As you may have read in my "clutch, flywheel, lsd install" post, the install is not happening at Hobbs. I'm taking the car to King Motorsports (should have chosen them to begin with). I need several part numbers though.
What is the speedo drive that you are talking about? Are you talking about the speedo drive gear ring? If so, it is not available seperately. They need to use a heat gun and a gear puller to remove the speedo gear ring from your stock diff, clean it, then heat it with a heat gun, and tap it onto the LSD. If they get the speedo gear ring nice and warm while the LSD is cool, it will slip on without much resistance.
Getting the speedo gear ring off is a PITA, though. We ended up heating the speedo gear ring until it was very hot, then put some tension on it with a gear puller, and then tap it out with a chisel (wedge it between the speedo gear ring and the diff) and/or use a block of wood with a hammer to tap it off.
You have to reuse the final drive gear too. There's no need to buy another one.
Just replace the bearings, 75mm shim, preload shim, and drive shaft seals.
The manual doesn't specifically say to replace the final drive gear ring bolts, but I think it's a good idea.
Make sure they set the preload correctly. This is CRITICAL to bearing life. The bearings can wear prematurely, or even fail if the preload is not set correctly.
Give them your Helm's manual to use so that they have a guide as to how to do the install.
Is the "speedo drive gear ring" part of the "speedo drive" part that I mentioned? When I called King, they said I needed a "speedo drive". They also mentioned that "it" cannot be sold seperatly (unless you find a very flexible parts guy).
The reason they want me to buy one is b/c they've done a bunch of LSDs in 5th gens and say many of the "speedo drives" break.
Another thing they said was that they weld something instead of shim. Does this make sense at all?? Hobbs was talking about shims, King about welds.
I guess as long as I get the right parts, they know how to install the stuff... I hope!
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There is NO welding necessary. I would NOT install the LSD any other way than stock.
As for the speedo gear ring, if they are breaking numerous ones, they are doing it wrong. Mine was a PITA to get off, but never did it flex or even look like it was going to break. You can't get the speedo gear ring by itself at all. There is no part number. I have a parts manual that is exactly like the parts manual that the dealer has (except mine is a paper copy) and there is no part number for the speedo gear ring.
There are only two parts to the speedo "system" in the tranny. The speedo gear ring, and the VSS. That's it. The VSS bolts to the tranny, and the speedo gear ring is a press fit onto the differential. I tried looking for the VSS on www.hondaautomotiveparts.com, but I couldn't find it (Marcucci has my parts manual).
If a shop told me that they had to weld this or that to install my LSD, I would tell them to get bent. King has a good rep from what I hear, but there's no need for any type of modification to the transmission housing to install a Quaife LSD. Either they don't have the proper tools to measure the preload on the differential, or they just don't want to.
Too bad you're not closer to Texas, I would offer to show you how to install the Quaife the right way.
Wow! Thanks for all your advice! I need to call King back and see how the heck they are installing this thing. Maybe I misunderstood the welding part or they are crazy (or innovative?).
I want to completely understand what's going on with the install. I want to make sure that they are using the best methods b/c $2000 (parts and labor) isn't chump change (to me anyways).
I'm going to ask them about:
-The speedo gear ring (why are they the only ones to ever have problems?)
-What they are welding and why
-Preload on the differential
-Missing anything?
They said they did replace the final drive gear ring bolts on all race applications, it was optional for the street.
If you have a Helm's, offer to let them use it. I would also ask for all of your old parts back.
Ask them if they're going to re-use the final drive gear ring (they should). It's easy to remove and install. It's the speedo gear ring that's a PITA.
Here's how I removed my speedo gear ring:
Remove the final drive gear ring.
Put the differential in a vise.
Spray some WD40 or some other lubricant around the speedo gear ring.
Put a gear puller on the speedo gear ring (I would suggest a 3 arm, although I used a wide 2 arm puller, and I used a piece of soft metal between the diff and the bolt on the puller).
Heat the speedo gear ring (I used a heat gun).
Apply pressure to the speedo gear ring with the puller.
Set a chisel between the speedo gear ring and the differential.
Gently tap the chisel.
Between the tension on the speedo gear ring, and the chisel wedging its way between the speedo gear ring and the diff, the speedo gear ring will start to move.
As the speedo gear ring moves, it will be necessary to tighten the gear puller.
Move the chisel around the entire speedo gear ring.
As you tap the chisel, the speedo gear ring will move, as it moves, tighten the gear puller.
The speedo gear ring will finally pull off.
Keep heating the speedo gear ring throughout this process.
Keep in mind that if you use the gear puller itself to pull the speedo gear ring off, it will probably break. It's a very tight friction fit. It's really the chisel that does most of the work. If you tap very gently, you will not damage the diff or the speedo gear ring.
I have done one speedo gear ring this way myself, and a friend of mine did it to another. Neither one of us had a bit of trouble.
To install the speedo gear ring, it's VERY easy if you cool the diff (stick it in the fridge!), and heat the speedo gear ring with a heat gun. You can then literally tap the speedo gear ring onto the diff. You do NOT have to hammer the hell out of the gear ring. It will go on with a few gentle taps.
One other thing, the two bearings on the differential are DIFFERENT. They are different sizes. It's a pretty obvious difference, but just in case they say that the bearings are the same, they are different. As are the seals. The seals are harder to tell apart, but they are different (they are directional).
Originally posted by 71dsp You have to reuse the final drive gear too. There's no need to buy another one.
Speaking of the final drive gear, while we have it apart would it be worth it to change it out for something with a different gear ratio (ie. Type S, is that different)?
Type S is the same. The only alternative is a custom final drive, but then you have to change the countershaft, which is not a trivial task. Cost for Houseman Autosport to make a custom final drive is $1500 (that's where I ordered mine from).
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