johnny.race

No, I haven't matey.

Any diff that is running 2 axles the same length has a pinion off set from center. Most diffs that feature differing length axles in the rear (in OEM form) will have the pinion centered.

Yeah, that'd be right ... near all Hilux diffs run two the same length axles and feature a pinion that is offset towards the driver side around 28mm in OEM form. Matches your hanger off set pretty much well.

Sometimes the chain and the jack swap positions, but pretty much like this for the most part. I use heat with this setup too sometimes. I use big blocks of wood too. It depends how much it needs to move and which part needs to do the moving. I don't (ever, lol) bend it with the bar running right through either. The bar is basically for checking. Some cunts actually weld them up with the bar still in them then wonder why it becomes stucked' in there.

I ran the alignment bar through a couple of OEM length/uncut housings today in order to check their suitability for a job. Sometimes when a certain pinion offset and width of diff is wanted, it can be got by cutting only one side of correctly selected factory width housing. The challenge then becomes one of sourcing that width that is in a usable condition ...especially on the side that you are not going to shorten. Candidate on the bench. The first side looks pretty good. Its almost on and for a factory ute diff with a zillion mils on it - I'd call it straight. Note, the bearing cup assembly can't be pushed on by hand when its being held center to the axle axis by the alignment bar. But take the bar away and it'll slip straight in and work/look correctly. Pity this is the side that's getting chopped. Meanwhile at the other end ... Near all of the OEM width ones I've checked (but I don't do all of them) are somewhere inbetween these two. Its a funny old world ... demanding tolerances measured in 0.000"s is the only acceptable standard for some parts of them while other parts ... try but yeah ... nah. lol! Ps. My bar and dummy bearings are good if you were wondering and the stuff I do comes out straaight as! (really) Churr.

This sounds ruff as fuck but I reckon its better than thinking you can use a normal lathe tooling setup to do it at home and get a guaranteed decent result. Plus it'd leave a decent cross hatched surface unlike a cutting tool would. I've seen attempts at skimming rotors on a lathe before. I've seen what happens when a single sided lathe tool hits a hard/hot spot and minutely bounces. If you can exert accurate control over a grinder there are a lot of things one can do in the shed-rat world and expect professional level results. I reckon anyway.

No mate, never.

Ahh, ok then, @yetchh was right, I stand corrected. It was a later coon I saw the bum of. Sweet. Water blast and tuck these things away for a rainy day and tear down. They are all LSD's too. I'm wondering if that ute one might be a 25 spliner.

Hmmm, maybe I got the XD part wrong. The only distinguishable part to me was a rear tail light and it looked like from what i remember as being XD. I'm not a Fordy guy and only know then by body shape pretty much well. Did the later ones (the next ones) have XD-ish type tail lights also? The car had been munted by the loader and digger before I got told about them. Of note, the later one has a link setup and not leaf. Would that say i was wrong thinking it was an XD I was looking at? When did the coons go to that 4 link?

His paint doesn't shine anymore and he hasn't got an un-dinged panel to his name. He's runs leaf springs in the front and is almost topped out at the legal speed limit. 26 years young and still the fucking business! Coon diffs. Thought of you @igor :)) Hey @yetchh I had to go back and check those pics you posted earlier. Two of these diffs feature vented rotors. I'd seen the later type before but not the cast iron type. The car was an XC by the looks of it. They are like your ones aye? It was stripped and had been fucked over by the loader, but XC as far as I could tell. The later one was an XD and the drum one was out of a ute that was either an XB or an XC as far as I could too. The old stuff is still out there, just gotta look wayyy harder now. All of them measured in at 1550mm outside to outside give or take a few mm either way. I have got a couple of 9"'s to do so have been tuned into BW/Ford sorta stuff of late. Stay warm.

Yep, ta for this. I had a gut feeling about saying no to this. Someone asked me if I would do it for them. Glad I said nup. Cool. Ta.

Has anyone had any experience putting 'toe in' into a live axle (diff)? Hows it done? How'd you measure it and how'd you go with it?

I must be missing something here ... why is the head coming off before you have determined where you have a geometry and or bind problem? This sorta shit generally takes two people ... one doing the turning and the other armed with a flashlight and magnifying glass. Are these engines known to be problematic in terms of piston to valve clearance?

What are you on about bud? How else do you take play out of a wheel bearing on a IFS on a RWD vehicle? I took it as the OP was talking about one of the fronts needing adjusting. It'd have to be because the rear ones on those are not adjustable.

Why wouldn't you recommend adjusting a wheel bearing this way, dude? Is there another way?

Nothing wrong with cubes and gearing matey. Fuck sensors and all that electronic-trickery stuff. People love V8's. They love the big noise .... they love the big racing. Stay in it.

Ahhhhh .... a kindred soul!!

