TwinTurboTim

Anything I should know? Who has done one and what shall I expect?

kamilclk430

Yes

Your car will move out better expect to have a smile on your face

Not much help but at least some good things

Congrats

Kamil

Dr Matt

Post up anything you figure out because I am doing mine tomorrow.

RaceHorse

Good luck to you both, It will be nice to hear your responses. I'm sure you both will be surprising and scaring people around you!!! There was a thread posted by someone installing a Quaife on a SL, there may be some info that carries over.

TwinTurboTim

Well removal went pretty easy. I took off right side exhaust and then the whole spindle/knuckle on that side so I could get the axle out. The job called for 6.6 hrs R and R so I figured they probably only wanted one side knuckle out but it may be for both. I left axle in the drivers side and just moved the diff to the passenger side while lowering it. For some reason it calls though for 14 hrs to R and R diff and overhaul. No clue where the extra 8 hours comes from. This was one of the easiest diffs to take a part. The rear cover though I felt like I was missing a bolt because the sealant they use was just a ***** to separate. One of the O rings on the differential carrier bearings tore so that is really the only piece I will need to continue. Hopefully the dealer has that in the morning....or at least somewhere. If anyone wants any pictures of anything or any tips just let me know.

Dr Matt

Glad to hear it was that easy.


I got mine jacked up, removed the passenger side exhaust, right rear tire, and the axle nut. Didn't think I'd get to start tonight at all so I'm already ahead of schedule. Figured at 10:30 it is time turn to off the compressor and call it a night. I'll yank it out the rest of the way in the morning before my sons birthday party.

TwinTurboTim

Goodnight!

TwinTurboTim

Goodnight!

MB_Fahrer

Where did you buy your Quaife diff? I need one for my S600. What percentage lockup did you wind up going with?

Dr Matt

I got mine from vivid racing. They had a deal for members of this site. Not adjustable lockup.

MB_Fahrer

Okay, great thanks! Non-adjustable is fine, but do you know what percentage (Renntech is something like 100% which is just overkill for street cars) 65-80% is good because you don't experience as much binding while parking/sharp turns.

TwinTurboTim

Its a torsen style so 100% lock up when on the gas. Installed mine this morning and loving it. Have not put it in dyno mode but even with the esp off she lays nice even rubber! Cant wait to go to track now!

TwinTurboTim

Oh and I got mine from bird's garage in UK.

MB_Fahrer

TTT:

Great!! Thanks for the info. I'll get mine ordered ASAP. I'll need it for this winter. One wheel drive (stock, open diff) will not work in the snow this coming winter, Blizzak's or not.

Cheers,
Ricky

RaceHorse

I'm glad everything went well. I'm sure you are ear to ear smiles now. It seems to be the perfect balance with the esp off, where as before it would just cut the throttle too quickly, now you can ride it out for a bit. Now you can enjoy the car with some more usable power.

Grip Grip

Congrats on the isntall.

Can you post up some photos of the installation into the stock carrier housing? I've done a half dozen carrier swaps on my XF, but I've never installed a Quaife into a differential. Also some tips would be great while they're fresh on your mind.

TwinTurboTim

Yeah cant think of any good tips. May want to get the carrier bearing o rings a head of time. It came with axle seals. Make sure you keep what I think is the shims on the same side. They may not even be shims but possibly. Yeah car is a blast now just wish I could go to the track now. Sorry cant think of any other tips to give people

Dr Matt

Well, I had time to pull mine before getting busy with my son's surprise birthday party. Pretty straight forward removal, but not going to get to swap the carrier and put it back together until after work this week with Mothers Day and my Anniversary both tomorrow.


Tips for removal:
I removed the axle nut but the axle didn't want to come out of the hub so I just pulled the axle with the hub.


Easy to disconnect the e-brake cable at the connection where it meets up with the cable from the other side and the pedal so I didn't have to mess with the e-brakes at the hub.


Otherwise, just unbolt it and like Tim said, just remove the passenger side exhaust and hub and drop it down and out that way rather than removing both hubs.


Unlike Tim's, my O-rings are fine but since I will probably not put it back in the car until Wednesday night I may pick some up in the mean time and replace them anyway.

Grip Grip

Thanks. I'm amazed at how nonchalant the install seems for you both. Swapping a complete carrier for another is no big deal, but aren't you actually removing the spider gears and replacing with the Quaife unit?

TwinTurboTim

Yeah I should mention that I own a shop so this is my full time profession but yeah you just replace the whole center carrier with the Quaife one.

Dr Matt

The only real "technical" part of the job is making sure the ring gear engages the pinion correctly. Since you are not changing the gear ratio you should not have to mess with the pinion at all. Just put on some gear marking compound and look at the pattern before disassembly, then make sure the pattern matches that when you install the new carrier. If it doesn't, move shims until it does. Of course you need to make sure bearing pre-load is right too. Be a lot easier R&Ring it with a lift than on my garage floor though.....

TwinTurboTim

Im not even sure if those are shims anyways. I was trying to find different part numbers and the guys on the phone didnt even think they were. They also told me that the O ring was $72 so you will have to let me know if that is the case if you go to get them. Yeah done so many of these jobs over the years I dont even mark them anymore and I have never had a problem. Most the time when I do ring and pinions I just reuse all the old shims including the one on the pinion and it has never giving me a problem. Probably not the best way but just speaking from my experiences.

TwinTurboTim

Does anyone want my center section? Its going in the trash otherwise.

Grip Grip

I'd like it incase I destroy mine at the track this weekend. I'll shoot you a PM with my address. Just let me know how much $ to send to cover shipping and the PITA factor.

Dr Matt

Can't wait to finish my install...... Going to swap the carrier tonight, hopefully have time to get it back in the car Wednesday night.

Only problem is I'm still waiting on my 18" Niche Essen wheels to mount my drag radials on. I don't really want to go to the track on my Continental DW's when I have brand new M/T drag radials in the garage.