KAAZ R180 LSD fit problem

[Jeff Berk]

I don't want to hijack the other thread on a R180 LSD installation.

I have two photos attached on an LSD being installed. One from the internet from a Subaru that shows it just goes in nose first, is turned with two fingers, and slides into place. The other one is of my KAAZ LSD going in nose first and not moving beyond that position. The Subaru was replacing an LSD with another LSD while mine has never had an LSD. The ring gear almost clear the side of the housing.

Are there any tips on what I need to do other than keep at it?

 

[grannyknot]

If there are areas of the cast iron housing that are in the way of the ring gear, it is perfectly acceptable to grind off the areas that are in the way.  You can't go crazy on it but a little bit here and there won't hurt the strength of the housing. Stuff a clean rag up into gap around the pinion gear so no fillings get in there then spray it out with brake cleaner before assembly.

[Jeff Berk]

Thanks GK

I'll give it a try.

[inline6]

Hi Jeff,

Just glancing at the pictures you provided, it looks to me like this area on the Subaru case is much thinner than on your case:

 

I had to grind extensively to get the Quaife unit to fit. On the right side, I ground a little bit, and then made deep depressions to allow a couple the bolts to fit in "wells":

  

 

On the left side, I ground more extensively, so much so, that I broke thought to the side retainer bolt holes.

  

 

I spent hours with a die grinder.  I would test fit, and knock lsd into the case lightly to make marks... which I then ground away.  Again and again I repeated that process until the carrier went in.  I also had to remove one of the ring gear bolts in order to get the carrier to slip in.  After I determine the final shim size, I will assemble it one last time.  During that final assembly, after the carrier slips into the case, I will need to torque that one last ring gear bolt through the side hole.  Then I will be able to install the side retainers and finish assembly.  

The KAAZ unit may need similar approach.

[Patcon]

That's a lot of grinding! I'm sure that took a while!

[Jeff Berk]

I just got mine to fit. I didn't need to grind off nearly as much as InLine6 did on the gear side and on the other side, I just needed to grind a little off of two spots on the 1/2 shaft opening so that the LSD carrier could make the turn. Now it easily falls into place. I'm surprised that an LSD designed to fit a specific case will not fit unless you alter the case. 

Hopefully since I chickened out of replacing the pinion bearings, I won't have a shimming issue.

I attached a shop drawing of the KAAZ DAN2020 LSD and I was wondering if it is smaller than the Quaife unit. 

Jeff

[inline6]

On 2/1/2024 at 5:14 AM, Patcon said:

That's a lot of grinding! I'm sure that took a while!

Ummmm... well, I found out today that I didn't need to grind that much.

On 2/1/2024 at 1:35 PM, Jeff Berk said:

I just got mine to fit. I didn't need to grind off nearly as much as InLine6 did on the gear side and on the other side, I just needed to grind a little off of two spots on the 1/2 shaft opening so that the LSD carrier could make the turn. Now it easily falls into place. I'm surprised that an LSD designed to fit a specific case will not fit unless you alter the case. 

Hopefully since I chickened out of replacing the pinion bearings, I won't have a shimming issue.

I attached a shop drawing of the KAAZ DAN2020 LSD and I was wondering if it is smaller than the Quaife unit. 

Jeff

 

Yeah, I didn't realize until today that I ground more off than I needed to.  As I was taking the carrier out today, it "fell into" a different location, and I was able to "make the turn" as you say.  I feel like an idiot now.  Hopefully, I haven't ground too much as to weaken the case and cause an issue.  

The key is to butt the ring gear up against the right vertical wall of the back of the case, and then rotate the carrier as you push it in.  

 

[Jeff Berk]

How many times have we all felt like an idiot when working on our cars? 😀

Did I ever mentioned how when I first purchased my Z I immediately changed the oil but didn't notice that the gasket from the old filter stuck to the engine so I had two gaskets. I drove around the block and wondered why there was a trail of oil leading out of my drive. 

Luckily a PO had installed an oversize oil pan so there was still some left.

[grannyknot]

9 hours ago, Jeff Berk said:

How many times have we all felt like an idiot when working on our cars? 😀

Did I ever mentioned how when I first purchased my Z I immediately changed the oil but didn't notice that the gasket from the old filter stuck to the engine so I had two gaskets. I drove around the block and wondered why there was a trail of oil leading out of my drive. 

Luckily a PO had installed an oversize oil pan so there was still some left.

I have done that exact thing, I was still in the garage when I started it up and it was like an oil bomb went off. There was not a square inch of surface that wasn't dripping with oil, no car show for me that day.

@inline6, don't feel bad, your diff will be okay, the quality of the cast iron they used is excellent.

[Jeff Berk]

I finally was able to regain access to my garage to install the differential and ran into a (major) glitch. My axle ends will not attach to the new differential. Everything went fine, other than a smashed finger, until I tried to screw in the yoke fixing bolt. It would just spin. It was then that I realized that there was nothing to screw it into. I contacted KAAZ in the US and was told that the unit I purchased DAN2020 is designed for a C-clip stub. They do have a unit designed for a bolt-type stub like used in the early Skylines DAN2030. 

Dose anyone know where I can get a stub designed for C-clip installation or a drawing showing the exact location and dimensions of the C-clip slot so I can machine one on my existing stubs?

Note that although KAAZ tech support identified the DAN2020 as being the correct model for my car, I purchased it from a vendor in Japan in early December so that potentially complicates any exchange.

[Jeff Berk]

I just found this on e-bay but my car doesn't have this flange. The splined axle is part of the universal yoke.

Edited May 5 by Jeff Berk

[Jeff Berk]

Well, I'm still trying to get the LSD installed. The technician at KAAZ told me that I could purchase different "end gears" that are designed for screw type stub axels. He was traveling to Japan and would have them delivered to his hotel and bring them back to the States to ship to me. It would cost me about $350 but I really needed to get the Lsd installed so I agreed. 

A few days after he shipped them to me he e-mailed me again to say he discovered there was a threaded insert I could purchase for the existing end gears that would permit the use of the stock stub axels and I should send back (at KAAZ's expense) the new end gears I purchased. 

It took two weeks to get the threaded inserts and I tried to install them today. They don't fit. I can machine them down to make them fit but by then, it might be just as easy to machine my own from scratch.

Lets see what KAAZ suggests now.