bigbreak_2000 Posted August 23, 2013 Share Posted August 23, 2013 On a 280zx with (non CV) how easy is it for one of the rear axles to work its way out of the diff if the c clip in the differential is missing? What driving or road condition could cause the axle to slip out? Unless the car actually goes airborne is it possible that a shaft can pop out? I found that both clips on my car axles are missing, and want to drive the car till I have the appointment to take it into the shop so they can install the clips (and new seals). I recently had a Quaife LSD installed and apparantly the guy who installed the diff did not know he needed, or forgot, to transfer the clips from the stock diff over, and Quaife diffs dont come pre-installed with the clips. Quaife recommends one secure the cips on the shaft before you push the shaft into the diff. After the first few days of driving I noticed the car had a very small oil drip when parked in the garage. It is lowered so I could not crawl under to see if the diff cover seal was leaking or if it was bleeding from overfill. When I finaly got the car on the lift at the shop we saw that the oil was actually leaking out the side of the diff and one of the axles was partly pulled out by about 2 inches. Axles on both sides are loose enough we can move them in/out by hand. I am drving extra careful now, slow speeds, wide turns, avoiding bumps and dips in the road where possible. Just curious to know what conditions could cause the shaft to move out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUNNY Z Posted August 23, 2013 Share Posted August 23, 2013 (edited) Fairly sure the clips stay in the diff on this style of stub. It wouldn't be physically possible for them to come out even if they were indeed missing. Edited August 23, 2013 by SUNNY Z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbreak_2000 Posted August 23, 2013 Author Share Posted August 23, 2013 That's what I had though...worse case is a bad vibration from the rear end and possible premature wear on the spider gears? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted August 23, 2013 Share Posted August 23, 2013 Worst case scenario is that the shafts slide out of the diff 1/2 way and then you put power to it and strip the splines off of the shaft. Seen that happen on CV cars where they weren't clipped in properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewZed Posted August 23, 2013 Share Posted August 23, 2013 (edited) Just curious to know what conditions could cause the shaft to move out. The rubber boots on the u-joint halfshafts pull the ends together. A u-joint halfshafts natural state is on the short side so there will always be a force pulling the axle out of the diff. As opposed to the CV shafts which have a spring inside extending it. Another thing to consider is the portion of the axle that the bearing rides on. There's about an extra inch inside where the bearing rides. The axle necks down to the splines. If the axle moves too far you won't have bearing support. Which will put a lot of potentially damaging load on your Quaife unit. Edited August 23, 2013 by NewZed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUNNY Z Posted August 23, 2013 Share Posted August 23, 2013 ... As opposed to the CV shafts which have a spring inside extending it. ... Uh? I've had plenty of CV's apart. There is no spring that holds tension.... At least in a Z31, Z32, S13, Q45, Porsche 930 CV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewZed Posted August 23, 2013 Share Posted August 23, 2013 Maybe it's the boot then. My 280ZX CV axles take a lot of pressure to fully compress. I haven't had them apart and didn't dig in to what keeps them extended. It's extraneous to the OP's problem anyway, shouldn't have added it. But thanks for clarifying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted August 23, 2013 Share Posted August 23, 2013 The 280ZXT axles have springs in them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbreak_2000 Posted August 24, 2013 Author Share Posted August 24, 2013 Somewhat off topic but let ask...would the issue of missing the clips add to drivetrain loss? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naptown Dave Posted August 26, 2013 Share Posted August 26, 2013 It seems to me that you have invested a fair amount of money into your diff lately, why would you want to risk damaging it unless you absolutely had too? The only place I would drive it was back to the shop that didn't put the circlips back in. It is kind of a pain to get them in but they really need to be there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbreak_2000 Posted August 30, 2013 Author Share Posted August 30, 2013 We got them in without much trouble and luckily there does not appear to be any wear or issues. Put in brand new seals as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 Just experienced the snap ring thing. My racing buddy had cross shaft wear which let his spider gears bind, sheared off about 6 spider gear teeth, locked one side of the diff then destroyed a halfshaft u-joint and wiped out the halfshaft yoke on the differential end. At least that's what appears to have happened. Well, to help get him back on the track, I opened up a 3.70 that I had robbed of the CLSD carrier about a year ago and swapped in an open R200 carrier, torqued the ring gear and carrier yokes with locktite and installed new seals. Went to install his stub axles, and what do you know (?) the axle retention snap ring inside my 3.70 diff was missing on one side (argh!). The stub slipped in and out with ease. We robbed one out of his wrecked diff using flat head screwdrivers and then started wrestling the snap ring into my diff. After about an hour of wrestling with screwdrivers and needle nose plyers, I recalled a post on this site that described using a socket to get the snap ring started into the carrier. A 24mm socket (with an extension and a couple taps of a hammer) was perfect for getting the snap started down the splines squarely, then we used the stub axle and a hammer to carefully advance the snap ring into the groove inside the carrier. Perfect. Glad I live on this site! Thanks hybridz! Now I gotta find him a driver side halfshaft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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