Locking Diff, casing part numbers??

[clitti]

Hi.
I'm looking for a specific differential casing from an early 360 5 speed,1983-84 to be exact.I have some numbers off of the casing,possibly part numbers, which are :399617/3 and 283890.There is also a number 15 and 84 separated by a small diamond with an R inside the diamond.The diff is slightly different to the later type 5 speed and the differences are; on the underside at the front there are extra ribs and also the flange where the bearing carriers bolt on are not round, they are like, well acctually i have'nt got a word to describe the shape.!!Its like 2 pentagons put on top of each other to create a ten sided shape,but the points are rounded.I think I'll upload some pictures. I have'nt got a clue how or where to check the numbers so i was hoping some guru would be able to help(bow down and worship smiley).
Its definately a volvo manufactured part as VOLVO is cast into the casing.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[volvodspec]

hello,

you should be able to fit a later diff casing as the bolt pattern didn't change, it is true the diff casing casting pattern and parts changed as you mentioned (on M45R 3 different types, on M47R 4 different types!!! just for all the 300 series) but there's no sideaffect or whatsoever to them if you fit another casing; just make sure you swap the diff AND casing together as measuring the clock is a quite precise job and there are 40+ different size shims to adjust them so chances you'll find a diff that's on the spot is very slim, the diff can start to whine or get too much play, and if not correctly adjusted will fail quite quick..

just curious, does your diff and gearbox still have aluminium type-plates on them?

[clitti]

Heres some pictures of the diff side by side with a later type.




Note the bearing carrier housing has ten bolt holes which i presume used to be five.
These extra holes are drilled and tapped to take the new out put shafts and uprated bearings.


These uprated shafts run an extra bearing which the modified carriers house.


All the mods done to this casing are needed to run this locking diff which blew up.


In the process of blowing up, the casing has split the pinion has been stripped and the crownwheell damaged too.I can get these gears remade but to cast another casing!!! You're avin a giraffe.
Sorry about the size of the pictures.I'm not sure how to trim them to size.

[volvodspec]

aaaah, the parts are modified

if the bearing holes in the casing are the same size, you'll get away with mounting the carriers with 5bolts on each side, you'll break a CV axle much sooner then the friction between diff casing and hub carrier becomes so great it snaps the bolts

how come it broke, did you use the correct oil for the LSD?

[clitti]

The diff came broken when i bought the car it came with.5 bolts hold the carriers to the casing and 5 bolts secure the bearing on the output shaft to the alloy carriers.I have tried lineing the holes up with a later type diff and theres always one hole that is slghtly out.
I have a feeling that the back lash on the diff was set incorrectly as the pinion is stripped of all its teeth.Or maybe the wrong pinion was fitted and did not mesh properly with the crownwheel.Eitherway its a big mess that needs sorting out.

[magnumpi]

hello,

there are 40+ different size shims to adjust them so chances you'll find a diff that's on the spot is very slim, the diff can start to whine or get too much play, and if not correctly adjusted will fail quite quick..

Thread highjack.

These shims you mention, do they just wear out overtime? And how soon after the whineing starts should you expect failure? Mine has been noisy since i got it, 15k+ miles later it's getting properly noisy, and yes there is oild in it. Any thoughts or just worn out?

[volvodspec]

hmm, then there's no way to get around it then. in that case you'll be indeed stuck to an early 5spd (83-84) diff casing; not much of those around unfortunatly! or you can mount a std diff for now, but that kinda beats the purpouse of a lsd

@ magnumpi, those shims don't wear. they're inbetween the carrier and diff casing and align the pinion with the crownwheel. do this alignment wrong and you'll pretty much get the result at the pics above eventually. however, over time the bearings can get a little play (mainly if you drive around with to little oil in it) and the crownwheel vs pinion alignment gets out; resulting in play that can cause a whine and eventually will cause a failure; eventually. there are cars driving around that have whined over for 60.000 and it's still only a whine, but others that have a failed diff within 1000 after the whine starts to be noticable. best way to prevent further damage is regulary check the oil and top it up if nescasary. checking bearings and alignment is possible; but quite a precise job; and you'll need correct shims (or use shim-skimmer from a gearbox rebuilding specialist) to get the shims to the correct spec

[magnumpi]

@ magnumpi, those shims don't wear. they're inbetween the carrier and diff casing and align the pinion with the crownwheel. do this alignment wrong and you'll pretty much get the result at the pics above eventually. however, over time the bearings can get a little play (mainly if you drive around with to little oil in it) and the crownwheel vs pinion alignment gets out; resulting in play that can cause a whine and eventually will cause a failure; eventually. there are cars driving around that have whined over for 60.000 and it's still only a whine, but others that have a failed diff within 1000 after the whine starts to be noticable. best way to prevent further damage is regulary check the oil and top it up if nescasary. checking bearings and alignment is possible; but quite a precise job; and you'll need correct shims (or use shim-skimmer from a gearbox rebuilding specialist) to get the shims to the correct spec

Cheers for the quick reply. It's had oil in it since i first checked it, but i think the level was low previous to that, although there was no major signs of a leak.
It makes a pretty nasty racket when coasting to a stop while in gear, ah well i'll wait for it to give up the gh and fit my spare box/diff.

[clitti]

I am searching my area and futher afield looking for an early GLT casing.I have found two Glt's in the last week.One Y reg 5 door with lots of parts missing and a fair bit of rust,and a D reg 3 door thats got more holes in it than a teabag.£250 the guy is asking for the both of them but i think thats the only way forward from here with the diff situation.Got some local scrappys to try but not holding out much hope really.Parts are getting few and far between now...

[OliG]

Interesting read. Off topic.. but youve got me thinking.. Ive heard debates about the 300 series and LSD's.. I didnt know they even existed outside of the £300+ aftermarket companies?!

[Alex Laidlaw]

If I've got it right there was a genuine Volvo LSD option for the 300 but finding one now is almost impossible. Nobody makes a straight aftermarket diff as far as I know, custom diffs start at about £800 depending on how difficult it is to design something to fit.

[SteveP]

Drop Foggyjames a PM I know he broke an 83 model GLT fairly recently and may have a transaxle spare off it

[miniswift]

Hi,

Do you have diff handy?
I need to find out the sizes so that I can see if any of other model diff can fit 340/360 or not.

Thanks
Atchi