LSD removal/installation

[Doc007]

How much does it typically cost to remove/install LSD/reinstall a BMW diff on a Duratec car? I’m having a spot of bother with my Titan (again) and trying to work out how much it will cost and therefore what might be in the coffers to pay for a (non Titan) LSD. How many hours does it take? I’m guessing somewhere between the whole day it took me and the 45mins it takes a team on a race day!

Edited March 3 by Doc007

[Benton]

Caterham old Gatwick and HWM charge 4 hours labour in total to remove and refit the whole diff. around £500.
Install LSD cost  will depend on whether existing diff is “refreshed” I.e. new  bearings and seals etc. or not.

BTW. Have replied to your PM 😀

Edited March 3 by Benton

[Doc007]

Thanks Benton. Replied to PM. That’s helpful. Now I can look into which LSD. I cars are why God gave us 2 kidneys!

Edited March 3 by Doc007

[BigCol]

Removing the diff isn’t too bad… refitting and centralising it, is!

[aerobod - near CYYC]

1 hour ago, BigCol said:

Removing the diff isn’t too bad… refitting and centralising it, is!

Once the diff has been centralized the first time, the packing washers each side should be the same for refitting. To make it easier to refit, I machined a couple of bushes to the thickness of the packing washers for mine.

[BigCol]

30 minutes ago, aerobod - near CYYC said:

Once the diff has been centralized the first time, the packing washers each side should be the same for refitting. To make it easier to refit, I machined a couple of bushes to the thickness of the packing washers for mine.

I replaced my diff, so had to re-centre as was using a different carrier...  like your idea of machined spacers but I lack a lathe etc!

Lifting the diff into place on my own with just a trolley jack was far from easy.

[ScottR400D]

Did you make a fixture to support the diff in the Jack? A few years ago when my Titan expired I had mine in and out several times. First time was a bit of a pain but then I made a very simple fixture and it became pretty easy. As said, note the washers coming out and centring is easy. 
Since then, 2020, I haven’t needed the diff out having fitted a a Tracsport. 
 

[Sandpiper]

I bonded the packing washers together and colour coded them port and starboard to make it easy to identify when under the car and less of a faff to get it back in.

A podger is your best friend for this task when solo

 

Edited March 5 by Sandpiper
Fpelling

[John Vine]

1 hour ago, Sandpiper said:

A podger is your best friend for this task when solo

I had to look that up.  Neat little tool.

JV

[BigCol]

3 hours ago, ScottR400D said:

Did you make a fixture to support the diff in the Jack?

I did (as you kindly sent me your notes!) it made it much easier than the initial build but still, positioning the jack, lifting into place, aligning before putting the first fastenings in etc was still far from simple!

[22daz]

I replaced my diff for a Tracsport last year and found the whole process to be much easier than I’d anticipated. 
Remove the calliper and pads, cable tie up to the spring. Unbolt the shiny Dedion ears and slide the whole lot including driveshafts out as one without undoing the hubnut. ARB needs to be removed but that’s a 5min job. An impacter with long extension to remove the propshaft bolts is better than a socket, which will probably round them off. I’d also recommended removing the oil first.

I took out the boot floor and supported the diff with a narrow ratchet strap on the roll bar for safety (not lifting) and using the same method it all went back into place fine without using a jig on top of the jack. Even the long top bolt slid through with just fingers although they often require more persuasion. 

My (BMW) diff has a cradle which I re-powder coated as it was peeling off in sheets. To space it evenly, put that in place first without the weight of the diff to check washers which I improved from what was there previously. I would advise doing that yourself rather than relying on someone else’s interpretation. It’s worth making a note of what comes out as your start point though. 4 pieces of masking tape with the number of washers written on it stuck to the bulkhead is useful. 

An afternoon is plenty of time to do this on your own. 
When you’ve done it once, it could probably be repeated in an hour or so on your own after initial prep.

22daz

[Doc007]

Podger??? I assumed that was a fat mate to do the heavy lifting!

[Doc007]

On 06/03/2024 at 10:28, 22daz said:

I replaced my diff for a Tracsport last year and found the whole process to be much easier than I’d anticipated. 
Remove the calliper and pads, cable tie up to the spring. Unbolt the shiny Dedion ears and slide the whole lot including driveshafts out as one without undoing the hubnut. ARB needs to be removed but that’s a 5min job. An impacter with long extension to remove the propshaft bolts is better than a socket, which will probably round them off. I’d also recommended removing the oil first.

I took out the boot floor and supported the diff with a narrow ratchet strap on the roll bar for safety (not lifting) and using the same method it all went back into place fine without using a jig on top of the jack. Even the long top bolt slid through with just fingers although they often require more persuasion. 

My (BMW) diff has a cradle which I re-powder coated as it was peeling off in sheets. To space it evenly, put that in place first without the weight of the diff to check washers which I improved from what was there previously. I would advise doing that yourself rather than relying on someone else’s interpretation. It’s worth making a note of what comes out as your start point though. 4 pieces of masking tape with the number of washers written on it stuck to the bulkhead is useful. 

An afternoon is plenty of time to do this on your own. 
When you’ve done it once, it could probably be repeated in an hour or so on your own after initial prep.

22daz

Thanks Daz. I removed the diff quite a few years ago but don’t recall it terribly well. You only really only need access to one side, right? Is there a preferred side? Take the driveshaft out one side and then pull the diff off the other driveshaft which stays attached to the other side? Remove A-frame. I DO recall removal/ reinstalling of the handbrake cable being a massive ballache!

[Dave Hardcastle]

I removed mine for fitting of a Tracsport LSD. The guide I followed came from the old site so link is broken. I would definitely say remove both driveshafts. It's hard enough wiggling the diff out with both driveshafts removed. I don't believe you'd get it out with one still in place, if you can, it will make it SO much harder.

My removal/refit went a lot smoother than I expected, always nice 😁

[22daz]

Doc, I would definitely remove both driveshafts. For the effort involved and easy access to the De-dion ears it would make life much harder leaving one of them in-situ. Unbolting then lifting the whole diff sideways whilst underneath the car would be more trouble than removing the 4 ear bolts and calliper. The driveshaft would also need supporting if you left it in.
 

I don’t remember the handbrake cables being too much of an issue. Just slacken the adjuster as much as possible and ensure it’s routed properly before you put the diff back in. I had to remove the centre console as the cable came off its little wheel behind the handbrake due to it requiring so much slack to pull the narrow part of cable through the slot in the diff.
 

For what it costs I refreshed all the nuts and bolts, but it’s probably at least worth replacing the propshaft ones. 
 

22daz