How easy to remove Diff ?

[steve-v8s]

My diff has an annoying wine (tried driving without a passenger but the noise was still there). I guess it is a case of dropping it out and sending it to a rebuilder. Could one of you knowledgeable people tell me if it is fairly straight forward or should I take my wallet and car to someone who knows what they are about ? The car is a 42k 1998. Have had a look in Steve’s book but am not a lot the wiser. Also who do I send it to ? Thanks

[spend]

IMO its a damn good opportunity to look after the parts of the chassis that are pretty inaccessible.

From memory (based on GKN diff) :

Car up nice & high.
Disconnect rear ARB & swing to 1 side (or remove)
Remove exhaust
Remove prop shaft
Disconnect drive shafts
Disconnect any speedo sensors (dont want to kill them)
Loosen 3 bush bolts (2 at front side, 1 top rear)
Loosen 4 bolts holding diff nose 2 brackets
Support diff (its very heavy!)
Remove all loosened bolts
Remove side brackets out of the way
Tilt it sideways and then drop out rear end first

Bernie at CTS does a great job.

Whilst its out apart from fettling the chassis, good time to change the fuel filter, and lubricate the handbrake... Diff bushes may also be addressed, particularly the top one - the side ones can be done without dropping the diff.

HTH, Dave

[steve-v8s]

Thanks for that, very comprehensive. I intened to rebush regardless.

[Graham B]

I need to do this at somepoint as mine also has the whine. Has anyone had this done at a dealer or indie, just wondering what the turn around and prices were like.

[rev-erend]

I had a whine on my GKN and found the central diff nut
behind the prop was loose.

It should be FBT (Fecking bloody tight) ..

Obviously being loose mean's the crown wheel and pinion teeth will be out of alignment - hence the noise.

This is really a temp fix - as a reason must exist for why this became loose.. wear etc..

Worth checking but it's is not a permanent fix !

[steve-v8s]

I enquired at a main dealer early this year and seem to remember around a grand for the whole job. Think they said a day to take out and a day to refit + about 10 days for the rebuild.

Thanks for the FBT info, will check, but think it is inside on mine. The case is leaking and guess the previous owner let it get too low.