The differential was covered in white powdery oxidation and a leaking axle seal caused a lot of dirt and grime to build up on the right side of the diff.
We took the Explorer diff to Jakob of I AM DETAILING & Dry Ice Auto, located in Costa Mesa, California to have it dry ice blasted. We used Jakob to blast the entire car of Project NSX, and we are always amazed at the transformation that it does to not only entire cars, but to individual components like this.
We are always amazed at the result of dry ice blasting. This process is absolutely worth the time and money to refresh old parts or entire cars.
All of the grime and buildup is gone, and so was the oxidation that previously left a white powdery surface to the bare aluminum.
The before and after photos really show how incredible this process is. The finish of the aluminum, bolts, plugs, and differential tag looked fantastic.
This process is also important because it can bring to light issues that were hidden by grime. We found some damage to the driver’s side diff housing, where someone tried to hammer off the stub axle, which was still in the diff when it arrived, and cracked the housing.
14 comments
Looks like a win-win upgrade (adding a clutch-type LSD, reducing the assembly’s weight, and improving durability). Really enjoying this project – thanks for sharing all the progress!
It isn’t a clutch LSD. He literally describes it as a gear LSD.
Facepalm. Not good reading comprehension on my part. Thanks for clarifying.
It’s always great to hear Mario’s named mentioned from TSR. He’s an artist with a welder. I love all the work he has done for the Datsun community.
This thing will be a monster! I appreciate all the updates.
Awesome to see the attention to detail on the ring and pinion gears! All that work will increase the fatigue life by magnitudes.
Love it. I’m still waiting to see a brake rotor WPC treated to see how much longer the brake distances would be.
Whats the difference in length, axle centre to driveshaft flange between the two diffs? Currently have an aftermarket clutch type diff in the OEM housing that I don’t really trust behind a T56 Magnum. It’d be a shame to bin/remake the carbon driveshaft shaft…….they look pretty close!
The Ford Explorer 8.8″ diff flange (using the Ronin mount) is 0.425″ rearward/closer to the axle centerline than stock. It sounds like your best bet is to get a 0.425″ spacer to adapt your driveshaft to the Ford 8.8 diff flange.
Perfect – thanks Billy. That’s better than trying to go the other way! Looking forward to your next instalment.
While the out side of the assembly might be larger, it’s no guarantee of greater strength. A measurement of the gears and the bearings would be needed to make that claim. The fact the Ford unit is lighter is also a factor. Also the original mounting with the PPF is quite strong, as the lever arm of the PPF is much longer than the bushings located right at the companion flange.
Size does not determine strength, but the 8.8″ Ford gear and aluminum diff housing are known quantities to handle over 1,000hp. The FD’s PPF and cast iron diff housing are also known quantities and known to be weak and unreliable in the 400-450whp range.
Hi there can sombody tell me which model Eaton Detroit Truetrac LSD was used please?
Eaton Part number please?
Many thanks
ETN-913A561