xupkid2

Wondering if anyone has any recommendations on places who might be able to rebuild my factory LSD in my tranny. The car is an 89 Turbo. I am doing some tranny work over the winter and figure while Im in there I might as well replace the clutch pack in the LSD. The car is a track only car so Im looking for someone who can do a great job and will rebuild it so it will last. Im willing to take on the rebuild myself if it isnt all that difficult. I have rebuilt just about everything else on the car but dont have a lot of tranny experience. Any suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks
Brian

Techno Duck

Ive heard great things about Kevin Gross near Boston, MA for rebuilding transmissions, he rebuilt the LSD on my friends 944 aswell as his entire transmission. No personal experience with him but have heard great things from the handful i know personally and past readings on the forums. If i ever end up putting a LSD in my transmission, i will be contacting him for sure.

kgross@connact.com

Oddjob

Brian,

If you are capable of rebuilding the rest of the trans, opening up and replacing the LSD discs is not a problem. The little allen head casing bolts strip out pretty easy (real high torque) so have a few spares to play around with. Factory manual is absolutely necessary and offers pretty good instructions for transmission work, included the LSD.

If you want to upgrade the locking rates or custom work, then you will need to talk to an experienced shop. Problem is, Im not sure where to send you for that - where are you located?

xupkid2

That info is helpful. Im located in Chicago.

Spidey944

944online.com has sources too for rebuilds.

tone3721

Ive heard good things about powerhaus II. Tricking out my transaxle, is on the agenda for 09'. If they are as good as I hear, theyll be who I use.
www.lightgearsahead.com

User 41221

A BIG +1 for Kevin Gross. I had him build my tranny for my 951, I have had friends also use him, and have no problem saying he is the #1 most knowledgeable 951 tranny guy in the US, and he is the only guy I will let inside my tranny. He's not the cheapest guy, but he doesn't take shortcuts either.

Seriously, if you want it done right the first time, he's the guy.

Regards,

333pg333

Can the stock tranny ever be built up enough to withstand constant track pressure? I found that mine had to get rebuilt each season before I went to a more substantial Motorsport 80/50. Perhaps it would be better to invest in one of these and just cut your losses over time? They're pretty cheap in the US too.

Oddjob

These guys are in that area:

http://midwesteurosport.com/

No first hand experience with them, but have raced against some of their cars at various PCA races. They run several 944s, so I would guess they know what they are doing.

Oddjob

Stock transmission, or stock LSD? What were you having fail? Just LSD friction discs? Pressure cups shot too? Shafts and spider gears? How were the pinion bearings and ring and pinion teeth? How many events a year? What brand/weight trans fluid are you using? Any friction modifiers? Do you have a trans cooler? How much hp were you running when having LSD wearout problems?

Mostly I think there is some mis-conception about the fragility of the stock 944 LSD. I find that they last quite awhile and hold up pretty well. The factory did have some very premature wearout problems with certain versions of the 964/993 LSDs, and I think some of that concern has carried over to all of the stock clutch type units (including the 944).

With that said, horsepower and track layout will have a big effect on LSD wear. If you have noticeably higher hp than a stock turbo S, you are going to see accelerated wear in the trans, LSD, etc. The tighter the track, the more the LSD is forced to slip causing more heat and wear on the friction surfaces. In this circumstance, trans cooling is potentially critical, as the over heated lube does not protect the bearings well and can cause pitting on the bearing races and even the ring and pinion teeth.

I think the Guard LSDs are close to $2k here in the US, so with installation its a $3k upgrade. Upgrading a stock -03 LSD to Turbo S spec will cost about $500 in parts, then refreshing it after will be maybe $100-150 in discs. Not sure what the labor would be if paying someone to do all of it, maybe $500+ each time...

schwank

I am having my trans rebuilt by GBOX in Boulder, Colorado right now. They do a lot of Porsche transmissions and I received several recommendations from very knowledgable people about the quality of their service. So far they have been great to work with, and my trans should be shipping out to me this week. I installed a new Guard LSD unit. As posted above, they are not cheap at 2K+, but... Can't wait to get back on track this year!!!

http://www.gboxweb.com

Antonio

I had two transaxles rebuilt by Kevin Gross. Excellent work, quick turnaround and reasonably priced. Highly recommended.