R31 gearbox and diff

[342Four]

is it known that the r31 executives (series 3) had (have) gearbox diff probs?

our exec has a bad 2nd gear change, and the diff whines sometimes

(ie after service, but prob normal)

[rsx84]

the diff on most aus r31 will whine its common at around 70-80km/h, the car is it manual or auto?

[Abo Bob]

Yes the diffs whine. auto or manual?

[Abo Bob]

Whoops. Too slow.

[342Four]

umm yea sorry auto

[slow_r31]

chirping 2nd in a s3 auto is a very common problem

especially when the auto is cold

sign of a worn box

and all the r31 diffs whine, and if it doesnt, it will soon enough

personally i wouldnt worry about the diff, just live with it.

gearbox should be fine, if it blows, they are worth nothing and u could find a 2nd hand one for like 100 bucks

we couldnt sell one from my friends car so we took it to the tip (and it was perfect)

[rsx84]

umm yea sorry auto

what "slow r31" said: if you want it to last change the fluid every 4-6 months. if you look at the transmission fluid now is it very dark in colour almost black and grittie, if it is then i think its' to late to save or prolong its life.

[discopotato03]

Tell me if I'm wrong guys but does the R31 series use a Borg warner 78 diff ?

A friend of mine who's also a mechanic of many years once said that the late BW 78's were a bit soft in the ring / pinion gears . The fix is to source an early set from an old Cortina as the material spec was better . Not really sure of the facts .

[V8skylineMAN]

200b's and the like had borg warner diffs...so in all likelyhood, yes.

[SteveL]

Tell me if I'm wrong guys but does the R31 series use a Borg warner 78 diff ?

A friend of mine who's also a mechanic of many years once said that the late BW 78's were a bit soft in the ring / pinion gears . The fix is to source an early set from an old Cortina as the material spec was better . Not really sure of the facts .

Locally built R31's used the BW78 diff, as did VL's and VN's (and some Fords, I think).

[discopotato03]

With 200B's I think there was a Jap as well as the BW . Early Bluebirds got BW gearboxes and diffs but too many died and Jap stuff got the nod . There are some options for the local R31 followers . The 260 , 280 and I think 300C's used a H190 live rear end which would be probably wide enough for an R31 . They have 5 stud hubs and LSD is available though rare .

I'd say the best option is to fit the factory IRS which we did to a Bluebird or buy an import R31 that has it std . With local Bluebirds the mount locations are there but not the crush tubes and or studs . At least there's some chance of an LSD for an R200 and the ride / handling is so much better with the semi trailing arm IRS than the live axle .

Cheers A .

[Bluprint]

It's apparently extremely difficult and stupidly expensive to do the IRS conversion.

It's something that I would absolutely love to do to my Silo though if it was easier than it would appear to be.

[hrd-hr30]

I had a SIII R31 until last year. It was a good car. They are known for diff whine, but that's not a huge problem. A rebuild and they are good for many more years. Or look through the wreckers for an LSD out of a silhouete.

the ride and handling were very good - mine was sensibly lowered. I ran as sweep vehicle for the Coastal Classic road rally a few years ago, which runs in conjunction with the QRC. And I got to run through the Hella Hillclimb stage (the only tarmac stage of the QRC) and get an official time. It would have put me in equal 4th out of the QRC cars on that stage, and one second behind Possum Bourne! lol! like I said it was a few years ago! but not bad for a dead standard auto RB30 on simex tyres and open diff! I did turn the air con off and shift it manually though! lol And the rally guys got to recce and pacenote the stage, although they had to run the forest tyres which would have slowed them down a bit. anyway, moral of the story is they can handle very well with the live axle for very little effort or money. that car had perfect brake balance too - just enough towards the rear so you could trail-brake into the turns nicely... front brakes faded a little too quickly with standard pads. They are a very underrated car I reckon.

[342Four]

hell yea they are underated

couple of my friends in the last six months have bought skyline wagons (sII and sIII)

and they trash there cars (one went through three cars in 6 months!), but these have stood up

to the challenge

they do all sorts of shit to them, one just today got a nice standstill going, without an LSD in the back, and with a car load of people

the r31's are rough, tough and take a LOT of shit

[slow_r31]

Tell me if I'm wrong guys but does the R31 series use a Borg warner 78 diff ?

A friend of mine who's also a mechanic of many years once said that the late BW 78's were a bit soft in the ring / pinion gears . The fix is to source an early set from an old Cortina as the material spec was better . Not really sure of the facts .

i had this done to my diff, using the cortina gears. it didnt whine initally, however it now does

[342Four]

i just found out that a new diff was dropped in a year half ago, so it will last for a long time now

[342Four]

thanks for all the info guys (relevant and non relevant)

i think if something goes wrong, i will know what to do

oh yea, how can u tell if the diff is an lsd

cause yesterday i trompt it at a u-turn, and i went back afterwards and both wheels had made marks (i think it was me anyway)

my friend did it at the same u turn a little while ago, and he doesnt have an lsd in his skyline and only the inside wheel spun

[V8skylineMAN]

oh yea, how can u tell if the diff is an lsd

jack the rear end of the car up, so that both wheels are off the ground. handbrake off, and out of gear, make sure you have chocked the front wheels.

turn one wheel(either side, it doesn't matter which) if the other side turns the same direction, its lsd. if the other side turns the opposite direction, its an open wheeler

[R31 POWER]

A few other fun ways.

Standstill - The ass end will start to go left or right

Romping - Flooring it in the wet the ass end will kich left,well mine does.

If it had a single shitter you will know coz it will always go straight unless you provoke it