Anybody use one of these f

 

That's the one one my "most desired component list" after great tires. A driving instructor at the track this year LOVES his in his Miyata. Seems like a great product. My only question, is do you have to take the trans apart to install it?

 

I have one on the bench for a customer today. The Wavetrac is a Gleason / Torsen type differential, that is with worm gears rather than the clutch disk packs used in the factory Salisbury-type differential.

You do have to separate the gear carrier from the diff carrier to install it, and you need to reestabblish both diff carrier bearing preload and ring-to-pinion freeplay. If your car has the factory transmission cooler, you'll need the open differential type drive sprocket (and spring pin) rather than the LSD version of the sprocket.

 

Thank you Kevin, your knowledge is greatly appreciated! So is it correct to assume one can remove the carrier with ring gear out the side of the transaxle case, without opening up the transmission side of things?

 

No. You have to separate the gear carrier from the diff carrier before extracting the diff w/ring gear from the side.

 

Thanks Dimi! So, not really messing with the transmission then?

 

Dimi's got it right. Yes, you're not really getting into the transmission. The steps I use are as follows:

• drain the transmission
• remove the external shift linkage, down to the M6 pinch bolt and the M8 (17 mm ATF) pivot bolt.
• remove the reverse lock-out plug, spring, and bushing
• with the transmission in neutral, remove the three M6 bolts that hold the side cover plate over the cross shaft
• pull out the cross shaft
• loosen the 12 M8 bolts that secure the steel gear carrier to the aluminum differential carrier
• drive the two 12 mm dowel sleeves between the gear and diff carrier forward and out
• remove the 12 bolts previously loosened
• pull the gear carrier away from the diff carrier

You can now remove the diff cover plate (nine M8 bolts) and remove the differential.

Driving the dowel sleeves can be a challenge. Porsche introduced a special tool, a drift, with the 968 transmission that can be used and makes the job easier. I also find it helps to heat around the dowels, for example using a plumber's torch with MAP gas.

 

Thanks for the AWESOME step by step Kevin! These trannies are intimidating (to me), but I think I can handle this!

I am curious if the Wave trac with fit the earlier Audi 4 &5 speeds that came with the small 19 or 20mm torque tubes... on the outside these (non snail shell) transaxles look very much like the 944 na trannies.

Anyone know if they fit? I didn't see them listed under Porsche on the Wavetrac website.

 

Noah, you can check Wavetrac's web site for applications.

 

It will fit on the 5 speed but not sure for the 4 speed.