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is there a way to tell differentials apart

M

montrese04

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In my original post i goofed and copied some information down incorrectly. So i am going back and putting up the correct info.

So what i understand from this posting is that picture (1 and 2 is NO) pic (3 and 4 is yes) for the style differential you want to use if you are not able to afford a torsen or quaife and must substitute at the time of the build.


IMAG0117.jpg




IMAG0114.jpg

IMAG0115.jpg
 
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look on the face of the diff that is pointing down in that picture. there will be a 2 digit date cast into it such as 97, 98, 00, etc. if its a pre98 it will have 94, 95, 96, or 97 on it.

edit: missed the part where you mentioned the writing is what is cast into them. the one on the right says 94 so that would be a pre98 diff (but would most definitely not be from an SVT as only early 98s got the pre98 diff and they would have all been cast in 97).
 
so how weak are the diff's in the contours? I hear that they are pretty weak, but having owned 4 svts.. I havn't had one fail yet..
 
@striker, thanks for the response. My spidey senses told me that the one on the right was a pre 98 (largely due to the fact that just like you said it has a date stamped on it). Only thing i'm confused about is how did it end up in a svt. I ended up pulling this from a svt that was in a yard down the street from me. I even put the vin in the "all svt's go to heaven" thread.

anyone have any idea as to why the teeth on the right are more shallow then the teeth on the left?
 
montrese04 said:
@striker, thanks for the response. My spidey senses told me that the one on the right was a pre 98 (largely due to the fact that just like you said it has a date stamped on it). Only thing i'm confused about is how did it end up in a svt. I ended up pulling this from a svt that was in a yard down the street from me. I even put the vin in the "all svt's go to heaven" thread.

anyone have any idea as to why the teeth on the right are more shallow then the teeth on the left?
Click to expand...

somebody probably swapped the diff in the SVT to a pre98. the difference in depth is probably just a slight change in design.
 
Interesting. The edges of the teeth of the pre98 diff are smoothed and rounded. Not sure if this is the design or if it is wear, but I'd imagine it helps coax the teeth together gently to keep the edges from chipping off and deteriorating like in the later diffs...
 
when i took the diffy on the right out of the trans it was already like that. there was no metal attached to the magnet. I'm pretty solid at investigating things and from what i'm able to see. This is simply how it came. No aggressive wear (but if that were to be the case "aggressive wear") then i think it wouldnt have came out as evenly as that.

Sort of shocking that we dont have more pics of differentials on the site. Does anyone have a pic of a torsen or quaife diffy? (and not one from the site the purchased it from)
 
I'd like to see more pics of a pre98 diff and the 98+ diff side by side. I want to see the difference. There has to be a physical difference between them because they are just SO different in terms of durability. Anybody else have pics?
 
the difference in durability could just be the materials and nothing more. but then again there could be other factors too.
 
zorrex said:
I'd like to see more pics of a pre98 diff and the 98+ diff side by side. I want to see the difference. There has to be a physical difference between them because they are just SO different in terms of durability. Anybody else have pics?
Click to expand...

here are a few more pics but not side by side.

From the first pic in the original post the following shot is of the diffy on the left (99 TE). It has 3 dips on the rim of it.





vs the one on the right only has one dip on the rim

 
from what i remember your not able to but you might try Terry Haines if your local ford dealer is not able to help

also WHICH ring gear are you wanting. The one out of a zetec with the higher final drive ratio or just the stock one in your svt? If you want stock i do have what your looking for. just give me a pm
 
like i replied to your other post asking this same thing. the Duratec already has the 4.06 FD. as such there are boosted and 3L cars running it, but a lot of the guys switch to the 3.84 FD.
 
@ striker

isnt that backwards. i thought the final drive out the zetec (which is what 3L guys tend to use i believe) was the better of the two. and if it is, i thought it was because the FD ratio was higher or is it that the lower the number the higher the drive ratio
 
I didn't read through this thread but the diff on the right is the one with the softer planet gears i.e. post 98. You want the one on the left.
 
montrese04 said:
@ striker

isnt that backwards. i thought the final drive out the zetec (which is what 3L guys tend to use i believe) was the better of the two. and if it is, i thought it was because the FD ratio was higher or is it that the lower the number the higher the drive ratio
Click to expand...
the Zetec one (3.84) is the lower FD but it is used to help lengthen the gears, so that each gear goes a little higher MPH wise. between longer gears, and less torque multiplication, the lower FD makes 1st and 2nd gears a little more usable with the extra power.

todras said:
I didn't read through this thread but the diff on the right is the one with the softer planet gears i.e. post 98. You want the one on the left.
Click to expand...
check again. the date cast into the diff on the right is 94, which would be a pre98. the one on the left has 99 cast into, so its a 98+. now i suppose its possible someone replaced the spider gears, but its not likely.
 
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