I posted this on other forums so I thought I would share..

I recently installed my LSD. A buddy of mine with a 240sx also did his at the same time.. Its going to be short and sweet and PLEASE DONT BE INTIMIDATED by this. It was quite easy and Im no mechanic, Im just good at following directions.

First thing is first - GET THE FSM (Factory Service Manual) so you will know what foot lbs of torque to use when you put everything back together. THIS IS A MUST - IF YOU DONT HAVE THE FSM - DONT START THIS PROJECT.

btw - I save 400 bucks on the install ...

MODS please move to DIY section - I cant make a new thread in there.

First - Jack up car (in my case - cars)



Get everything ready and take pics of your very expensive purchase..

Get under the car and start taking stuff off - you will need a 14MM socket and 17MM... the 14mm is for the axle bolts. The 17 is for the driveshaft bolts..



unbolt the driveshaft and MAKE SURE you have a towel or something to lay it on cause you DONT want to mess up that bad a$$ carbon fiber..

Another pic - just for reference..

Now there is one bolt (17MM) on the back of the diff that holds it in place - remove it..

Now that everything is unbolted - make sure you remove the breather hose tube and 2 (12mm) sensors (these are for speedometer) - theres one on each side closest to the axles.. YOU WILL NEED help on this part - Pumpkin is HEAVY!

Drain your Diff - here is my way of doing it cause that pumpkin is HEAVY.

remove all the bolts on the diff cover - they are all 14mm

After removing the cover (screwdriver and soft mallet) remove the axles. They actually slide right out after a few taps.. so be gentle and REMEMBER WHICH SIDE IS WHICH!! <--- very important!

Now here is bearing housing bolts - 17MM (again) - IMPACT them bad boys off - AGAIN, remember which side is which..

Another Pic of removing bearing housing bolts. Theres just 4 ...NO FUSS...

Now here you see me banging out the diff with an extension .. few taps later and diff comes right out..

Diff is out and just needs a good YANK.. Have your buddy hold on while you pull that whole thing out.

Put the Open DIff in a VISE (I didnt have one - Yeah more tools for me!) and begin the hardest part of the project. These bolts are LOCTITE in so it take ALOT of effort...So take turns cause this is tiring.. Oh and these are 17MM. Get a BIG breaker bar for this..

Put ring gear on the new diff.. PUT LOCTITE on EVERY single bolt and get to work - these need the most torque - refer to FSM for specs..

Diff is IN the housing - again refer to FSM for Torque Specs..

Here is a closer pic....

I forgot to mention - get some scotchbrite pads and remove any left over silicone gasket...put some elbow grease in it...you want it nice and clean for when you put your silcone gasket on and put the cover back on.

Now put everything back together - FSM! FSM! FSM!!

Fill her up for break in - take her for a spin - LITTERALLY - LOL

Do figure 8's for 20 mins - take the car back to the house and change that fluid.. After that - YOUR DONE..!



COMMENTS WELCOME -

Hey acidjake very well done!! This thread was well put together. Props to you and your friend!!

Tunismo wrote:Hey acidjake very well done!! This thread was well put together. Props to you and your friend!!

Thx Ive posted this on MY350Z and 350zmotoring as well..

Base model Z owners who dont have a diff... Your missing out.. having a diff is night and day difference on the drive. this IS the best investment Ive made for my Z...Better yet...its lifetime warranty on the DIFF...Even if I go boosted in the future..

ummmmm, how ao\bout you run a pattern on the gears before installing it?

evildky wrote:ummmmm, how ao\bout you run a pattern on the gears before installing it?

we were dead center.. no shims needed...I read all about backlash on the gears...as long as your center, your good...

Probably the last DIY i ever expected to see, but nonetheless i thank you.

acidjake75 wrote:
we were dead center.. no shims needed...I read all about backlash on the gears...as long as your center, your good...

did you measure the backlash? I missed that part of your how to, the pinion depth might not have changed, and the centering shims might have been replaced as removed but the carrier is different, if they were all completely identical there would be no shims and no need to measure backlash or run a pattern, unfortunately we do not live in that perfect workd, the backlash should be measured before and after and a patern should always be run

I'm a lost puppy here and I wanna learn, whats all this backlash nonsense?

Dasoupdude wrote:I'm a lost puppy here and I wanna learn, whats all this backlash nonsense?

Man all you need to worry about is making sure that when you put the diff in and you have everything torqued (factory specs). you spin where the drive shaft is connected, and where the gear touches; that needs to be dead center. you can use gear marker for this

here is some additional info for "acceptable patterns"

http://www.differentials.com/install.html

I also used this for reference as well - zerothread/217546

Step 14-Place gear marker on the face of the ring gear. Rotate the shaft a few times so that it hits the marker. Make sure it hits dead on, center, of the ring gear. If it doesn't, you would need to buy adjusting shims of certain sizes to move the differential either left or right.

____________

so me being dead center (so was my friends 240sx) - no shims were needed...PLUG AND PLAY...

personally I think its hard to mess it up..its a SIMPLE swap..

Indeed, those linlks sure helped clarify things, 10 Q.

how do I get this added to DIY / how to links? you cant PM admin or OP on the DIY posts..

I've been away for the weekend, but I'll add it sometime in the next week or so.

Great DIY post and (IMO) the best initial mod you can make on the base model Z. Well done!

ill add it for you when i get home

Thanks guys - BB I have to agree with you - This was by far the best mod Ive done for my car. I track and drift - so this LSD gives me the best of BOTH worlds.

Pure Playaer wrote:ill add it for you when i get home

Soup, you're not logged into your account.

I've got the stock VLSD... how much of a difference is the "real" deal Quaife LSD?

P.S. Nice work on the DIY!

BusyBadger wrote:

Pure Playaer wrote:ill add it for you when i get home

Soup, you're not logged into your account.

Which is why I had to do it when I got home

Wow i didnt even realize i posted from that account

spitalul2bad wrote:I've got the stock VLSD... how much of a difference is the "real" deal Quaife LSD?

P.S. Nice work on the DIY!

Thanks - well, the simplest way I can put it is - your all smiles when you go sideways or do a HARD launch and BOTH tires are spinning.

Rock solid for auto-x... Lifetime guaranteed (even with BOOSTED applications) - you change the fluid as often as FSM says to. I can keep going - but really NO MORE ONE WHEEL WONDER - thats what I was called from all my buddy's who have 2 way LSDs (clutch Type)

This diff gives me the best of both worlds.

I've been eye-balling getting the same LSD for a while. Can I ask how much you paid for it?

Thanks a lot for the DIY, should prove useful in the near future for me