Thread: Diff Bearing Preload Setting?

I didn't use any special tools - just a piece of string and one of those "fish scales" things. Dont remember the exact specs for this but it should be in the rebuild manual. It was a matter of fitting the front output housing on and off with different shims behind the bearing race until I got the right resistance needed to turn the centre diff assembly. Remember the gasket thickness on the housing and the torque of the bolts will affect this. A trick I used to make this easier was to grind down the outside of the old bearing race to a slighlty smaller diameter so it could be slotted in and out more easily. Once I had a shim which was within the range I replaced the old race with a the new one and checked the resistance again.
As there are so many shim sizes available I ended up finding one slightly larger than I needed and sanded it down on a flat sanding plate until it was the right thickness. Bit tedious but it worked for me.
Good luck.
Adam.

When I built my LT230 I used one of Ashcroft's multiple shim kits. Cost me GBP £32 plus a bit of post and it was well worth it. It covered the centre diff and the input gear, although the input went back together with the original shim.

As Ads mentions, a spring gauge and string will see you right.

Thanks for the advice, I'm still a little confused. Does anyone know what weight is required on the spring gauge? I presume it is dragged around the outer edge of the brake drum . The shim kit wouldn't get here in time unfortunately.

Originally Posted by defendaroo

Thanks for the advice, I'm still a little confused. Does anyone know what weight is required on the spring gauge? I presume it is dragged around the outer edge of the brake drum . The shim kit wouldn't get here in time unfortunately.

It's not so much a matter of weight on the spring gauge, you use the spring gauge to pull on the string wrapped around the hub, and observe the reading on the spring gauge (or scale) which is telling you the amount of force you are pulling with. The correct amount of force will be specified in your manual, which I presume you have as you've quoted all the special tool numbers.

My manual doesn't have the spring tensions in it. Is there a weight measurement for it when it's all back together?

Originally Posted by defendaroo

My manual doesn't have the spring tensions in it. Is there a weight measurement for it when it's all back together?

Rolling resistance for the centre diff is 1.8 to 4.5kg. Use the shim to obtain this figure.