Stagea Diff - Is It Wearing Out - Replace With?

[emanuelt]

Just want to know what the first signs are of the diff wearing out. And what is a easy replacement also without going for a GTR one what would a cheap but good option be?

Not that it needs it, just woukld like info

[StageZilla]

ive got a complete rear diff from my rs four stagea for sale if u get desperate (postage might be abit)

$100+ postage and its yours, if u interested i can weigh it to find out postage

cheers

Brad

[emanuelt]

Thanks but no thats i'm just redearching

[AlexCim]

Can someone point out to me how difficult it is to replace the stagea diff with a GTR one?

I mean, it may be smart for me to buy thise one off you Stage and work on it off the car and when time comes, just do the swap.. or do i get a new housing and everything?

NISMO GT PRO are made for Stageas. Look at around 1600 landed brand new though

[StageZilla]

Thanks Brad but I think I need to research a bit more first. Also Mine is still good it just clicks sometimes.  What condition is yours in? Didn't you snap something.  Well I could get it for spear parts for later on ??? Yes postage would be heaps though.WA to QLD.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

yer i broke an axle not the diff, it was quiet as, but dont rush cause i aint advertising it really and no one wants it either haha just let me know in the future if u want it

[StageZilla]

Can someone point out to me how difficult it is to replace the stagea diff with a GTR one?

I mean, it may be smart for me to buy thise one off you Stage and work on it off the car and when time comes, just do the swap.. or do i get a new housing and everything?

NISMO GT PRO are made for Stageas. Look at around 1600 landed brand new though

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

the diff internals fit str8 in the stagea diff housing, therfore the mountings for attessa pumps still bolt up as gtr pumps are elswhere, and u can use the stagea diff plate rear cover so it fits with no mods, or gtr cover allows for more oil and has fins on it, but requires slight massage of rear crable (very minimal, like 2mm change needed) with a pair of vice grips it look 5 min and isnt even noticable.

u need to use the gtr rear brake hubs which have gtr mountings for the fork end rear shocks (stagea have eye end instead), everything bolts on, except the brake line fitting is different but i got braided rear lines made up for like $100 i think.

only issue is u need one gts4 (gtr ones are alot shorter) LONGEST side axle (cant remember which side is the longer of the two off the top of my head), and that will fit perfectly on the stagea shorter side, then u have to get a custom length made from a driveshaft shop which wouldnt cost too much.

and u gotta change the main diff crown wheel(largest gear in the diff) to the stagea one so it keeps the 4.3 ratio same as the front.

cheers

Brad

Edited October 30, 2005 by StageZilla

[AlexCim]

I think its best if i just get the aftermarket diff.

Doubt ill snap an axle then with ~250awkw plus, its going to be a 1.5way and brand new/tight...also a lot less work.

I just want an LSD, not a full rear conversion.

[emanuelt]

I think its best if i just get the aftermarket diff.

Doubt ill snap an axle then with ~250awkw plus, its going to be a 1.5way and brand new/tight...also a lot less work.

I just want an LSD, not a full rear conversion.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

What aftermarket diffs are available for Stagea? and costs?

[AMS]

NISMO GT PRO - Around $1600

[AlexCim]

I am getting some serious clunking from the rear of the car.

I only get it on slower tyre corners and when changing into D.

Its not a click like above, its a full on "thud/clunk"

I dont get any noise when going straight hard acceleration, or around fast corners or anything. Only on tight uturn style turns, where the wheels have a big difference in rolling distance.

Of all the possible things it could be, the diff would be the most likely culpret right?

Brad, what would it cost to send me the diff here to Melbourne?

If i was to go an aftermarket NISMO diff, would there be any issues with the car being auto or 4wd or anything. I know that sounds stupid, but just wondering. Am i just better off with an open wheel diff in a car like this, or would an LSD provide me benefits in the hills?

Thanks and sorry for digging up an old thread, better then starting a new one.

[CruiseLiner]

hey alex doesnt sound good, well i'd be checking underneath and jacking up whole car so all the wheels are off the ground. then get underneath with it in nuetral and turn the rear tailshaft connecting to the diff and then turn it back the other way and see if it has any slack or play in it and see if it clunks, then turn the rear wheels the same and back the other direction and see if it makes a clunking noise. it could be a a tailshaft uni joint worn out or something similair so i'd be checking the slack on the rear shaft compared to the axles. it may be easier to unbolt the rear tialshaft off the diff as turning the snout of the diff will be easier and u can turn it in both directions quickly to see if it has any slack. could be axle uni joint, or maybe even a wheel bearing, plenty of possibilities before blaming the diff itself.

does yours have a tow bar on it or been used for towing at any stage as that may have worn it out extra quickly.

give it a go and let us know

cheers

Brad

[AlexCim]

Crud..

