3rd Generation Specific (1993-2002) 1993-2002 Discussion including performance modifications and Technical Support Sections.
Sponsored by:

Diff play - How much is too much?

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old 10-28-18, 02:58 PM
  #1  
Frequent Tool Misplacer
Thread Starter
iTrader: (1)
 
XanderCage's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Everett Washington
Posts: 286
Received 65 Likes on 54 Posts
Question Diff play - How much is too much?

Hi All,

My FD has quite a bit of driveline slack (has a habit of jerking back and forth with power on-off, especially at low speeds) and I've been on a mission to eliminate as much of it as I can. I've just finished changing out the stock differential bushings (which were badly torn) for Powerflex Purple urethane. That made a positive difference, but it's definitely still there.

My suspicion is that it's either the motor mounts or the diff itself, and I'm starting with trying to diagnose the diff's health.

To try to gauge how bad the diff might be, I attempted a test I read on another diff-play thread.
Gearbox in neutral, ebrake on, twist the prop shaft back and forth and mark how much play there is. So in the pic below, I was able to twist it freely until it locked at the spots marked by the two dots-




So there you have it, looks like I can get maybe 14ish degrees of free play before the teeth engage. Is this a tired/worn diff? Or is my problem elsewhere?

Thanks in advance for the help!
Old 10-29-18, 08:48 AM
  #2  
RX-7 Bad Ass

iTrader: (55)
 
DaleClark's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Pensacola, FL
Posts: 15,399
Received 2,437 Likes on 1,508 Posts
I have not done that specific test, but in general I've not seen people running into problems with their diff getting loose or causing a lot of play.

Diff bushings are a great starting point, next see if your motor mounts are broken then look for cracks in the PPF. Had a buddy who had bad driveline slop for ages, turns out his PPF was cracked and it was all over the place.

Dale
The following users liked this post:
XanderCage (10-29-18)
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Wildman923
Single Turbo RX-7's
7
07-14-13 11:42 AM
yetterben
1st Generation Specific (1979-1985)
16
12-10-07 10:43 PM
Itsdaveonline
1st Generation Specific (1979-1985)
8
10-20-06 11:29 AM
gxlbiscuit
2nd Generation Specific (1986-1992)
5
06-05-04 06:24 PM
Ronin88
General Rotary Tech Support
7
06-26-03 08:12 PM



Quick Reply: Diff play - How much is too much?



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 06:41 PM.