Discussion
One of the jobs I want to do before the summer is to sort my GKN diff out. It's whiney and clonks a bit and got noticeably worse after a long road trip last summer.
My options are to get the current one refurbed or get a second hand replacement. I'll be doing the work in my dads garage so I have access to a ramp, but means if I chose the refurb option the car will be stuck in his way for at least a week while the diff is sent away, which isn't ideal.
So does anyone have experience with buying diffs from certain specialist breakers? £500 is an extortionate amount of money but it means the car can be sorted in a day. The only worrying thing is I only have a month to get the diff in and tested before the warranty runs out. Has anyone had issues with diffs from these people being knackered or are they generally ok?
The ideal option is to find a cheap diff that's suitable for rebuild that I can send away for rebuild. There's one on Ebay, but that requires a crown wheel so will probably end up being pricey. Don't suppose anyone has one knocking about? Or even a known good one they want to part with?
On the plus side my new tax disc arrived today so I get to drive the Chim for the first time since September. Woo hoo!
Cheers
Carl
My options are to get the current one refurbed or get a second hand replacement. I'll be doing the work in my dads garage so I have access to a ramp, but means if I chose the refurb option the car will be stuck in his way for at least a week while the diff is sent away, which isn't ideal.
So does anyone have experience with buying diffs from certain specialist breakers? £500 is an extortionate amount of money but it means the car can be sorted in a day. The only worrying thing is I only have a month to get the diff in and tested before the warranty runs out. Has anyone had issues with diffs from these people being knackered or are they generally ok?
The ideal option is to find a cheap diff that's suitable for rebuild that I can send away for rebuild. There's one on Ebay, but that requires a crown wheel so will probably end up being pricey. Don't suppose anyone has one knocking about? Or even a known good one they want to part with?
On the plus side my new tax disc arrived today so I get to drive the Chim for the first time since September. Woo hoo!
Cheers
Carl
CarlosV8 said:
One of the jobs I want to do before the summer is to sort my GKN diff out. It's whiney and clonks a bit and got noticeably worse after a long road trip last summer.
My options are to get the current one refurbed or get a second hand replacement. I'll be doing the work in my dads garage so I have access to a ramp, but means if I chose the refurb option the car will be stuck in his way for at least a week while the diff is sent away, which isn't ideal.
So does anyone have experience with buying diffs from certain specialist breakers? £500 is an extortionate amount of money but it means the car can be sorted in a day. The only worrying thing is I only have a month to get the diff in and tested before the warranty runs out. Has anyone had issues with diffs from these people being knackered or are they generally ok?
The ideal option is to find a cheap diff that's suitable for rebuild that I can send away for rebuild. There's one on Ebay, but that requires a crown wheel so will probably end up being pricey. Don't suppose anyone has one knocking about? Or even a known good one they want to part with?
On the plus side my new tax disc arrived today so I get to drive the Chim for the first time since September. Woo hoo!
Cheers
Carl
I have two GKN spare units I'm just North of Newbury. PM me if interested.My options are to get the current one refurbed or get a second hand replacement. I'll be doing the work in my dads garage so I have access to a ramp, but means if I chose the refurb option the car will be stuck in his way for at least a week while the diff is sent away, which isn't ideal.
So does anyone have experience with buying diffs from certain specialist breakers? £500 is an extortionate amount of money but it means the car can be sorted in a day. The only worrying thing is I only have a month to get the diff in and tested before the warranty runs out. Has anyone had issues with diffs from these people being knackered or are they generally ok?
The ideal option is to find a cheap diff that's suitable for rebuild that I can send away for rebuild. There's one on Ebay, but that requires a crown wheel so will probably end up being pricey. Don't suppose anyone has one knocking about? Or even a known good one they want to part with?
On the plus side my new tax disc arrived today so I get to drive the Chim for the first time since September. Woo hoo!
Cheers
Carl
Roy.
Big thanks to 'roysum', because I am now in posession of a spare GKN diff, which will hopefully be getting rebuilt before going into the car.
However on comparing the diff to my current one the rear cover is different. I'm aware this cover changed over the life of the GKN, as the filler hole moved from the rear to the side, but what I didn't appreciate is that the rear top mount is also different. Which presents me with a problem as the spare diff doesn't have this mounting bracket and the one on my car wont fit.
The easiest way to solve this is to swap the rear covers over, but does anyone know if they're interchangeable? And assuming they are is everything else going to line up with the prop, driveshafts and mounts on my car? I don't want to spend a fortune on having a diff rebuilt if it's not going to fit the car!
