Editing Differential - Replacing

[[category:gearbox and Drivetrain]]

Replacing differential

Lock the steering wheel and chock a front wheel with bricks or suitable device and jack the rear of the vehicle up by the diff centre and support the car on chassis stands under the two chassis rails near the back of the car. Jack the car up quite a bit more than you normally would when changing a tyre because when you release the jack, the axle assembly will drop down since it wont be supporting the weight of the car anymore.

[[Image:Diff_001.jpg]]


Remove the wheels and lower the handbrake. Remove the handbrake release spring. Remove the clip holding the handbrake cable onto the lever, remove the washer and slide the handbrake cable eye off the lever. Using large pliers, remove the handbrake cable clip from the support. Remove the rubber dust cap from the cable and remove the cable from the calliper.

[[Image:Diff_002.jpg]]

[[Image:Diff_003.jpg]]


Using a 17mm open end spanner on the slide nut (where I’m using a shifter) and a 15mm ring spanner on the bolt, undo the brake calliper. (I didn’t remove the handbrake spring in the correct order, it should not be in this photo.)

[[Image:Diff_004.jpg]]

The calliper and two brake pads should now lift off. You may need to apply a little persuasion with a flat screwdriver on either side to help lift it out. Undo the two 17mm bolts holding the calliper retainer in place and remove the calliper retainer.

[[Image:Diff_005.jpg]]

If the disc doesn’t come off the axle now, use one of the 15mm head bolts that held the brake calliper on the retainer to ease it off. It will come off very easily now.

[[Image:Diff_006.jpg]]

Hang the calliper up on the strut using the handbrake release spring.

[[Image:Diff_007.jpg]]

Untie the clips holding the brake lines to the axle and undo the brake fluid distributor using a 12mm ring spanner or ratchet and socket.

[[Image:Diff_008.jpg]]

Using a 13mm socket and a 12mm ring spanner, undo the sway bar mount from the chassis. Note carefully how it comes off to aid reassembly.

[[Image:Diff_009.jpg]]

The sway bar lowered off the mounting bolt-

[[Image:Diff_010.jpg]]

Undo both sway bar mounts on the diff with a 12mm ratchet and socket. The sway bar will now detach from the axle housing.

[[Image:Diff_011.jpg]]

Using a 14mm ring spanner and a 15mm open ended spanner, undo the tailshaft bolts. Put the transmission in Park(auto) or first gear for a manual when two bolts are at the bottom.

[[Image:Diff_012.jpg]]

Put the transmission in neutral and rotate the tailshaft 180 degrees so the other two bolts are at the bottom. Put it back into Park or first and undo the last two bolts. Remove the tailshaft from the diff but not from the gearbox. Support the tailshaft so the CV joint (if fitted) isn’t strained. I have a single piece tailshaft so this does not apply here.

[[Image:Diff_013.jpg]] 

[[Image:Diff_014.jpg]]


Undo both upper control arm bolts from the axle housing with a 17mm socket and 17mm spanner to prevent the nut from free spinning

[[Image:Diff_015.jpg]]

Remove the bolt and put the nut on it to keep them together. Lever out the upper control arm

[[Image:Diff_016.jpg]]

Using a 17mm socket and 17mm ring spanner, undo the lower control arm bolt on the axle.

[[Image:Diff_017.jpg]]

Lever out the lower control arm

[[Image:Diff_018.jpg]]

Undo the panhard rod mount with a 19mm socket. Pull the panhard rod and washer off the axle, raise and support it with some string or wire. Free the brake lines from the axle too.

[[Image:Diff_019.jpg]]

Put a trolley jack under the centre of the axle smack bang in the middle.

[[Image:Diff_020.jpg]]

Undo and remove both strut lower mounting bolts on the axle.

[[Image:Diff_021.jpg]]

Now, preferably with an assistant, lower the jack and the axle should come free. The assistant should watch to ensure nothing gets stuck or caught on anything else, particularly brake lines.

[[Image:Diff_022.jpg]]

Pull out the trolley jack and axle.

[[Image:Diff_023.jpg]]

Installation is a reverse of the removal. Pay attention that you use loctite on the bolts that hold the calliper into the calliper mount, and the calliper mount onto the axle body.

Good luck!


Compiled by Bozz