rear end problems

[kassim503]

All was well, except for when I was making a turn and giving it about half throttle at the same time. Heard a loud thump, and a kinda a scratching noise after that, like a very amplified metal on brake pad noise.

Also on occasion when I put it in reverse, the car wouldnt budge, itll just sit there until i give it a moderate amount of throttle and the car would "snap" out of its stuck state. (also it makes a ungodly loud thump)

Now I get a very gentle thumping when coasting down to speed, and the occasional reverse jam up.

I checked the suspension out, but didnt crack the differential cover yet or check the cv joints for play. An update on those 2 things should be happening sometime within the next few hours.

My car gave me a problem for a Christmas present

[kassim503]

update: Its easy to turn the wheels in the foward rolling direction, the normal amount of effort to turn it, but to turn it in reverse it requires all my strength. Sounds like a differential problem to me, but I never experienced any diff. problems on any of my cars except for whining and leakage.

[kassim503]

I blew the spider gears, thats interesting cause I dont really hammer the car or anything.

I need a new/used differntial asap, if anybody has one laying around ill probably take it up from you.

Also does anybody know if I can just get the spider gears? Im gonna call up napa or something soon

[83_maxima]

I blew the spider gears, thats interesting cause I dont really hammer the car or anything.

I need a new/used differntial asap, if anybody has one laying around ill probably take it up from you.

Also does anybody know if I can just get the spider gears? Im gonna call up napa or something soon

Bummer dude...

I threw my old R180 out my Max away after I replaced it. I never thought I would ever need it again.

LMK if you have real difficulty in finding one. We (at last check) had an 84 auto in the JY here.

[kassim503]

Well, it is drivable, its probably not wise to drive on it, but im only gonna drive to the the JY and to work. Hopefully ill get it changed out by thursday.
It shouldnt be too hard to find a r180 cause if IIRC they are in some kind of subaru- what year and model i forgot

Its not complete without pics-
CLick for larger







See, its not one of the gears attached to the axle shaft, so all the power can be transmitted thru just the one bottom one

[kassim503]

After surfing the web, I found that a range of older legacy's and the new WRX has r180's.

Also I learned that the R190 has a Detroit Locker, so if anybody has one lay down a price, having a locker would most certainly help in the snow.

Ill try scouring the JY's for some wrecked subaru WRX's, and I hear that they are fast, so im gonna take a guess and say there is a bunch of them thats been in some kind of accident or another.

Also the WRX one has a 4.44 gearing with limited slip, but im not sure if the 4.44 gearing is what im looking for, im really looking for something in the range of 3.70 (stock) or 4.1 tops because I do take the car out on trips.

Just a thought, but does anybody think id use less gas if I went up to a 3.90 or something, because at highway speed I find the gas pedal down quite a bit to keep speed, so if i had a taller gearing, the engine would be running faster, but it wouldnt have to push so hard to keep me going, which might save gas?

[philip]

SNIP- See, its not one of the gears attached to the axle shaft, so all the power can be transmitted thru just the one bottom one

Trashed one of your "spider gears", eh? Very interesting. Suggests one wheel was spining without traction and then suddenly ... got traction while still transmitting power. Or, experienced a couple rapid changes in directional rotation (as in getting out of snow) under power.

Bill 'em

[kassim503]

I am positive that I had full traction thru the embankment, I think it had something to do with the serious scoring on the gear from where its between the bar that holds the gear and the gear itself, some of the grooves are so deep I can stick the ball of a ball point pen into it. I blame cheap gear oil- I started topping it off with this crappy oil after I developed a leak on one of the halfshaft seals. Should of topped it off with synthetic

Of course auto makers had to make sourcing parts a long and difficult process. Subarus use R160s, which is a baby version of the R180, and the halfshafts wont fit into it.

Good news is that I can get ones from the Z-cars, and possibly a 720 pickup?
HybridZ forums yeilded this really nice listing of all diffs, heres a piece of it

R180, 240Z, 260Z, 280Z, 280ZX
Ratios 3.36, 3.545, 3.90
No LSD

R180, Nissan 720 4x4 pickup (early 1980s) front diff
Ratios 4.11, 4.38
No LSD

R180, 810/Maxima late 1970s and early 1980s
Ratios 3.70 and 3.90
No LSD

The Z cars are out, unless I can find one with a 3.90:1 ratio, I actually want to bump myself up the ratio by just a little bit, because my exhaust is unbelievably loud at 55 mph but nice and quiet at 60 mph.

Those who have a 720 that has 4WD. can you take a peek under your front bumper and see if there really is a R180 under there? Is it in a standalone unit with halfshafts or in some kind of fancy case?

[83_maxima]

Kassim,

I have a 4.11 R180 in my Maxima out of an 85 200SX.

Those who have a 720 that has 4WD. can you take a peek under your front bumper and see if there really is a R180 under there? Is it in a standalone unit with halfshafts or in some kind of fancy case?

My dad used to have an 84 720 and it did have an R180 with halfshafts, as does my Pathfinder.

[philip]

SNIP- Those who have a 720 that has 4WD. can you take a peek under your front bumper and see if there really is a R180 under there? Is it in a standalone unit with halfshafts or in some kind of fancy case?

The R-180 differential mounts solidly to the frame crossmember below the engine oil pan. There are two half shafts with CV joints driving the front wheels.

[kassim503]

Kassim,

I have a 4.11 R180 in my Maxima out of an 85 200SX.

How do you like the gearing?

[asavage]

Also I learned that the H190 has a Detroit Locker . . .

The H190 is a completely different differential than the R180, and AFAIK no parts interchange. The R190 is used in the Maxima Wagons, and the rear of the 720. It's a non-IRS design.

[83_maxima]

Kassim,

I have a 4.11 R180 in my Maxima out of an 85 200SX.

How do you like the gearing?

I like it. With the 5-speed, it is pretty quick out of 1st and cruises at 75-80mph at about 3500, maybe a little more.

[kassim503]

I was lucky enough to get the ft differential out of a 82 720 pickup, took the cover off and it is pretty clean, so im happy.

What gearing is it? I dont know, the stamping on the ring gear dosent tell me anything, so ill just figure it out as i swap out speedo gear after speedo gear.

Its so clean inside too!

[asavage]

What gearing is it? I dont know, the stamping on the ring gear dosent tell me anything . . .

Count the ring gear teeth. Clean off a spot next to one of the teeth, put a crayon mark, so you know which is the "first" tooth you count.

Then count the pinion gear teeth. That can be harder, but try a flashlight.

Divide the big number by the small number: ratio.

===============================

If you have two people available, you can use this method:

Person One puts a crayon or chalk mark on the companion flange or yoke (where the u-joint mates) and counts the number of times it goes around.

Person Two first makes certain that one axle or wheel or whatever cannot move. Then rotates the other axle/wheel/shaft exactly twenty* times, while person One counts pinion shaft rotations.

Divide person One's count by ten, and you have the ratio.



* Why twenty? Differential action. Same reason you never want to jack up ONE wheel and run the speedo up to 80 MPH: the spinning tire will be turning 160 MPH, and may explode.