In fact, here are a couple of images courtesy of Roy, to show the difference:
To me the rest of the diff looks the same so I'm hoping the covers can be swapped over, but some reassurance would be nice
Cheers
Carl
However on comparing the diff to my current one the rear cover is different. I'm aware this cover changed over the life of the GKN, as the filler hole moved from the rear to the side, but what I didn't appreciate is that the rear top mount is also different. Which presents me with a problem as the spare diff doesn't have this mounting bracket and the one on my car wont fit.
The easiest way to solve this is to swap the rear covers over, but does anyone know if they're interchangeable? And assuming they are is everything else going to line up with the prop, driveshafts and mounts on my car? I don't want to spend a fortune on having a diff rebuilt if it's not going to fit the car!
In fact, here are a couple of images courtesy of Roy, to show the difference:
To me the rest of the diff looks the same so I'm hoping the covers can be swapped over, but some reassurance would be nice
Cheers
Carl
Yes you need to swap the covers with it's matching bracket over I have seen 2 earlier cars than my 95 with that bigger 1st pic type cover (GKN diff came with both style finned covers) I have the lower pic type and a spare of the same that 1st pic cover is much easier to fill with oil though 
am sure oil capacity differed between the 2 types but don't hold me to this 
I have seen 2 earlier cars than my 95 with that bigger 1st pic type cover (GKN diff came with both style finned covers) I have the lower pic type and a spare of the same that 1st pic cover is much easier to fill with oil though am sure oil capacity differed between the 2 types but don't hold me to this Edited by Simon says on Tuesday 11th January 22:51
Hi Carl, Nice to meet you this evening !
I'm sure the castings are the same. Talk to Redman racing. You are welcome to the other one if you prefer (YHM)
www.readmanracing.co.uk/
Regards, Roy.
I'm sure the castings are the same. Talk to Redman racing. You are welcome to the other one if you prefer (YHM)
www.readmanracing.co.uk/
Regards, Roy.
I'm missing the bracket for the diff in the top picture, and this is the one I intend to have rebuilt. It sounds like it should be possible to swap the covers once I have my current diff out of the car though, so hopefully I should be ok. If anyone does have the spare bracket/bolts though, I'd be interested in acquiring them just in case!
I changed the oil in my current diff last year and although it was fiddly it wasn't too much of a problem so I'm not fussed about keeping the cover with the filler on the back.
Roy, I've had a quick quote over email from Readman Racing after your recommendation, and their price is very good. So I'll give them a call at some point to get their input too, and get the rebuild booked in.
Thanks all
Carl
I changed the oil in my current diff last year and although it was fiddly it wasn't too much of a problem so I'm not fussed about keeping the cover with the filler on the back.
Roy, I've had a quick quote over email from Readman Racing after your recommendation, and their price is very good. So I'll give them a call at some point to get their input too, and get the rebuild booked in.
Thanks all
Carl
Not quite Roy. Bank balance has taken a beating over the last month, plus I've been preparing for my final accountancy exam so not much time/money for car stuff (except an MOT and oil change!)
However I've got the new diff bushes and new oil, so only thing left to do is get the diff checked over and serviced. Hoping to sort that out this week and then fitted some time in March.
I've got a weekend of other little odds and sods to do after that, then the old girl will be sorted for the summer
However I've got the new diff bushes and new oil, so only thing left to do is get the diff checked over and serviced. Hoping to sort that out this week and then fitted some time in March.
I've got a weekend of other little odds and sods to do after that, then the old girl will be sorted for the summer
Bit of an update on this one. I've spent most of January and February messing about with changing my daily driver and also preparing for an exam. But the arrival of March has brought more free time and a renewed sense of eagerness to get the Chimaera sorted. So today a courier has picked up my spare diff and is delivering it to Readman Racing for a service and checkover before it get's fitted.
John @ Readman also confirmed that the rear covers are swappable on the 2 types of GKN diff, so he'll be leaving it unsealed for me to changeover when I get my current diff off the car.
Can't wait to get it sorted - my wallet is taking another bashing, but it'll be worth it to get rid of the nasty diff noises and the fear that it'll go pop at any moment!
Cheers
Carl
John @ Readman also confirmed that the rear covers are swappable on the 2 types of GKN diff, so he'll be leaving it unsealed for me to changeover when I get my current diff off the car.
Can't wait to get it sorted - my wallet is taking another bashing, but it'll be worth it to get rid of the nasty diff noises and the fear that it'll go pop at any moment!
Cheers
Carl
SteveGRF said:
Carlos
Do you mind me asking how much the courier cost was or weight of the diff ?
I have to arrange to get mine to Redman for the same treatment - Thanks.
Steve
Total weight was 50kg but that included a pallet as I thought that would be the safest way to transport it. That cost £47 for a 48 hour deliveryDo you mind me asking how much the courier cost was or weight of the diff ?
I have to arrange to get mine to Redman for the same treatment - Thanks.
Steve
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