aligning differential with driveshaft and output shaft

[s13irdie2]

i searched but i couldnt inf any answers regarding this. did i have to mark the driveshaft and output shafts when taking out my differential? one of my friends say that you shouldnt turn it more than 180 degrees from where you took it out or it will cause vibration. does anyone know if this is true? thanks

[s14turbosilvia]

driveshafts are balanced, as far as I know.

I guess if you did lose track of it's orientation, you could use trial and error :)

[aznpoopy]

the driveshaft is supposed to be balanced; thats why u mark it when u remove it so it goes back in exactly as it came out.

it may or may not cause vibration... if you're really worried about it mark it and put it back in the way it came out. there's only 4 possible positions you could seat it in anyway... just test drive it and if u don't like it; spin it 90 degrees and try again.

[s13irdie2]

so even if i put it in the wrong way, it shouldnt affect my lsd or break it right? im just worried that it will break it during the trial and error i guess.

[SauN]

they usually have yellow markings where the flange on the axle and differential should line up

[aznpoopy]

so even if i put it in the wrong way, it shouldnt affect my lsd or break it right? im just worried that it will break it during the trial and error i guess.

don't thrash on it. drive it like an old asian lady and get it up to highway speed (preferably on a highway). if u feel abnormal vibration come back and switch it.

if your driveshaft is vibrating so damn much that it'd break your LSD on a slow trial run, u probably need a new driveshaft. ;)

[Bone]

It dont matter the oreintation of the rearend to the driveshaft or the axles to the output shafts. If it vibrates one place it will when you rotate it and try it some where else. You could spin it as much as you want and put it in it will be fine.

[89s132b]

Mine vibrates. I tried all 4 locations and they are all the same. Darn, guess I'll have to buy an aluminum 1-piece now!

[s14 blacktop]

Look at this..

[Dousan_PG]

ive never marked mine...3 times changing (dropping) diff on my old car and the new car was japanese driveshaft w/ my s13 pumpkin and alxes and no problems

done the same on many friends' cars no issues at all.

[Bone]

Not to sound like a smartass but if I check long enough on the internet I can find something saying the sky is red not blue. Driveshaft and stub axles to axle flanges do not have to be marked or indexed when installed. Hell Dousan has spoken for that matter. It just seems like this is turning into a "50/50" on who wants to be a millionaire you know the ones that come up 50/50 so they have no idea who to believe ;)

Install it and drifto!

[s13irdie2]

thanks guys i appreciate it. if i feel it vibrating then i guess ill switch it but im glad i asked so im not worried about it anymore. :) drift day here i come!

[s13irdie2]

alrite guys heres a funny story for you, i stripped the shit out of my drain hole so i decided to use a pump and pump out the fluid after i broke it in. so when i was inserting the tube in the fill hole, that piece of crap dropped in and i couldnt get it out. i had to take the whole differential out and had to remove the cover to take out the tube. doh!
the good news is that its up and running. the fluiid drained out had some metal shavings but only a little. is that normal? even after i broke it in, theres a pretty large clunking sound while making slow turns(especially left ones), and the rear end is also bouncy too. maybe its just cause my cars stiff.

[Dousan_PG]

kaaz lsd is loud dont worry
metal shavings are ok fater first change/breakin

if you get a lot EACH change, then you have problems.

[The Hamsterball]

Ehh.. well, I'm guessing this guy is fine now. May I threadjack since this has to do with driveshaft/differential problems?

can I ask a question for you dousanPG (hey i live nearby you haha), or anybody else.

When I installed my VLSD to replace my loud, extremely clunky(loud loud clunk on output shafts, which had play), and whining differential (above 55MPH, the thing would shudder if you were decelerating)...
On gear shifts (yes.. SHIFTS) it would CLUNK.
So i installed a VLSD with 90K miles.. everything was great. it sounded normal, not loud. No noise on gear shifts.. Only noise if i abruptly declerate, but never as loud.
Redline synthetic GL5 fluid too.