Its getting worse and worse lately. I guess I will take it easy with the car.

I am sure whatever spare parts I need I can count on you brad seeing as you are not using basicially the whole rear of the car?

Ill jack the car up tomorrow after work and do the wheel turning trick see where the noise is coming from.

BTW, towbar isnt on yet. No towing been done so far AFAIK

[Terminal]

Have you checked your attesa fluid or transmission fluid? i remember on my old automatic kingswood (yes i know it's completely different) i was getting a massive clunking noise and i thought the diff was stuffed. turns out the fluid was low and when i went around corners slowly the fluid would slosh to the edge of the reservoir and essentially the transmission wouldn't have any fluid running through it. start with the simple things first, then work your way to more expensive things (ie:diff)

[AlexCim]

atessa fluid in the boot is between max and min on flat ground.

[CruiseLiner]

atessa fluid in the boot is between max and min on flat ground.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

in the gtr workshop manual it says u gotta make sure the ignition is ON when checking the attessa fluid level.

id also check the auto tranny fluid as mentioned, and just when turning the rear wheel to see if it clunks might not work because it being non-lsd only the wheel u turn will turn and the tailshaft/other side wheel wont even move at all, so u wont hear any noises, so the diff snout is the easiest way to check and its easy to unbolt the tailshaft, only 4 allen key bolts i think.

[Sydneykid]

Diffs don't usually clunk when they wear out, they wine and howl. Sounds more like a joint to me, drive shaft, cv or tailshaft uni. I would be doing the "rotate and look for slack" test.

cheers

[Tangles]

Some good feedback there - good luck Alex!!

[AlexCim]

Will let everyone know the results after i put it up tonight and have a poke around.

Up until now, I thought it was SK's suspension kit and i was checking the damn bolt that holds the strut in like every few days!

I will see. I think maybe the fact that the car got the subframe bushes put in (maybe moved it or something) made me hear it more and its been there for ages.

Anyway, let you all know. Ta for the help

[AlexCim]

Ok guys, Alex here reporting back my findings

So what I did was this.

Jacked the car up on 4 stands, removed the rear wheels and...

- When rotating the drive shaft from next to the mid muffler, only one wheel turned (one warped brake disk causing slight rubbing)(on another note, could this attribute to poor fuel economy?) but there was basically no slack at all. I also used one hand and held the hub softly and then turned the tailshaft to see what the delay was, almost instant.

- Then i looked forward, there was a 1-2cm turn distance delay from turning the tailshaft to when the front wheels started to turn, could this be an issue?

- The ammount of free movement in the uni joint was 1mm, MAYBE 2mm. It was almost nothing.

So then I got thinking

- I went around to the drive side (kinda where the noise comes from) and i pulled the axle IN towards the car (ie away from the hub). Let it go softly and it made a clunk clunck clunck noise, as if it wasnt greased or something. Tried the same on the other side and got much more a muffled thud thud thud noise. Can someone try this on their car and tell me if when the axle is pulled away from the hub and let go it clunks or thuds?

- Didnt do the fronts, but i tried to move the front axles and they wouldnt budge. So i ticked them off and went on my way

- Also, I got someone else to turn the other side wheel in the same direction as me at the same time as brad suggested about it being open. There was again, almost no slack between when we turned it and when the tailshaft started moving

- Oh and, i sat in the car and got my friend to pull the axle in and let it go/repeat, it sounded almost identical to what i was hearing when turning tight corners. THOUGH, dont let that sway you. I am sure heaps of things sound the same.

- Turning the tailshaft back and forth more quickly didnt produce any results either.

It was good to get under the car and play around, missed being under there

Ok, so, what does everybody reckon. Cheers all!

[AlexCim]

Oh, Also, here is something to think about.

The noise only comes when I am doing slow/tight turns, this means that there would be weight on/off one/more wheels. I am leaning towards the idea of it being the CV joints in the rear driverside wheel. Best to probably just replace all of them at once if need be no?? (as in, they are the cause)

Also, the reason that i tied in SK's suspension kit with the noise (its different to the clapping i was telling you about SK) was probably because lowering the car caused the extended wear of the joint to become more audible. Specially with the subframe lock kit too! And the only thing i had changed, apart from the fact that i ignored ride height, was the suspension, so i thought it was to blame!

Am I on to something here? Anyone else got any other ideas?