Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Duratec Maintenance Differential Questions

Allright guys, I got the car to a shop, and they put it in the air. The wheels could hardly rotate, and kept getting stuck as they rotated them. The shop (Cottman Transmissions) says that this is a differential problem. I don't know much about diffs/tranny's, so if you guys could jsut verify this for me that it could be my problem, that would be great. This is the thread where I posted about the symptoms. The shop also pulled the fluid, and find one nice shiny piece of metal, pretty small, about the size of the area on top of a pen.

My question if this is the problem, is now how much am I looking at for an average repair? They said $535 just for labor.

And now on to parts. What am I looking at for a Torsen or LSD? As compared to a stock? If stock, should I just look for a junkyard diff or do I need something new from factory?


I know this is alot to ask, but any help would be appreciated. Thanks guys~

From Terry Haines:

'Houston,we have a problem'
Re: 'The shop (Cottman Transmissions) says that this is a differential problem....'!!!!!!

ANY shop but them!!!!!

Sounds like the diff has broken for sure. I would avoid this shop[ though, sounds like Terry has seen some of their "handy-work" already, with less than promising results!

Wow, sounds like a pretty emphatic response! There's only a few tranny shops in this town, and Cottman was simply the closest.

Didn't know that they were to be so avoided! Any reasons why? Could it vary from shop to shop, or as a franchise are they just a bit shotty? Most of the guys at this one seemed pretty honest, and I didn't get the impression that I was being pushed towards anything I didn't want to do (i.e. dishonesty or an in/out type place).

One more question after an hour or two of research. IF I do go with a Torsen or Quaife, will the shop charge me more to install those as a pose to a stock diff?

And on the same note of the aftermarket diffs, I've found Quaife MTX-75's around 5-600, and Torsen T-2's around $650. That sounds like my best deal as of yet, are there certain online shops to go to here?

Originally posted by Terry Haines:

---

.I'd be 100% upfront and ask :
1) to see recipts for other MTX's they have opened up and repaired,not just 'swapped out'
2)I'd want to meet their MTX 75 expert....and see if they can
a)Set up bearings 'by the book'
b)Change blockers 'by the book'(IF you need them)
c)Change bearings fitted in the cases 'by the book'...Some of the branches 'may' be better than others but yes,I have had a couple of customers that have had C/man work done on them...both were....'not good'...'nuf said!

---

Keep searching for more prices. There is a current link floating around from "wakeperformance" I believe, that has the Torsen LSD for $525. If you have the time, and have another car to use in the meantime, I'd recommend sending your Tranny to Terry Haines. The last I read is he charges a flat rate for the labor, and then you just need to pay for the replacement parts. I believe his LSD of choice is Quaife.

Thanks for forwarding my questions and Terry's replies, Stazi. I'll definitely give them a call and use his advice. If I sense any doubt or uncertainty about their ability to do a good job, then I'll take it to another shop.

And I'd love to have Terry work on my tranny. I know what kind of work he does, and I know that once he's gotten a hold of it, the thing would be bullet proof. Unfortunately, I don't have the money right now to get all the products I'd want for the Tranny (shift forks, LSD, and all the other little things). I also don't have any other means of transportation other than the aforementioned. A fellow CEG'er has graciously given me a great deal on his lightly used stock differential, and as soon as I find a shop that I can trust to put the diff in right that will last the next couple years, I'll be having it shipped. And hopefully down the line, when finances and alternative transportation have stabilized, I can send the transmission to Terry, and have Stazi build me a 3.0! Least that's the plan so far. Thanks for the advice all, and I'll post up if anything else comes up.

heh... guess Cottman's outside the Phoenix area are just as scary. Make sure you don't go to a small local shop, unless they are very reputible. If they're small, and they break stuff... they most likely won't fess up or pay out.

"lightly used stock differential"

Dude don't be a moron. We already have CEGer's who replaced stock for stock and wound up in the same pile of poo. Why waste money having a shop do all the work and then skimp out and put in a POS stock diff. Totally crazy. Use you damn credit card and pay it off over a couple of months if you have to. Sure you may be $20-$30 interest not paying it off in one go. But compare that to the $$$$$ you will pay when you blow up the diff again. Use your head!!!!

Case in point: 2 blown stock diffs in a row!

Stazi, thanks for your concern. But honestly, I don't have the extra money. I have one credit card, with a limit of 1k with money already owed on it. The remainder will barely pay out the labor, and I have enough of my own money to pay for this stocker. I literally do plan on upgrading this SVT when I graduate and hopefully receive my commissioning pay. When that time comes, I will take out a nice little loan knowing that I have the income to support it. At that point, my goal is just to build a nice turbo'ed 3L making a relatively reliably tuned 300hp/tq, and beefed up tranny with ALL the goodies from Terry. Unfortunately that is 2 years away, and with tuition due within the next few weeks, I really don't have the extra money to put towards a LSD and the rest of the upgrades that need to be done as long as the transmission is apart.

Until that time comes, I'll simply take it very light on the car and keep up with some very preventive maintenance. From my current standing, that is the most responsible thing I can do with my money and my car, given my current situation.


And after reading through all the "I blew my SECOND stock diff!" posts, I will reiterate that I will take it VERY light on the car. I'm too busy for the speed/mod bug right now, and I don't plan on attempting anything aggresive on such a reportedly weak differntial, as I am full knowing how weak and prone to breakage under aggresive conditions they are.