Clubsport Drivetrain - A couple of Questions

[Laurence7]

Had a pretty disasterous trackday at Snetterton last Thursday, for which, annoyingly, I can blame nobody but myself. I'd left loose the 4 off 5/16 bolts securing each side of the diff unit in the chassis. Result - the diff worked loose and wrecked the chain and both sprockets . After kicking myself about a hundred times, I set to sorting out the resulting mess.

Anyway, a few queries:-

The chain that was fitted has (had!) 76 links, and with 15/47 gearing, the diff unit lay behind a line drawn between the stub axles (so that the drive shaft angled back to the diff). I have a spare chain, which has 74 links. Assuming I'm using gearing between 15/46 and 15/50, which is correct, 76 links or 74 links?

The diff unit seems (thankfully) to be unaffected by the mis-hap, but I've noticed that one of the support bearings is slightly stiffer than the other (the LH one, which is the most heavily loaded), so I'm thinking of replacing it. Given that the bearings sit in housings that run very close to the diff unit, what's the best way of removing them?

Helpful feedback gratefully received

Edited by Laurence7 on Monday 8th September 12:30

Edited by Laurence7 on Monday 8th September 13:34