely
will miss in mine i got the borgy and a full watts linkage
set up and only misses the tank by 10mm but the link
bars are quite bulky
dont stress until it dont fit
then if it happens mount the tank in the boot like the safari
lancers were,
good to see someone taking a different approach
cheers stealth

[BIG26L]

It will be close..... as Stealth said.

We used to run a panhard rod on a scorpion diff and standard fuel tank with out any drama's in my IPRA car.

On the old GroupC LB Lancer, they ran at Bathurst and ATCC rounds, The 90L fuel tank is so big, that they solid mounted the tank to the floor and
then welded the watts linkage pivot point mounts to the tank........ and that was using a Standard LB diff housing!

[stealth]

mmm 90 lt you say in the lb?
i have a works tank out of a la and its just over 83lt
and it doesnt fit with the watts link
the factory tank does the job
and you say "thay" use a watts link bar in the lb race car ,A
wonder what other differences are?
cheers stealth

[BIG26L]

Lots.... to many to list in this thread....... There's a a few pictures of the car in the Bathurst race books of the early "80's

[DanTurboLancer]

Thanks guys, My prob is I want to keep the car to its current Engineers report as best as possible, so if a cop sticks his snout under there he isnt going to pick up on anything too much outside of whats already written!

I have a 60Litre Alloy tank that got out of another car, and had mounted in the boot of the 4door.
I was thinking of getting it cut down and polished up and used like a drop tank....

But like you said, waiting to see if doesnt fit before going to make any changes

Cheers Dan

[DanTurboLancer]

Well its almost complete, clears tank, and im almost certain it will clear floor pan also.
I was woried over nothing, but i did leave heaps of clearance in my measurements.

Check out the Driveline section for the full report, including pics and cost

Cheers Dan

[boyracer]

.
.
Reading this thread Hoonboy got a fair price for his LSD, if you pay less
your getting a very good deal, ebay was a good option totally transparent
sale. Escort LSDs (new) will be got for a similar price. The GQ rear end is
heavy and seems reasonably priced for what it is, for the power that will
go through it. Still there seems to be alot of Hilux conversions out there.
.
What are smallest size wheels you can run with the GQ rear end????
Might get interested in your old diff if I get down that way.
.
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1 X GALANT GC WAGON
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[DanTurboLancer]

Oh i agree, that for a standard item it was a good price, but the abuse mine will recieve i wanted a LSD diff with more strength and durability espec in the axle department.

15" rims is the smallest it can fit with the standard brakes.
But you could always machine the axles down to accept the Sigma 4 stud and use their brakes etc....

All up the diff weighs just over 100kgs
not that much really

And you are right hilux is a top way to go, and would be lighter for a street car,
but for around 3 grand, and Im pretty sure that doesnt include brakes etc,
and im not sure but I think an LSD is an optional extra for about another Grand???

Can anyone correct me there??

I have done the whole job, including all new brakes, tailshaft shortened, and yoke and balance,
in the car and on the road for under $2,800,
And alot of the stuff like new disks, and Bearings could be avoided if you bought a decent unit to start with...
but im stoked with it, didnt have to mod the fuel tank or chop the floor, so just cant wait to drive it.

Yeah i might pull the stock diff apart and see if it is just a simple bearing or gear mesh fault and might put it up.

[Sideshow]

the early 70's model 2wd hilux diffs are narrow enough to fit under a lancer(very similar width to scorpion). detroits are available off the shelf for these (true tracs and lockers). i can't see why a hilux conversion would cost more than $1500 including centre and brakes. a mate of mine had one in his 323 with a mini spool and pintara brakes, 500rwhp and ran 9.4 down the strip. did more than 50 passes on that diff without damaging it.

when i priced one a while ago it was around:

diff from wrecker $200 (even cheaper if u find the right one on ebay)
detroit center $800
then that leaves $500 for brakes and swapping mounts over etc

theres plenty of options out there. if u want cheap go a scorpion diff with an l300 lsd, should be able to do that for a couple of hundred bucks.

[DanTurboLancer]

The Sigma Diff i put in my 4door was too wide.

I priced a Hilux diff from a wrecker, looking at the $800-$900 mark
with drums and non LSD (prob because they are so popular these days)

then as I said, you need to have it shortened,
Buy the LSD centre,
Fit disks,
plus all the same stuff i have had to go through....


and finding the 70s 2wd hilux diff is like finding chooks teeth....

not being a smart ass,
just saying i have tried many avenues.
but go for what works best for you guys!!!!!

Cheers
D