I always thought it would be an axle that lets go in one of these but then again I might be a little axle fixated/biased. I have no real world first hand experience with BW75's. This all makes for interesting reading. In all honesty, most of the damage I have seen in the stuff I am asked to fix or modify has come from shock loading (I guessed you'd call it) brought about when power meets hook. But then that said, I reckon when a certain et/mph is reached, then by nature of the beast you need to get you there - everything is stressed to destruction at some point. I've seen heads out of rides that go out the backdoor at around 200 and their stuff munts.

Lol. I've done a couple of BW78's for Hilux's. They were got due to their price, availability, the fact they used what effectively is a 9" axle, and but mostly - got because they offered a gear ratio that could not be got easily for a G Series Lux. I know one of the trucks had a Holden V6 fitted (fuck, I bet that thing flew with Borgy in it) and I am unsure about the other. But probably an 8. Or was it the other way around? Lol. Been awhile. Borgy's are underrated in my opinion. They maybe are sorta light' compared to other diffs but they came out in large sedans with big motors in them so there must be a semblance of strength to them. I have heard stuff is available in Aussie for them also that addresses the specific area's where they might be left wanting. Axle diameter and center section. (Lol! - what have you got left?) I'd be tempted to have a real good look at what the Aussies have got and reckon. You missed out saying the term 9" in your blurb. Any reason? The Hilux diff is pretty strong bro. Its used in all manner of environments harsher and more abusive than I think what you might have planned. The way the housing supports the weight of the vehicle is superior to any yank diff setup short of a floater too. 9"'s 8.8's, GM - the lot. But the problem is the readily available gear ratio selection. Specifically those down in low 3.0 region. The lux axles in OEM form are strong mate. I dunno about their LSD's apart from the fact I have come across heaps of them that don't register any more than around 50 ft/lbs torque on the bench when assessing their breakaway torque with a torque wrench. Maybe they need to be tested when immersed in LS Diff oil of something? I dunno. Just saying. I have seen spools and lockers advertised for these. Those 8.8's look like a nice diff and have all of the right attributes an 8 cylinder car would want ... 31 Spline, LSD and a Ford stud pattern. In the first instance, I'd run what you have.But if you absolutely have to fuck with things, I'd have a real good look at what the Aussies have got and reckon about the BW78. If I remained unconvinced after that then it would be either an 8.8 or a 9" (for me it would be a 9" because I am a Barry) Just saying. Ahhh decisions ....

Below is a pic showing 2 x 30 spline Hilux axle ends. Same spline but following 2 different design philosophy. Fuck, I am coming across as sounding quite the tech dude aye? Be assured - this is not intended and I am far from being one. Pfft lol! Apart from the splines being formed using different methods ie. OEM Rolled (the very best) and cut, (everyone else except for OEM) look closely and you will see one axle features taper or neck down after the spline, whereas one does not. See on the top axle how the top of the spline just carries on along the diameter of the axle before blending gently back into the axle shaft. See on the bottom axle how the top of the spline tapers down to a smaller necked down portion of shaft, travels along a little bit before blending back into the axle shaft. The top axle is my work. The bottom one is OEM. In short, the factory item conforms to well understood engineering principle where as the one I cut does not. The main reason(s) for the factory neckdown after the spline is to allow for reduction of a stress raiser that is at the root (bottom) of the splines. 30 of them, lol! This neckdown is smaller in diameter than the spline root. This neckdown also allows the axle a place to twist easier given its smaller diameter. There is more to it but this is essentially the guts of it. Remember this pic? The reason I chose to ignore the neckdown principle is because the only thing I have real control over when reworking the pointy end of an OEM axle is the diameter. The hardening and choice of material has already been chosen for me. And given what I know of the depth of hardening, I've chosen to go about things that retain as much of the factory strength as possible. I reckon that below a certain spline major diameter, (larger than what you'd normally find on the street) you err on the side of caution and leave the maxium amount of hardened material in place that you can. A good big man will always beat a good small man. This is how I see things and do things anyway. Re your axles @Truenotch, I reckon the failure can be put down to material type and size. But in the main - lack of size. This is born out by you having better success after you carried out the necessary modifications that allowed you to run a larger calibre axle? Mr Howat uses nice neckdown aye? I'd say those axles are made from something like 4140 or similar. My 5c worth. Cheers.

Fuck did you?! Lol. I have had something to do with his stuff (Hilux axles for a specialized application) and thought his stuff was pretty good. I have some pics of the axles I am talking about and was (still are) going to post in here showing was was available locally. I don't offer to do what Mr Howat did/does. I stick to a few popular ones and that is it. I know what I know and I know what I don't This said, I hold a view on your particular application that you might find interesting. It involves some of the pics and things you have posted and some of the ones I have too. More on this later. Thanks for sharing your stuff matey. Its an eye opener for sure.

