Top diff bracket
Discussion
Some time ago Andy H asked if I'd had problems with the diff brackets, and I bravely said 'no'. Noticed a 'clunk' the last time I had the car out, and....
Ignore the colour - it's not alloy; it's the standard bracket only all my chassis is powder coated silver.
Seems pretty much ripped apart, and the top piece of bracing has gone completely; plus there's cracks/rips on some of the other welds too.
Presumably TADTS. Planning just make another one up out of thicker gauge steel, unless there's a source of 'off the shelf' monster-strong ones that anyone knows about? Is there a better/stronger design?
Ignore the colour - it's not alloy; it's the standard bracket only all my chassis is powder coated silver.
Seems pretty much ripped apart, and the top piece of bracing has gone completely; plus there's cracks/rips on some of the other welds too.
Presumably TADTS. Planning just make another one up out of thicker gauge steel, unless there's a source of 'off the shelf' monster-strong ones that anyone knows about? Is there a better/stronger design?
Yoiks!
I put an additional bracket across the chassis under the diff that picks up into the rear cover. The bracket is on bushes so there is still a bit of give, but you want to stop the diff trying to rotate under load.
You should also check the front mounts - I found that the bushes in all the mounts had gone mushy, and the holes in the front mounts had elongated. Welded some hefty reinforcing washers on them.
Tim has solid mounted his diff with really big custom brackets. Two schools of thought here - he prfers it to be nailed it down - I prefer it to have a bit of movement, believing that a bit of give will help protect the driveshafts and stub axles from shock. Don't know who is right!
I put an additional bracket across the chassis under the diff that picks up into the rear cover. The bracket is on bushes so there is still a bit of give, but you want to stop the diff trying to rotate under load.
You should also check the front mounts - I found that the bushes in all the mounts had gone mushy, and the holes in the front mounts had elongated. Welded some hefty reinforcing washers on them.
Tim has solid mounted his diff with really big custom brackets. Two schools of thought here - he prfers it to be nailed it down - I prefer it to have a bit of movement, believing that a bit of give will help protect the driveshafts and stub axles from shock. Don't know who is right!
I had a long chat with JR about diff mountings, as John Broadbent managed to rip the front diff mounts out of the chassis as well.
JR's thoughts were that a lot of this was down to wear in the bushes, allowing things to slop about and then rip the mounts out... Apparently they would change all the bushes every season if not at a half season refresh point, and didn't have any problems with the mounts..
I think the best solution at the back has to be somewhere between the two. a wider mount like Tim's but still with some kind of bushing to take the shock loading out.
JR's thoughts were that a lot of this was down to wear in the bushes, allowing things to slop about and then rip the mounts out... Apparently they would change all the bushes every season if not at a half season refresh point, and didn't have any problems with the mounts..
I think the best solution at the back has to be somewhere between the two. a wider mount like Tim's but still with some kind of bushing to take the shock loading out.
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