jeromio Posted July 13, 2006 Author Share Posted July 13, 2006 I will definitely check and re-check the alignment again and also triple check all the various bolts and nuts. There are alot of them now with the adjuster. I've sort of been not-following Mark's "break it" advise. There's a nice big, zero traffic road by my office. If I downshift hard, the right wheel will actually skid. Accel thru a right hand turn leads to tire smoke. But a left hand turn will not (unless the throttle is pegged). And now of course the various bad diff noises are occurring more often in more situations. I spoke to someone else about the rusty 3.54 R200 I have who said not to worry about the rust. Can anyone corroborate that? Should I just soak it in light weight oil? This thing was in a car that sat in the woods for who knows how long. It was already rusty when I took it apart about 5 years ago. Ideally I would like to rebuild this one that's already out, so I can keep driving the car. Then I would just swap. Also, I think 3.54 would be a better gearset with the T56 and the torque of the LS1. Looks like it's about $100 worth of parts: # Axle Differential Bearing # Differential Pinion Bearing # Differential Pinion Seal # Differential Seal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark Posted July 13, 2006 Share Posted July 13, 2006 If you want to drive down to charlotte, I've got an r-200 and a couple of r180's you can choose from. Just carry it out of the garage and it's yours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted July 13, 2006 Share Posted July 13, 2006 There was another thread that said that the outer pinion bearing isn't available anymore. I bought one last year though, so ??? Light surface rust on gears isn't a problem. Anything more than that is. I'd take Mark up on his offer, and if not him directly a 3.54 R200 should be super easy to find. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1 Posted July 14, 2006 Share Posted July 14, 2006 I may be wrong, but this just doesn't sound like a diff problem to me. Is it possible that during the suspension work the weight bias has got shifted around so that there's no weight on the RR? Maybe a loose coilover nut, or a broken/slipped spring perch, or a collapsed shock? Check the gland nuts on the front also, if they come loose they will make the rear do funny things. Completely rebuilding a diff is a long process without a pinion gauge. If you just pull the carrier, you can set the back lash back where it was and be OK, but if you take out the pinion and put new bearings in it, it takes a lot of trial and error to get the mesh pattern right. You can do it, but it's not a quick/simple job. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeromio Posted July 14, 2006 Author Share Posted July 14, 2006 I'm definitely soaking up all the comments about this being a suspension issue - I hear you and I will definitely triple check everything. It's true I did some big mods to the susp. (to get it to align). But then I drove it problem free for about 1500 miles. This problem is new, so it would have to be something broken. However, the diff is definitely broken. Whether replacing/rebuilding it also cures this wierd behavior is certainly up for debate. It's to the point now where I'm worried the thing might lock up on a downshift (so I'm not doing that anymore ). I would rather not rebuild the diff myself, I'm just having a hard time locating a competent shop locally. Can't seem to find a book on R&P rebuild either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted July 14, 2006 Share Posted July 14, 2006 This problem is new' date=' so it would have to be something broken.[/quote'] Or shifted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted July 14, 2006 Share Posted July 14, 2006 Broken stub axle? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeromio Posted July 14, 2006 Author Share Posted July 14, 2006 Broken stub axle?Oh crap, didn't even consider that. But actually, if the diff was okay and one stub was broken, wouldn't all the power go to the broken side and the car would not move at all? That's what happened to me after I Dukes of Hazzarded over a honkin RR crossing and busted a CV on my old Accord. Put it in gear, rev motor, no movement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeromio Posted July 17, 2006 Author Share Posted July 17, 2006 Everyone who said it was a suspension issue gets a cookie. The driver's side inner control arm bolt was loose. Well, that is to say, it was loose awhile ago, now it's just completely gone! Obviously my first check was not thorough enough. I guess I just assumed that since I had my toe adjuster that the problem would be around there and that's what I focussed on. SO, now I need to get a control arm bolt. Not exactly something you can pick up at HomeDepot. Does anyone have any ideas? I need the washer that goes with it too. BTW, I picked up the R200 from Mark - thanks again, Mark. It's in great shape. The gear oil looked brand new. It's a 3.54 and I'm gonna swap it in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1 Posted July 17, 2006 Share Posted July 17, 2006 Glad you found the problem. Chocolate chip w/almonds please!!!!! If you can't find one closer, I've got some on an old parts car. Let me know. jt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted July 17, 2006 Share Posted July 17, 2006 I've got a couple of those bolts, but it looks like jt is a lot closer. Happy to help you find the problem, I know how frustrating that can be. Isn't that the 2nd LS powered Z to lose one of those bolts in the last 6 months or so? Never heard of that before the last LS guy did it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark Posted July 18, 2006 Share Posted July 18, 2006 I've probably got one laying around if you are going to be back down my way. Let me know and bring some oatmeal raisin cookies when you come. Glad you found the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeromio Posted July 25, 2006 Author Share Posted July 25, 2006 Back on the road again, this time thanks to John (JT1) sending me the missing bolt. I also ordered one from Courtesy in TX, but it has yet to arrive. I made sure to put loctite on every bolt when I put everything back together. The difference in gearing is soooo nice. I have not been able to really test out the difference in acceleration since I did a "while I'm at it" mod to the ebrake mechanism. I have ZX rear discs but the stock emergency brake mechanism has too short a throw for the calipers, so it barely works. I decided to lengthen the lever arm that actuates the cable. This lever is right over the Ujoint. I left about 1cm of clearance thinking that since I have 2 poly bushings holding the diff in place, that would be enough - diff wouldn't move that far up. Wrong. Normal driving is fine, but stomping on it yields some nasty sound effects. Oops. I guess I need to get an ebrake cable from a 240sx. It's amusing b/c the front of my diff seems locked in place. But I suppose applying ~400lb/ft of torque will get things moving... Anyway, the motor only turns 1400rpm at 55mph. I can do 70mph at around 1650rpm. One odd thing, I used to get a really annoying, head-ache inducing drone at 70mph which was around 2000rpm with the 4.11. But now when I tach to 2000rpm (which is much higher speed), the sound problem is minimal. I guess the engine is just loaded differently. It's very nice. I have not opened up the old 4.11 to see if there's any damage yet. Oh yes, and the wierd pull to the side problem is gone.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 Good job on the repair. Glad it worked out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1 Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 Good deal, glad you found the problem and fixed it before it got bad. jt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeromio Posted July 27, 2006 Author Share Posted July 27, 2006 Fixed it alright. Speeding ticket: 80 in a 65 on the way to work this AM.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 80 comes way to fast in these cars. Pay a lawyer to make it go away and get a radar detector. Hope you can get out of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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