More axle tech/shit. 3 common axles. The shiny outer ring is the part of the axle that has been hardened. The middle is left unhardened. This is done to achieve a balance of strength and durability while still being ductile. Two examples of spline work. Only one of them is an axle. The top item is a piece of round stock that was used to practice resplining on. The bottom piece is an actual axle. Both pieces feature 30 splines suitable for Hilux. Look closely at them and you'll note that the top piece looks a little bigger about the diameter - even on the spline portion. Given the previous picture showing the depth of hardening ... you'd want to be attempting to remove the minimum amount of material you can from an axle's diameter. Furthermore ... the bottom item has been subjected to a shit quality respline job. The person that cut these splines didn't ensure the cutter was aligned the the job. Pfffft. So not only was it undersized (sloppy) it had been cut outta whack too. Someone got ripped, plus it looks like some chatter was going on too a little bit. Two 30 Spline axles with Hilux side gears slid on. Only one of them was a Hilux axle though. This one started life in a BW78 equipped Ford Falcon. A 28 Spline BW78 axle will just' take a Hilux pattern set of spline on it. Notice the was minimal machining done to the BW axle diameter prior to cutting in the splines. It only just made the minimum required major diameter.

Notice I make judicious use of the term OEM and go to lengths to ensure the reader is reminded that this/these are the type of axles i am talking about above ie. the ones issued by Ford (or whoever) in the bum or your car as original equipment. My thoughts on the aftermarket axles that I've come into contact outlined later.

Following on from above ... When commissioning someone to shorten then respline an axle, here are some things to keep in mind. In no particular order If you are having a spline put onto the axle that differs from what was on there OEM, you don't want to be cutting in a spline whose minor diameter (check what it means on the web) is smaller by any significant margin than the OEM spline's minor diameter. Near all OEM axles are case (induction) hardened ie. hardened on the outside and left soft in the middle. Understandably, the more material removed from the 'case', the weaker the axle becomes. Another thing, what you want to be doing is staying away from anything that involves using extreme heat at the pointy end of an OEM axle. You want to be staying away from welding - whether that be for cutting and shutting or using a low hydrogen rod to build up the tapered area behind the factory spline in order that there is material there to cut a new spline into. Welding introduces changes in the parent material due to extreme localized heat. A lot of people know that welded axles are a bad idea but then have no problem agreeing with a machine shop to building up the axles using weld. Go figure. Ask the axle what is the difference. What did it say? Nothing. Because there is no difference... it all introduces extreme heat to the smallest part of the axle. If the axle is going to fail - chances are its going to fail there. The weld never breaks. The part where the weld is attached to the axle breaks. Sometimes the machine shop will tell you that the axle will need heat treating afterwards. I'd go somewhere else or seek a different option (different axle) More stuff. Always ask the machine shop what they are going to use to respline your axle. Ask to look at it. If its not a cutter that features an indexable tip(s) then assume they will soften your axle using heat prior to having at it with a piece of HSS. Walk out. You don't want any heat at the pointy end. Ask them how many passes it takes them to cut the spline. Ask to see the side gear they need to check their work. This is not being cheeky. because if they are not using CNC and most will not for this type of work .... they will be using the apprentice. Resplining work is a balls achingly slow and repetitive process, and is very easy to fuck up. A shit respline job (as in undersized and sloppy) will translate back to you as 'excessive backlash' in your diff head. Think about it. Nek minut, its out with the diffhead chasing a problem that is not there. You paid for extra wear on your axles, lol. I am not exaggerating ... this shit happens. Don't listen to naysayers that say it don't - they have no skin in the game. This is how you really want to approach getting your axle done .... turn up at the machine shop with your axle and side-gear. Let the guy know you know exactly what you are after and how you are going to measure it. Show him the fit on the OEM spline and tell him you want less or the same. Not more. A single pass done by the apprentice in order to save time will almost guarantee and undersized job. You won't know this when you go to pick it up unless you have a side gear to check the fit with in front of them. It all looks shiny upon uplift but shiny does not mean its right. This is just my take on things. Your mileage may vary. More later.

Just some thoughts. No one knows what material OEM axles are made of except the OEM and you can bet your arse - that they keep that info close to their chest. They are in the car making business to make money. One of the ways they make money is getting ahold of the cheapest material they can get, then turning it into a usable item. This is a very competitive area with massive savings to be had. So held even closer to their bosom is the recipe and cook who mixed this cheap shit all together and got it to a usable state through a proprietary hardening process. You cannot count on this OEM manufactured steel meeting any international standard ie. SAE. Know that a SAE Steel is made to exacting standards that is thoroughly understood the world over. So much of this added to so much of that etc. Furthermore its thoroughly understood what heat treatment processes are needed to be done to a certain type of steel in order to improve its properties so that it will perform satisfactorily in a given application. This kind of stuff is well know the world over so that standards and consistency are maintained. The Heat Treatment places all know what process an SAE steel needs to meet a certain standard. This all falls by the wayside when something comes in to a Heat Treatment place that looks like its made of this' but can't be verified as actually being so. And its right at this point here that a lot of bullshit starts involving the OEM axles and the Barry at the Heat treatment place. More later.