My 1986 Celica Supra has a diff howl at cruising speed that these are known for; apparently it's a pinion bearing failure. I could take my chances on a junkyard or other used diff, but it is a common problem on these cars. I'm sure it would be pretty expensive to have the diff rebuilt at a shop; is this something that can be DIY'ed? Two of my shop buddies say they have all of the dial gauges and everything. I'm not sure I would bother with a full LSD rebuild unless it was really easy, the parts are out there. But mainly I want to rebuild the housing with new bearings and a solid pinion spacer to replace the OEM crush sleeve. How hard is this to DIY? Can it be done? I believe the diff is a Toyota F-series if that matters.
Pretty easy. I read a few write ups on it for my Miata and it went smoothly.
Can you follow instructions with pictures? Have a 20 ton press? Go for it.
I've done a few and they turned out well. Ok, the first one didn't turn out so well, but I did a few that were great!
And I actually did one without a press, but I was using a new gearset so I had nothing to press off, just some bearings to press on which I did with an aluminum drift and a 5 lb sledge.
So, I'm not sure if you should lean on me for advice but I give it a definite thumbs up for a DIY project
Its actually a pretty simple process if you are just replacing bearings. Nothing in the gears is going to change place, as long as you don't mix up shims or screw up any threaded adjusters. Get a book that shows the exploded view and torque specs, make sure you keep everything where it was originally, take close note of any shims above, below, beside, how thick, etc. Getting the right preload on the crush sleeve is the only thing that requires any special knowledge at all.
Access to a press and good press plates is a big bonus.
Yeah, you can do it without a press if you're careful, actually the fastest way to get the races off the carrier is to get a spot glowing red hot with an oxy torch and dig in there with a air chisel with a blunt tip.
can you get a spare diff to do this on? a spare will allow you to keep the current one jic
ncjay
HalfDork
3/9/14 7:44 p.m.
It's not hard to set your own gears if you have the tools. Most of the shops I see advertise gear installs for around $150 to $200. I agree having a spare to work with is a good idea, especially if you want to try a different gear.
Don't use a press! The risk it bent pinion shaft and or mushroomed treads on the end. Use a cut off wheel then swap to a drummel with a carbide burr cut 95% through the race then fit a chisel in the cut and wack it hard to crack the race.
Then toss the shaft in the freezer or outside in the snow (in plastic bag). Heat the new bearings to 250F in toaster oven or with torch or even a 500w halogen light. Use a Tempil stick from a welding shop to know when your at 250f. If your shaft is cold and bearing is hot they'll slide right on. but be prepped to hit it if you do get stuck just remember hit only on the inner race
oh you'll need a Park tools TW1 inch pound torque wrench to set the preload. Check Randy's R&P for specs. Rock Auto for bearings and seals
