Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

A couple of extra images with questions/statements.

I am prepared to be corrected but I am pretty sure that the high pressure area should be nearer the centre of the tooth.

Regards
John

I think John is right, the picture below shows the contact marks from my 3.54 diff and these are definitely more central. This diff has been running fine in my car since 2008.

If I'm not wrong,setting up the diff is covered in the manual, "looks like it has been pinched directly from a Ford manual.."

John

I am preparing to build up a 3.54 diff and I made a number of inquiries about getting the shims. I was told by someone at Dave Bean that the shims are paired to the housing, not the gearset. New housings supposedly come with the correct shim, because I inquired about the repro alloy housings.

So, if this is true, then the set-up sketches in the manual must be just for checking. I wasn't able to buy a single shim. I was able to get the shim from the fellow I got the case from, so hopefully, it is a match.

I will also use a solid spacer between the pinion bearings, shimmed to the correct pre-load w/o the seal in place, then add the seal as final operation.

Roger

Well I had some success with the diff. I went down .004" on the shim and it moved the marks more central on the teeth so I buttoned it all down and installed it in my Cortina. Excellent result! A quiet diff. I've done about 50 miles on it and it feels great. Only a very slight noise on it when slowing down through 50-40 mph. I'm always surprised how hot diff's get though. I stopped a few times to check and yep it was hot like others I have had. I can see why the Elan was designed with the diff air scoop. Never seen a car fitted with one though!