LSD w/o pumpkin

[theq]

Hey guys I just bought a vlsd from a j30 but it did not come in the casing. Would I have to go and get a j30 pumpkin+axles for it or is there a different option I go with. The reason I ask is its very tough to find a pumpkin that doesn't have its internal gutted. So if there is another way please enlighten me.

[Drakelee]

search, read

[theq]

damn...never thought of that before...

[OutToWinPAHC]

I havent checked in a while but I believe the LSD and open end cases are the same, but the shimming and seals may be different.

[SX APPEAL]

First of all I've participated in almost every vlsd thread in the past 7 years and I can tell you first hand that this is not a detail that gets discussed a lot, first time I've seen it asked actually. So if you guys want to be d!ck and pop off with the "just f*** search noob!" s*** you should probably know if theres anything to be found from a search...

But back on point: The J30 R200V unit has a different ring and pinion than the 240sx and NA Z32, which also use this unit. J30 is Therefore if you wanted to try to throw your J30 vlsd into one of those cases, you'd need to swap the matching J30 pinion shaft assembly into the new case as well, which is a pain in the a** and probably involves as lot of trial and error with shimming and what not. I'd say you need to find a J30 case, either open diff or LSD model shouldn't matter for that, the cases/gearing are the same.

[Drakelee]

I did plenty of searching before I bought my lsd and found everything i needed to know, from what parts i need to get, what is compatable and what needs to be changed, what axels match up with what model.

http://importnut.net/lsdswap.htm

All i did to get the above link, which contains the information you are looking for and some was type "j30 lsd swap" into google

Sorry for being a d*** I just figure if I have to research things for myself why shouldnt you...besides you usually come upon much more possibly useful information while reading up. Anyone can ask for an answer...

[theq]

Just so you know I have been reading my face off to try and get as much info on this as possible, and like comment above said my situation is kinda rare. The reason I bought the lsd internal was because I got it for a great price, and couldn't get it locally (or else I would have). BTW I believe that all j30s came stock with a vlsd. A member from another forum told me that I could swap out my ring gear from the my original diff. and it should work out with my original pinion gear. I guess I'll give it a try. One small step for me...

[SX APPEAL]

That would work, swapping your stock ring gear onto the new vlsd unit. Easier said than done though, there's a HELLUVA lot of torque on those bolts and its an awkwardly shaped part to hold in place to break heavy bolts loose, they have special tools to do it at dealerships. good luck though

EDIT: Drakelee chill out. Like I said before (And this is one of the few topics I feel I'm more than qualified to weigh in on...) the OP's question is very unique as most guys don't even consider breaking the case open and messing with the diff itself, which I have. One several occasions. with several cars. most recently in the past month. So you can take what I tell you to the bank. And one thing I can tell you is that whoever wrote that article you linked to was an idiot, its full of incomplete, inaccurate information and lack of understanding. So like I said chill out, I don't have anything against you, you seem to be a stand-up guy, but how about you don't flame noobs for asking questions unless you know the correct info is readily available...

I'm sorry for soap boxing it here, but the purpose of this forum is for good, accurate information, and the one thing I hate more than inaccurate info is those who flame people for not searching for info that doesn't exist in the first place.

[theq]

Hey thanks for the info SX APPEAL definitely gonna help me on my swap. If anything I'll try to record what I do and post it here so if anyone wants to try they'll have something to look at.

[simmode1]

SX_Appeal=

[Drakelee]

I'm chill, i was just explianing my reasoning, but your right this is a place for answers and to share knowledge. I shall never flame again*right hand over heart*

[robinsone]

So as I read it then, other than the pain it will be to switch your stock ring and pinion gears into the j30 carrier, you won't run into any fitment issues. My concern is just the extra length of the carrier itself due to the ABS sensor, the pinion gear of the j30 is the same length as the s13? I'm looking to do the swap but keep the same gear ratio as I have diff internal spares lying around

[theq]

@robin
No i don't think the pinion on the j30 is same as s13 that is why you would have to swap the s13 ring gear so that it would match with with the stock s13 pinion gear. Are you putting open internal into your j30 pumpkin? If so I am sure it will work, you would need j30 spacers ring and pinion gear I believe.

[Drakelee]

if you actually end up doing this you should totally do a write up.

[robinsone]

@theq, no what I was saying was that I wanted to retain the 4.08 ratio in my j30 vlsd, I may have gotten you confused, so I'm trying to put in my s13 ring and pinion into the stock j30 diff, again to keep the 4.08. If its too much of a hassle I'll keep the 3.92 or whatever it is, I just have the spares lying around, including the vlsd. So I thought I'd just give it a go and see what happens. I realize I can't swap ring and pinion separately due to the # of teeth etc, they are a pair which have to stay together I'm fully aware of that fact. But I wanted to see if s13 ring/pinion could be thrown into a j30 diff without any problems, fitment, length, that sort of thing. My assumption was that if its all based off the r200 design, there shouldn't be too many problems, again that may be a stretch to assume that much, I just figured. I hope this makes sense, unless I've confused myself, lol.

[SX APPEAL]

This is correct, but the easiest thing to do for what you want is just to remove the J30 diff from its pumpkin, swap your stock 240sx 4.08 ring gear onto it, and then put that assembly into your stock 240sx pumpkin, that way you don't have to go to the trouble of swapping the pinion shaft at all. Makes sense?

[robinsone]

no i understand swapping the pumpkin, i want the j30 diff carrier because i believe its a little heavier than the s13, as i'm also gonna use j30 axles and hubs in addition to do a 5 lug swap. i figure it'll help improve the weight distribution a bit as well, plus i bought those aluminum inserts mounts for the diff, and they'll just look sexy when installed...

[theq]

@robinsone Hmm I am not sure about your situation. Correct me if I am wrong but iirc the pinion gear on the j30 is a bit longer than the 240sx due to the ABS sensor. You would end up with a shorter pinion gear if you used your 240s. Therefore you wouldn't be able to get your internals to match up with your output shafts.

[OutToWinPAHC]

The VLSD case is longer as well as the pinion. God call SX I forgot about that and I have a hybrid diff myself.

But the number of teeth are different on the J30 pinion so you cant just press that in, you would need to swap the ring gear too and keep the 4.08 ration. You can also swap the pinion, its not that hard but you use the S-chassis flange.

[pella]

two weeks ago i got a J30 dif from pick n pull. only cost $65. might be worth the headache just to get a diffrerent one? my friend got one to and tried to change the guts so he could return it and get his money back. well that didnt go well. he ended up putting whole J30 back together and using it that way. is a pain in the a**, i watched him try it.

[theq]

Hey man if your j30 diff came with everything (internal+pumpkin+rings+output shafts) then I'd say its worth it. Mine is just a pain in the sphincter because I only had the internal and nothing else.