Greetings all, as the supply of rear diffs and parts gradually dries up in my area in particular, I have noticed that theres a good number of front
diffs available on ebay
now for my trike builds where the diff is exposed and often size is at a premium, they seem ideal, they look a bit better, and are smaller
so what am I missing??
are they fundamentally weaker? hows the power split in a 4x4 sierra?
this is mainly for a new trike build for my wife, will be small bike powerplant, probably only a 500-750 engine, and therefore not a lot more than
65-70bhp.
I cant believe that nobody has used one in a trike for no good reason, however I cant find that reason
1 thing I dont know about is if the front and rear driveshafts on a sierra rotate the same way under the car, or if they contra rotate?
trying to get my head round it, I have to run sierra diffs upside down dueto my bike driveshafts running opposite direction to car ones.
anyone offer any advice or know a reason why I shouldnt use one
thanks
Well you wouldn't have to run it upside down in a rear application for one.
It will take over 200bhp as standard.
There are strengning plates available.
It's not LSD.
One side mounting.
Cheap so give it a go
I think they are ideal as a chain drive diff. They must be strong as they are worth nothing. I couldnt sell one five years ago.
quote:
Originally posted by snapper
Well you wouldn't have to run it upside down in a rear application for one.
It will take over 200bhp as standard.
There are strengning plates available.
It's not LSD.
One side mounting.
Cheap so give it a go
would it wear out faster than expected with it running in reverse, or would low mileage, weight, power and cost make this not a problem?
I dont actually know, I have run sierra rear diffs upside down for many years
never had huge amounts of BHP going through the, 100-110bhp is about it, never had any problems.
Im now looking elsewhere anyway as Im not overly keenon the way that the diffs mount.
having trouble finding a setup with hubs that look easyish to mount, ie like the sierra setup
The 4x4 front diff is the same 'layout' as the rear diff - i.e. if you're looking at the input flange the crownwheel is on the right. So if your engine is such that you have to mount your usual choice of a sierra rear diff up-side-down, then you'll have to mount a front diff up-side-down too. The plus side is it will be running in its intended direction, although as you say, I doubt you've ever had any problems running rear diffs backwards in such a light duty application. The main difficulty you'll have is that only the OS side has a driveshaft just slot in. The NS is usually up against the sierra sump and an intermediate shaft that runs through the sump plugs in. However this is apparently quite easy to sort - the Dax Rush quadra plugs driveshafts in both sides and I was told by an owner all that needs doing is machining the oil seal out enough that the driveshaft fits in properly. I never saw what is done but it sounded a simple task. Then of course you'll have to extend both driveshafts. If you can be bothered with all this you have a compact and light (about half a rear diff) diff to use, but is it worth it? What about other alternatives - a freelander rear diff is a popular light/compact alternative to the sierra rear diff, for example.