Elliot Posted June 12, 2005 Share Posted June 12, 2005 Driving around last night, I heard/felt a big bang from the rear. The car carried on no problem, but I still pulled in up the road where it was safe to do so to check it over. It seemed fine, until I steered to the right on almost full lock, at which it made a "clunking" sound. Rather than make it worse I called the RAC who had checked it out... "Suspected internal fault with differential (output shafts seem to have excess movement)" He pointed out that rather than just spinning around, they were moving from side to side slightly. He said it could eventually cause the rear wheels to lock. He also said the fact my car is so low, could help prevent it from flipping over! Got it onto the flatbed, and taken home It is still driveable, but didn't want to risk it. Tomorrow, I'm going to call the garage (Toyoda Tech) and ask them to take a look when they can fit it in. Has anyone had similar problems? Could it be anything else? What could have caused it? Most importantly - what is the estimate cost for replacement/repair + labour? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tDR Posted June 12, 2005 Share Posted June 12, 2005 A nice upgrade would be a TRD mechanical diff at around £600 + labour to fit... £700 ish total? Cheers, Brian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elliot Posted June 12, 2005 Author Share Posted June 12, 2005 A nice upgrade would be a TRD mechanical diff at around £600 + labour to fit... £700 ish total? Cheers, Brian. What's the benefit of upgrading to that over stock? If there's not much difference in cost, and it was worth it, then it's a possibility... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tDR Posted June 12, 2005 Share Posted June 12, 2005 What's the benefit of upgrading to that over stock? If there's not much difference in cost, and it was worth it, then it's a possibility... Quite simply it gives you better traction because it locks far quicker and stronger than a viscous type LSD or open diff. The downside in some peoples eyes is the car has a livelier back end which is easier to powerslide (and drift)... depends if you are confident in your driving ability as to whether it's the right choice of diff for you or whether you should stick to a Torsen type. Cheers, Brian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK Posted June 12, 2005 Share Posted June 12, 2005 IIRC I read here the a few days ago that the TRD diff is a kit and uses parst of the stock diff, this may not be possible depending whats wrong with your diff. Something to research. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elliot Posted June 12, 2005 Author Share Posted June 12, 2005 Hmm, the back's lively enough as it is, so might stick to stock I think! I'll let you know how I get on at the garage when I know. In the meantime, any more advice / knowledge on the subject would be much appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terminator Posted June 12, 2005 Share Posted June 12, 2005 Toyota will charge you an arm and a leg to supply and fit a diff. If you have good tools and some one to help it is not a difficult job to change it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elliot Posted June 12, 2005 Author Share Posted June 12, 2005 Toyota will charge you an arm and a leg to supply and fit a diff. If you have good tools and some one to help it is not a difficult job to change it. I can't even change a valve cap! Let alone finding the problem & fixing it using the right parts! (seriously, last time I went to pump up my tyres I ripped the valve stem thing off! ) I doubt I'll be using Toyota, will be using Toyoda Tech (Toyota specialists nearby) not sure if their prices are any better than Toyota, but they seem to know their stuff down there. I have no idea what needs to be repaired / replaced at the moment so will get them to check it over. Anyone have any idea why this might have happened? I can't remember driving over any bumps or anything when it happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elliot Posted June 20, 2005 Author Share Posted June 20, 2005 Back on the road as of today! God, I forgot how much fun my car was! :) Garage sourced a second-hand diff, with labour came to about £650. Supposedly they're £1200 new and 8 weeks from Japan. Having no comparison price, I went ahead. Probably would have been cheaper getting parts from someone on here, or from the scrappies but wanted it done ASAP & would need a mechanic to know what bits were needed etc anyway! Garage reckon it was just bad luck it had failed. They said they can be messed up putting on full power, whilst being on full lock, but only thing that would do that is doing a donut so be careful all you lunatics! They also said they've never known a diff to fail on a supra, and AFAIK they've worked on a few down there. Anyway...I'm going to go for a blast in an hour or so when the road's nice and clear! (even though I can't afford the petrol! ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fox Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 Back on the road as of today! God, I forgot how much fun my car was! :) Garage sourced a second-hand diff, with labour came to about £650. Supposedly they're £1200 new and 8 weeks from Japan. Thats not a bad price. I was able to get a second hand unit for £400. The price i got from Toyota for a UK Diff was £1800.+ vat (off hand can't rember the correct price! The UK diff gets plumed into an oil cooler where as the jap counter part does not. ie it's a closed systems may be someone can add this to the jap vs uk debate) The TRD diff is now on my wish list. I was in supra the other day with one fitted and boy it can suck up the traction. Where my car will dance for a bit and then dart off. This thing locked both wheels and sat down and sucked it up!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nic Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 The TRD diff is now on my wish list. I was in supra the other day with one fitted and boy it can suck up the traction. Where my car will dance for a bit and then dart off. This thing locked both wheels and sat down and sucked it up!! Posted one out today, ordering some more this week if anyone wants one (bloody heavy b*ggers they are though ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elliot Posted June 20, 2005 Author Share Posted June 20, 2005 As discussed earlier, the car's scary enough as it is for me without more sideways fun! Was out tonight for a quick spin and loved every minute of it! Sounds like I haven't been bumped which is good! Fox - did yours break as well then? Sounds like it's quite unfortunate for it to happen. Did they give you a cause? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fox Posted June 21, 2005 Share Posted June 21, 2005 My diff was only driving one wheel regardless driving style. When we put the car on to the ramp there was no visable damage but when we turned the drivers side wheel we all could hear grinding and clunking. Also the current diff was from a JDM Supra as there where no fittings or outlets for the oil cooler. Also the oil cooler was in bits and there where more rows than fins showing. So i suspected that the uk diff packed in due to the oil cooler not working. I sent an e-mail to Chris Wilson who was very kind and replyed to my e-mail with some very helpful advice and his phone number, to give him a call. I call Chris the next day and with the help from Chris i was able to get the car sorted!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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