Swiss Madman

[Ivan141]

Why would you remove the entire axle, for an LSD rebuild it should suffice to remove the pumpkin. Just disconnect the drive shaft, drain the axle oil, pull the half shafts out and remove the pumpkin. If you're doing more than just lsd rebuild, this would be the time to consider a solid pinion spacer.

[decryphe]

(02-09-2017 10:05 AM)Ivan141 Wrote:  Why would you remove the entire axle, for an LSD rebuild it should suffice to remove the pumpkin. Just disconnect the drive shaft, drain the axle oil, pull the half shafts out and remove the pumpkin. If you're doing more than just lsd rebuild, this would be the time to consider a solid pinion spacer.

That's what I meant, sorry. The rest is in great condition and doesn't need rebuilding.
What's a solid pinion spacer and why should I consider one?

[headrush]

A solid pinion spacer is a tube made of steel inserted between both outer&inner bearings on the pinion, in the attachment point of the pinion and the drive shaft. It prevents any looseness between the drive shaft and the pinion.

Here's a picture, as I'm not good at explaining it by myself:



Considering it's price (12 € +- on my Toyota dealership // btw, part number is: 41231-22010, I had to buy one some months ago ), I would change it in a heartbeat if you're taking the pumpkin out. You don't want any looseness in the rear axle, trust me

[Ivan141]

If you enjoy playing around with your limited slip differential, you will be putting lots of shock loads on the pinion.
If the crushable OEM spacer is overcrushed, you're pinion will become loose and it's alignment with the ring gear
will go to shit. Had something like it happen to me after an empty parking lot play session many moons ago, the
rumble from the axle is a heartbreaking sound (especially if you know what a new ring & pinion set costs).
A solid spacer is a little bit of protection for your fragile diff for relatively little added cost. If it's more than the
occasional skid your after then the OEM LSD is usually the first thing to break.

[decryphe]

Thanks a lot for the info! In that case I'll be ordering one as soon as I'm home from work.

One other question, does it make sense to have a slightly longer final drive for cruising at lower rpm on the highway? Pinion gear is rather expensive.

[pack]

With the stock one tyou can do pretty much everything....

You can also buy a shorter ration CWP (4.55 from the LITEACE) which will give you a nicer track feeling but it will kill the highway driving a bit more...