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Stripped Differential

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M

mnm

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Well after a couple of runs around the track I started to notice my car starting to handle like crap. It revved high with no speed shown, and took turns to large. I brought it in for a check up and at first though it would be from the racing clutch or 2 speed, somewhere around that area. After checking those places nothing turned up bad. I went ahead and started to take apart the rear differential , to find out that i have striped it somehow. It’s strange I never really striped any differentials in any of my cars although this one was old, and I do not know how this could have happened. But I'm trying to figure that out, here are some pictures:

dsc005962qm.jpg


dsc005942eh.jpg


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Yep, that's stripped all right.

You have to be real careful on how you shim those diff's. Make sure it is very, very slightly snug but not binding. Get the OFNA shim kit if you cannot find original shims.
 
I'm sure it was shimmed enough and it was tight also as I have driven with that differential a dozen of times before.I'm thinking it might might be from the out drive pushing it inwards more as i have installed an extra o ring in there before the race day started. :shrug:
 
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You might be right, but you can shim for that scenario as well. This type of thread goes to show that not getting all the info up front can make it hard for the rest of us to help diagnose the issue.
 
Revo Rancher said:
You might be right, but you can shim for that scenario as well. This type of thread goes to show that not getting all the info up front can make it hard for the rest of us to help diagnose the issue.
Click to expand...


I'm sorry if i havent said that before, but i didnt relize it until i actually looked closer at the outdirve, thats when i rememberd adding the 3rd o ring( i forget alot lol), but would that really make the diffrence to actually strip the Deff.? :rolleyes: i dont know i just find it hard to belive but still it may be true...
 
This is from an RS4 18ss, correct? Well, I lightly touched on what dif problems will go through on another thread in regards to belt vs shaft. This is a prime example of what will happen when the wheels are shocked enough times from hits. Especially when brushs with a board or contact with another vehicle.The shock against the rotating mass will slowly eat away your drive pinion and ring gear. The more you run and make contact, the more often this will happen.

When I was still using my NTC3 I would go through diffs at least once/season. Mostly because the gears were designed with a nonmetal material. I always made sure to check the diffs at least once a month and rebuild, reshim and regrease.

The ball diff is a bit differnet than diffs with spider gears but the conceptis the same when shiming. Take out the slop and shim to where it's not binding. Checking, rebuilding and refiling diff oils or regreasing will at least keep you up to speed and notice any potential probs.
 
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Hey, MNM, it's cool, I was just using your post to provide an example for everyone on how important all info helps the rest of us.

BTW, I have the RS4 SS 12 and so far I have not had any diff issues. I run in a few local club races, but I am not real aggressive and rarely hit the boards. I GET hit more than I hit.

I plan to tear down my diffs this winter. I wonder what I will find (or not find!) in them.
 
please delete, unnessesary post made.
Edit: on another hand, where can i get a hold of a OFNA shim kit online? would like to try it out and see how that works compared to my regular shims.


thanks
 
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Didn’t want to post a new topic about this, but has anyone tried removing the Differential Adjustment Spring from the Front Defferential on the RS4. How would it perform with the Adjustment Spring removed (meaning it’s the same setup as the rear Defferential? I'm just wondering as the Differential Adjustment Spring, stiffens up the Front defferential and I'm really interested in knowing why they had this setup (its probably For better steering).
 
mnm,


Being the the nitro 3 comes with the hardest of the 3 adjustment springs, it seems they were just trying to save a couple of bucks on almost locking up the front diff rather than install the front one way as part of the kit.
 
thanks.
is anyone here using the ball deff for the RS4, or the oneway Front deff? any feedback on them? I'm thinking of switching to ball deff in the back after i go through the new Gear deff i recently installed.
 

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