is a direct swap from one stock diff to another doable without reshimming?
Well, technically you are supposed to re-shim, but every time I've checked when switching to a new diff housing it's been in spec and I just left it the way it was.
Doesn't stop me from eating spider gears though, haha
Paying someone to install parts and bragging about it being fast, is like watching someone bang your wife and being proud to raise their kids.
what would i need to check? how would i check it? between my dad and I and my buddys, I know we can get the job done. Do i just need to measure overall length from bearing end to bearing end?
There is a special kit for it for Isuzu's, I'm sure there is for Getrags as well. I'm lucky enough to live 10 minutes from JuizedZ4 who has a kit he picked up on ebay for cheap that he lets me borrow. I'm pretty sure you can rent them from parts stores as well though.
Paying someone to install parts and bragging about it being fast, is like watching someone bang your wife and being proud to raise their kids.
You will need to J tools to complete the task even if you were to discover it did need shimmed so there is no point in doing it yourself unless you have the F23 J tool kit and fixture. You are better off taking it to a trans shop to have them measure the clearance. Before you even ask no I don't have time to do it myself but yes I have the stuff to do it
The trans shop will charge like 1 hour to take the measurements but just make sure you take them the cases and the diff by themselves otherwise they are going to charge you for all the other labor. More than likely it will come back within spec and you will have wasted your money anyway haha
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Shims are cheap, screw having someone else do it. Especially at $70 an hour, at that point you can buy the tool and do it yourself.
Paying someone to install parts and bragging about it being fast, is like watching someone bang your wife and being proud to raise their kids.
CaliforniaDomestics wrote:You will need to J tools to complete the task even if you were to discover it did need shimmed so there is no point in doing it yourself unless you have the F23 J tool kit and fixture. You are better off taking it to a trans shop to have them measure the clearance. Before you even ask no I don't have time to do it myself but yes I have the stuff to do it The trans shop will charge like 1 hour to take the measurements but just make sure you take them the cases and the diff by themselves otherwise they are going to charge you for all the other labor. More than likely it will come back within spec and you will have wasted your money anyway haha
so is there a measurement that can be done with it out of the case that will tell you if it will work or not? i am just exploring options here. trying to figure out if a diff swap would be worth my time, or if i should indeed just get a new to me trans and call it a day.
No. The differential is usually first measured for side-play while installed in the case halves and TQed to spec minus the rest of the guts (Hence the reason I said to bring it to the shop gutted already). Once the side-play is determined (using special tools and a dial indicator) that side play is soaked up by the shims. Beyond that you need to have a specific "preload" on the differential via additional shim thickness which is calculated into the total shim thickness. This is again measured with a special tool to confirm the preload has been correctly set after said shims have been installed. The bearing is pulled/installed by yet another J tool while servicing the shims. The special tool for preload check is an adapter that goes into the outputs of the diff so that you can attach an in/lb. tq wrench (Dial style) to determine whether correct preload has been set. If the preload is not set correctly you have to start over again.
Just out of curiosity what is wrong with your current differential? More times than not it's the spiders that take a dump and not the housing. If you broke something other than the housing why even worry about putting a whole new one in there? By the way the diff plates work wonders for taking up the slack in the spiders to prevent them from exploding under wheel hop
OverKill All The Way!!!!! wrote:How much should it cost to swap out a DIFF on a F23?
Mark
That's a great question. I just tried to look up the flat rate for a differential replacement on the F23 and came up empty handed (strange). I will have to check alldata and my other data bases tomorrow when I get to work to see if perhaps it lists it. I am sure I will forget but I will make an attempt.
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Here is what the issue id Alan. The 2 trans shops i have taken it to both said the same thing. They think the diff carrier bearing on the drivers side is worn out.
EvoFire wrote:Not the driver side axle unless i got a bad one. replaced it today. History. car has 120k on the clock. to my knowledge everything is original to the car. It was NA til 110k boosted the last 10k miles. clutch/slave/master/and TOB were replaced at 70k miles, and trans was flushed and filled with 2 qt's ATF. that is the ONLY major work that has been done to the trans at all.
basically, only while moving, there is a clicking sound coming from the diff area on the trans. The catch is, that is only does it while not on the gas and moving. at idle no sound. on the gas moving no sound. foot off the gas in gear, or out of gear, i hear the clicking. turning does not make a difference. it is most def wheel speed related. I have ruled out clutch and TOB due to when the noise happens. only thing left is passenger side axle (inner joint) and diff. we replaced the drivers side axle today with a reman'd one, added. 2.6 qts ATF as per the TSB, and the noise is still there. HELP!!!!!
ok if that's the case then have em toss a new bearing on it and call it good. When you're replacing the bearing on the carrier more times than not the same exact shims are used if the same exact carrier is being put back in. Either way you need to be able to pull the bearing off which I am guessing you have no way of doing. The trans shop in your situation will be your best bet. idk me personally if all that is wrong in the carrier bearing I wouldn't bother replacing the entire transmission.
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CaliforniaDomestics wrote:ok if that's the case then have em toss a new bearing on it and call it good. When you're replacing the bearing on the carrier more times than not the same exact shims are used if the same exact carrier is being put back in. Either way you need to be able to pull the bearing off which I am guessing you have no way of doing. The trans shop in your situation will be your best bet. idk me personally if all that is wrong in the carrier bearing I wouldn't bother replacing the entire transmission.
gotcha! and that makes sense...was actually my first though. but replacing the trans will be cheaper. thats the funny part. the shops i called will want 600ish bucks just to replace the bearing. too me that is rediculous. also, i need my car to be NOT be down for 3-4 days. its my DD. i can swing a tranny swap in a day or two. everyshop i have talked to says they would need the trans for 3 days minimum.
My thoughts are to get a lower milage (under 60k) trans, do the swap, then save up enough to get a LSD or insert, and have the shop put my original one back together. then swap back, and in the end have a spare stock trans laying around.
is that $600 if you brought the trans in not gutted? If you just plop a trans on the counter and say fix the bearing on the carrier that may be the issue. If you bring just the case halves in it should be only about an hours worth of labor. Trans takes me 4 hours to take out and put back in tops so you should easily be able to do it in a day.
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the 3 shops i have talked to have said that they would not work on an already torn apart trans. guess ill keep making phone calls. and why does it need to be gutted? its the gutting part i want to try to avoid. the 3 bolts on the gear shafts were a bear to get out on the spare trans we tore apart...i dont wanna have to deal with that again.
just makes it a 1000 times easier to pop just the differential in and out to take the side-play readings with the case halves TQed together. The pre-load readings need to be taken with the differential free-spinning. My guess is that you are not explaining to the trans shop what you actually need done correctly so they are hesitant to do whatever you are saying to them. Sounds like you have already made your mind up. Just buy another trans I guess.
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