(9/12/05)
Yesterday I got hold of a Diff, it's a 3.62 LSD and I intend now to upgrade it to a 3.92 by swapping out the LSD part of it into an open 3.92 diff (so I have to get two diffs). I spend most of yesterday collecting and cleaning it only to find out the engineering firm will not use this case but the other one - another waste of time and effort, don't you just love kitcar building?(06/01)
Finally got my Diff sorted, I managed to swap with one of the WSCC forum members (Thanks Animal). He had a 3.92 that I wanted and I had a 3.62 he wanted so job sorted. It took perishing ages to clean up with a wire brush and sand paper, lots of nooks and crannies but managed it in the end.
First pic is the Diff all painted up and ready to install, Pics 2 & 3 show the Diff installed.
It is better to install with two people due to the weight (25kg), un-fortunately, I didn't have that luxury so with the chassis protected with some cardboard, I eased it in and fitted the bottom bar first, then pivoted it up onto the top bar. It took a little persuasion with a soft mallet to push both bars through but it wasn't that bad. Manual says to remove the brake pipes to do this but I managed with them in place.
Next was to fit both half-shafts. You will need to undo the tops of each rear upright and pull them outward to be able to ease each shaft onto the diff flanges. I had already fitted the outside lobro joints & outer hubs so it was just a matter of pushing through the uprights and fitting the inner lobros.
Note the cork gasket fitted inside the cups/gaiters. Nothing was mentioned in the manual or the lobro instructions but I couldn't see where else they would go so I fitted them here (you can just see them in pic1).
Note 2: Both the lobro joints have groove along one edge, the factory said both these face "Inboard" although the Sierra manual says otherwise .... Hmmmm.
Bolted them all up but not torqued them as you have to lock the diff, this will be easier when on the ground and brakes applied. Pics 2 shows shafts fitted, you can see the grooves clearly here.
(13/02/06)
Fitted the propshaft after waiting for the bolts to come from Westfield, couldn't be arsed to go to Fords, it's such a pain having to explain it's a KITCAR and I ain't got a clue what car it came from. Not much to look at, just 4 bolts and job done.Went to pick up my Gearbox last Friday from BGH but I've only just had time to check it out, looks clean I must say. Very nice chap is Brian Hill, well recommended.
Whilst it was accessible, I filled it up with oil and cleaned and fitted the reverse light switch. I then went to fit the Bellhousing but couldn't find the torque settings so a quick call to BGH furnished me with 55ftlb - 62ftlb (bit of a range!). He also recommended using sealant as the little selector fork at the top of the box can weep oil. Five minutes later and the bellhousing was fitted.
Forgot to mention that I had to drill out the holes that bolt up to the gearbox as they were threaded, this is to facilitate a rear fixing but I couldn't use that so one large drill later and they were opened up to 12mm. Also the little hole for the clutch fork pivot had to be opened up to 8.5mm, lucky I had some damn big drills handy. Also fitted the clutch release arm and thrust bearing coz I was on a roll.
Next on the agenda was to fit the gearbox mounting plate. As this is the MT75 chassis (now standard), it has the option to fit either gearbox (Type 9 or MT75) but the plate has to be bolted in for the Type 9.
Do you think I could find anything about whether it went on top of the chassis or below ........ NOPE! Trial and error rules and guess what, I chose the wrong one first.
It fits below the chassis, I used 25mm M8 bolts with spring washers to fix it in and they just fit in nice and flush.
Managed to shove the gearbox into place but it was a bugger to slide the propshaft in, patience is something I'm running out of rapidly.
(17/05/06)
Although I have moved the engine/gearbox back, this still didn't allow for much room for the gearstick so I had to cut it down,Whilst at it, I decided to do the "Quickshift Mod" as described on Dave Andrews Site.
It's a simple mod which involves putting your gearstick in a suitable vice and whacking it with a large hammer, this then moves the fulcrum point. This is then raies up with some bolts/packing and gives you have a larger throw at the bottom end of the stick therefore making it a quickshift - ingenious!
Pic left shows the difference before (on an older shortened stick) and after on the right. It's then epoxy resined into place.
I've also shortened it quite a bit as you can see. I was going to cut a thread onto the top of it but it was easier to cut and weld the top threaded end of the orginal stick to the short end. Find a good welder if you decide to do this as there is lots of rubber to melt otherwise.