Well, nowadays, I notice the same type of noise. but not as loud or prominent. Like, if I pull out my clutch too fast before giving it gas, it makes a clunk/*thuckkkk* noise.. but not that loud.
when i shift to 4th, and push the gas, sometimes it makes a clunk noise (even if i'm smooth). (the car makes the noise more in the cold...)

Also, when trying to engage into 2nd gear from the car rolling in neutral (not on shifting) at 15MPH, i rev it to the exact RPM, and slowly let the clutch out it catches on, but it makes the CLUNK noise as soon as i touch the gas a bit.
(at 20-25mph it's easier to engage in 2nd)

I can't really tell if it's vibrating because my car's gutted.. but when i got under the car a few times, i twisted the driveshaft clock-and counter-clock wise.. and it made somewhat of a clicking/clunking noise on turns.(similar to the noise i hear). that's with the car in gear.

I already checked my differential output shafts to see if the noise was coming from the same place as on the old differential. (put the rear up. turned the rear wheel left and right to see if there was any noise. None at all).. so the VLSD shouldn't be the culprit at all.

I also have a suspicion it may be my transmission, because sometimes when i'm sitting stopped, and put it in 1st really fast it makes a *POP* noise.

I'm just a bit worried, because I know all these parts are connected, and don't want to harm my VLSD if something is messed up.

Does anybody have any idea what it could be with this diagnosis?
(i'm guessing driveshaft, would like a second opinion).

Sorry for :blah: didn't mean to.

[zeusmax]

Yup the drive shaft has to be marked and placed back in the proper position. If not you will have viberations when you hit higher speeds in excesse of 30 mph.

It just happened to me Yesterday, Had my tranny replaced and when they put back the shaft they never marked them. Took the car out and had that viberation. Took it back, switched around the drive shaft Turned it and worked out great.

There are only 2 positions that you can pyshically bolt in the drive shaft, the right way and the wrong way. even though there are 4 bolts and it looks like they can all be 4 locations, they only line up in 2 spots.

[Dousan_PG]

vlsd is gay
dump that POS and get a real diff
and dont waste money on redline, but the cheapest stuf you can, or raid mom's cabinet and use olive oil, extra virgin works best

youprobably got something loose somewhere or dead bushings

ive NEVER had vibration issues, maybe you folks are lucky. as i said, done too many diff swaps to name and never lined it up and NEVER had any problems.

ive dropped my diff um..5 times ont he s13, 1 time on the s14 (Doing again this weekend), friends cars, at least 5 times or more hahaha..on various cars. NEVER marked it. never had problems

[aznpoopy]

ive NEVER had vibration issues, maybe you folks are lucky. as i said, done too many diff swaps to name and never lined it up and NEVER had any problems.

going by the FSM; when you measure for 'runout', you are basically checking to see if the driveshaft has bent over time. rotating it may or may not fix it. similarly rotating may or may not cause vibration.

most likely you never had any problems simply b/c your driveshaft isn't deformed. on that note, i never marked my driveshaft either and i haven't had any problems.

[Bone]

Driveshafts are balanced alone you do not balance a drive shaft with it bolted to anything there for when you pull it loose it does not matter how it goes back on! Anyone that tells me other wise in my eyes is just clueless. If you unbolt your drive shaft and rotate it and it gets rid of your vibration it was not because you rotated it that the viberation went way. It was because you didnt tighten down on the flange properly and it cocked creating run out. It does not matter if you rotate it! ;) I have built custom driveshafts for years it does not matter.

[Dousan_PG]

i love you bone

hahahahaha :)

[s14 blacktop]

Did any of you bother to read the page I posted instead of looking at the picture and assuming you need markings read the last paragraph really slowly and you will see when you have to put markings on it...
maybe the vibrating you feel is from a unbalanced tire? think about it...

[s13irdie2]

after close inspection i found out that my driveshaft and differential was marked. it was with some white paint. not sure who did it ir if it came like that in the factory.

[Bone]

LOL got your back ;) too funnyi love you bone

hahahahaha :)

[RBS14]

anyone who believes that rotating the driveshaft will eliminate vibration doesn't have a brain..... try taking off your unbalanced wheel and put it back on 180 degrees different and see if it is magically balanced. hahahaha