Tell the wife to hide the gun

 

Oh crap.

 

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot Man...

 

If you want something done right..................

 

A little twist on the situation.

The LSD I provided did have a magnetic ring. Paul Carver called me and noted that PET shows that the ring changed in 86. I don't know what the change was. The mechanic installed the LSD with its magnetic ring and did not swap them. The LSD may have been 83-85 with the early ring. The diffs are compatible, with later cases, but it appears the rings are not. I haven't fully investigated this, but I wonder if the cover changed with the ring and I could install an early cover and have a speedo again. Anybody know? I don't have access to PET or other resources at the moment.

 

Now for some good news....

I freed up the Bowden cable. Not sure why it was stuck, but it came free with a tug. I checked that it was still attached to the rod inside the tranny. Then I went for a test ride. Wooohooo! It shifts perfectly, just as before I started on this saga. I beat the crap out of it like I always do and it didn't miss a shift. Yes, there is some "chatter" in sharp turns from the LSD. I'll try replacing some of the NS oil with regular 75-90W. [NOTE: This needs to be corrected - 100% REGULAR Redline 75-90W, not some mix of NS and regular, is what should be used with LSD. Read the label on the 75-90W oil.]

I went on a long enough ride and beat it so hard, I declare the tranny good. Now, all I need is to figure out how to get the speedo back.

 

I've seen posts that indicate the diff can be removed without dropping the gearbox. Given you shouldn't need to measure backlash and re-shim (assuming it was done right? hmm...), you could just remove the cat-back, unbolt the drive shafts and side plates, and pull the diff out?

Although to be honest - I'd be concerned that backlash was set correctly. My experience of swapping open diff to LSD was that the diff housings are not machined to the same dimensions - shims had to be changed including buying new ones to make up the correct dimensions. Measuring backlash is not something I'd attempt with the transmission in the car.

 

There is a number change in the covers between MY 86 and 89 but not sure what the change is......perpahps Mark anderson would know?

 

Hi Hilton:

To get the diff out of the case, you need to drop the gas tank. I'm willing to do that. But I'm wondering why the early magnetic ring doesn't work and if I can just swap the diff case cover. Here's a pic of the LSD with ring. The mechanic and I reviewed the backlash and I think he got that. But it's easy to check if I remove the cover.

PET shows the case cover changed in 86 and then in 91 when the speedo sensor moved to one of the front wheel ABS units. The magnetic ring only changed in 89. So, 89 had the 86-91 cover. That means I need an 83-85 cover, assuming it will fit the later diff case. It looks like it will. The case changed in 89 but the cover gasket is the same FOR ALL MODEL YEARS.

 

Bill I will send you up a 83-85 cover NC.

 

Absolutely first-class support, Mark!

 

Wow! Mark, please at least charge me for shipping. You have my card on file.

If the cover is the solution as I figure it must be, then everything will be right again in the universe, and my invincible car will be rolling towards the quarter million miles it should have reached by now had it not been laid up for the past 3 months through no fault of its own. It did feel great today out on the road.

 

Upon some further investagation I found 9 different rear covers. I had no idea.

 

Someone had this same issue with the different cover a few years ago. I remember reading about it but I'm too lazy to look it up.

 

Here's a pic of my magnetic ring simulator to test the speedo sensor and speedo circuit function. I used magnets removed from the read/write arms of old, obsolete hard drives I had lying in a drawer. I hot-glued the magnets to the face of a plastic sanding disc base. Mounted of a drill, this disc provides the magnetic pulse for the sensor. Most people should never encounter a need to use this, but I've had two in the last year.