Noahs944

Thinking of doin' some horse trading with a guy. He has a LSD S trans (87) that I want. The car has 100 000 miles (street car).

Is this thing going to be worn out?
Is it going to mess up my winter driving or improve it (on the public roads)?
What is the procedure to replace the disks?

-Will I be wasting my time with this when I could be installing a quality aftermarket LSD instead? And if THIS is the case, should I buy an open trans instead of oem lsd for aftermarket compatibility?

Thanks!

KevinGross

Unless it has previously been serviced, it is likely to benefit from servicing. Same is true for the rest of the transmission.

In functioning condition, it will help on icy roads.

It is described in the factory workshop manuals.

I don't think you are wasting your time with a factory LSD. There are behavioral differences between the factory's Salisbury-type clutch type differential and Torsen-type worm gear differentials such as the WaveTrac, but you are unlikely to experience a difference in street driving.

Noahs944

Geez Kevin, thank you for your replies!

KevinGross

My pleasure!

Dougs951S

Kevin is the man for trans work. Kevin, any idea what it costs to ship a trans to you?

KevinGross

Hi Doug, shipping depends a bit on distance. Typically they arrive (and leave!) via a freight carrier because of their weight: a little too heavy for UPS "Brown." The transmission gets lashed to a pallet (skid) or put in a crate, and you can pick up a pallet from your local hardware store for example.

I use Land Air Express of New England because they're easy to work with, a little less expensive than the big guys such as USF Red Star or Yellow, and reliable. They network with other carriers to cover North America. Doug, if you shoot me your address I can get you a quote. Cheers.

PS: I have had a few customers convince UPS or FedEx to take their transmission. This has involved stuffing it in a large box or ice chest. This generally has *not* worked out well: the transmissions have been damaged because the box or cooler doesn't protect them when the poor driver wrangles the thing onto his truck. Stuff get broken. The freight guys come with a lift gate and a pallet jack, and they know how to deal with 150 - 170 lbs of stuff. Cheers.

fasteddie313

You can test it with a torque wrench and compare breakaway torque to FSM spec..

Noahs944

That's a GREAT IDEA FastEddie

drive135mph

I had a n 87 944 with the LSD and it was, hands down, the best part of the car. I could sling it sideways in the wet any time I wanted to. It made it a tank (for a sports car) in the snow and it definitely added cornering speed compared to my buddy's 88 with the same tires.

I'd rather have the LSD than a drivers seat in a 944

Dougs951S

with enough lsd you could sit in an empty shell and imagine yourself in a driver seat

GTgears

For those who don't know, Porsche has recently rereleased ZF LSD service parts through their Classic division. You can now buy LSD clutches at your local dealership for about half the price of my motorsports parts. This is a great option for someone who wants original performance and isn't building a racecar.

And Kevin does excellent work. If someone wanted one of my LSDs, he can provide and install it.

Regards,

Matt Monson