DIY - Quaife LSD INSTALL - PICS!
 

I recently installed my LSD. A buddy of mine with a 240sx also did his at the same time.. I didnt find a DIY for QUAIFE so here it is..

Its going to be short and sweet and PLEASE DONT BE INTIMIDATED by this Project. It was quite easy and Im no mechanic, Im just good at following directions.

First thing is first - GET THE FSM (Factory Service Manual) so you will know what foot lbs of torque to use when you put everything back together. THIS IS A MUST - IF YOU DONT HAVE THE FSM - DONT START THIS PROJECT.

btw - I save 400 bucks on the install (give or take)...

First - Jack up car (in my case - cars)

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Get everything ready and take pics of your very expensive purchase..Quaife on the left (I still need new bearings). Order new bearings for the Quaife and get them pressed on by a machine shop. The old bearings can be used but I suggest to get new ones. Carbonetics on the right - PLUG AND PLAY..its set to 1.5

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Pic of the Quaife ready for install (w/bearings) - bearing Product SKU: 38440-Z33001 (Part #)
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Get under the car and start taking stuff off - you will need a 14MM socket and 17MM... the 14mm is for the axle bolts. The 17MM is for the driveshaft bolts..

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Unbolt the driveshaft and MAKE SURE you have a towel or something to lay it on cause you DONT want to mess up that bad a$$ carbon fiber..
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Another pic - just for reference..
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Now there is one bolt (17MM) on the back of the diff that holds it in place - remove it..
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Now that everything is unbolted - make sure you remove the breather hose tube and 2 (12mm) sensors (these are for speedometer) - theres one on each side closest to the axles.. YOU WILL NEED help on this part - Pumpkin is HEAVY!
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Drain your Diff - here is my way of doing it cause that pumpkin is HEAVY. This is the 240sx pumpkin but I did mine the same..
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Remove all the bolts on the diff cover - they are all 14mm
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After removing the cover (screwdriver and soft mallet) remove the axles. They actually slide right out after a few taps.. so be gentle and REMEMBER WHICH SIDE IS WHICH!! <--- very important!
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Now here is bearing housing bolts - 17MM (again) - IMPACT them bad boys off - AGAIN REMEMBER WHICH SIDE IS WHICH!!
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Another Pic of removing bearing housing bolts. Theres just 4 ...NO FUSS...
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Now here you see me banging out the diff with an extension .. few taps later and diff comes right out..
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Diff is out and just needs a good YANK.. Have your buddy hold on while you pull that whole thing out.
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Put the Open DIff in a VISE (I didnt have one - Yeah more tools for me!) and begin the hardest part of the project. These bolts are LOCTITE in so it take ALOTof effort...So take turns cause this is tiring.. Oh and these are 17MM. Get a BIG breaker bar for this..
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Put ring gear on the new diff.. PUT LOCTITE on EVERY single bolt and get to work - these need the most torque - refer to FSM for specs..
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Diff is IN the housing - again refer to FSM for Torque Specs..
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Here is a closer pic....

I forgot to mention - get some scotchbrite pads and remove any left over silicone gasket...put some elbow grease in it...you want it nice and clean for when you put your silcone gasket on and put the cover back on. (RTV BLACK prefered)
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Now put everything back together - REFER TO FSM for TORQUE SPECS!

Fill her up for break in - take her for a spin - LITTERALLY - LOL

Do figure 8's for 20 mins - take the car back to the house and change that fluid.. After that - YOUR DONE..!
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its worth EVERY PENNY.. Night and day DIFFerence...:icon38:

Yeah - certainly not a one person job by any means...well it can be, just going to take more time.. - we knocked it out in about 2 hrs.. If that..

Thanks for the props guys..

Damn good job. Two hours! That was quick.

LOL you guys made it seem so easy...good job. You didnt check tooth contact or anything? You re-used the same ring gear bolts?

we checked contact (gear marker)... and we reused the same bolts (they were just fine)...just redid the loctite on there. torqued to factory spec.. no harm no foul...

there is no made it seem easy.. it WAS easy.. anyone with the right tools and some help can do this. Which is why I posted.. I have to admit - I was intimidated (until I found out much it cost for the install - LOL :icon17:)

then I checked the nismo install and mine isnt a clutch diff so after we got the bearings on...it was plug and play.. none of that 2 way or 1.5 way or making sure the clutch plates were all right, yada, yada, yada...

this was installed on thursday, went drifting on sunday.. I love this diff and I would recommend it to ANYONE.. LIFE TIME warranty FTMFW!!

:thumbup:

BTW - I wanted the NISMO diff...I still think its SOLID and perfect for the Z in EVERY SINGLE WAY.. But its discontinued unless you order straight from Japan... So I did the next best thing..

yeah it was easy, straight forward install. just heavy items and jackstand make parts difficult, but not impossible.

gear contact is nearly impossible to screw up because bearings can only be pressed onto the quaife so much...

-J

AcidJake75, based on your post and the pics, it appears that you have some knowledge both about the Quaife LSD and the Carbonetics LSD. Would you, or anyone else for that matter, please share your knowledge comparing and contrasting the performance of these two differentials.

Based on the research I have done, I have found that the Carbonetics uses clutches and the Quaife does not, but instead only uses gears. I am assuming that would make the Quaife better, but I really don't know.

FYI, I currently have a 6MT with the factory VLSD, but I am leaning toward switching to a Quaife or Carbonetics LSD. I have looked at both of their websites and spent a fair amount of time searching the subject in this forum, but I have not found any information comparing the performance of the two differentials.

Also, since I have a factory VLSD, it appears that to use the Quaife I would have to change my half-shaft stub axles. Is this also the case for the Carbonetics? Also, if it matters, I have DSS level 2 axles.

^ what are your intentions for the diff you choose? im guessing owning DSS level 2 axles you must be on the track quite a bit?

I enter multiple drift events.........and my diff (Nismo 2way setting) is SPOT ON, CONFIDENCE INSPIRING differential! it has night and day helped me control the car at events and my level of drift is getting better for sure.

but, the Nismo diff is loud, clunky, jerky.......i recommend only for the track inspired owner.

you are correct -- nismo is LSD based using clutch packs.

Quaife is helical geared.....works as an open diff when under low load, turns into parking lots, etc...but giving it gas out of a neighbor hood (which i dont consider high load, but still) the quaife is engaged and works, fishtails the car and you "know/feel" whats coming.....

i recommend the quaife for an occasional track guy, daily driver Z owner...

oh, and i drifted Acidjakes new quaife on sunday too......and it was good for drifting as well! i think if your more into drifting, or only track, then you would prefer a nismo though..?? i know i love mine...

-J

Thanks for the info! :) As of right now, the car is a daily driver and weekend track car for road racing. However, it continues to evolve more into a track dedicated car, though no drifting, just road course.

Based on your response to my post, it seems as though the Nismo is the same as, or similar to, the Carbonetics LSD. I was not aware of this.

EDIT: I just did a little more research, and the Nismo and Carbonetics LSDs do not appear to be made by the same company. Any experiences with the Carbonetics LSD?

I found some information here on the differences between the Quaife and Carbonetics:

http://www.*********.com/zwiki/Diffe...s_Clutch_Type)

Based on this, I am leaning toward the Carbonetics.

I did mine alone LOL, and it is easy if you have the proper tools and help :)

Now this is what I call a thread.... Thanks fellas for putting my faith back (somewhat) into this site. I've got a base Z and the Open End Diff is killin me. Since Nismo LSD is only available from Japan, I think I will look into the Carbonetics.

Do I need extra parts for KAAZ lsd for a base 05 Z?

damn fellas, thanks for posting this up. . .i really needed this cause my Z is at nissan right now with a failed nismo diff. that gave up on me today. . .big boom equals diff. fluid everywhere. . .i am terrified of the labor costs and was also intimidated by the install and i have mechanical skills, was a ford tech, but i had never installed a rearend so this makes it a lot easier to understand it all. . .great job. . .btw, what kind of shop did you get to press on the new bearings and do you think it's possible to put them on yourself with a soft rubber mallet. . ? I need to make a decision quick so they don't charge me a butt load to do all this. . .i plan on going to get my car out of there, paying the shop fee and doing an install myself. . .thanks. . .

edit: also wanted to ask where you purchased it from and if it was the cheapest you found or did you find it somewhere cheaper after you bought it. . .

^ For the bearings most any autoshop with a press or a machine shop shouldnt charge you more than 45 bucks to install the bearings.

I truly believe you can install them yourself with a rubber mallet and a 2x4 board........I would place the bearing over the diff and press as hard as you can with your hands to mount it/get it started evenly, then i would get the 2x4 board and with it laying flat across it then hammer on the board - pushing down on the bearing......

should honestly work, so long as the bearing gets mounted level and at the right location, should fall into place in the diff housing using the same SHIMS removed from the open diff at the same location.

As for price, ask acidjake75...

-J

I got my bearings pressed on for 15 bucks...and that was for both...shouldnt cost much..

damn...blown nismo diff eh? what the hell were you doing....those things are SOLID..!

OP
Question about putting the diff back together. When you put the axels back in do you need to tap them back in with the mallet? What keeps them from falling back out? (any clips inside or anything?

Nevermind...answered my own question this weekend while installing 4.083 gears.

They just pop back in with a little tap from a mallet. (I actually used a piece of wood and a 5lb hammer (a little overkill))

^ ya, thats all you need......no internal clips or anything......

-J

FYI: For those installing in a VLSD pumpkin
 

https://my350z.com/forum/engine-and-...ll-issues.html

found this link to be helpful for those that come across the passenger side stub shaft not fitting during install with the Quaiffe.

and to bring to light that there are different quaiffe models out there for VLSD cars and base pumpkin cars.

-J