hey guys

im looking to buy an LSD for my 87 N/A that i wanna get into drifting soon. this guy will sell me a used LSD off his 88 GXL with roughly 110k miles. he says it came off the car working great, the whole car was parted out.

my question is do i need anything else to use this LSD, or is it just easily put into my differential. my friend is a mechanic so installing it would not be a big issue, what i wanna know is if it will work in my car, and if i should worry or ask him anything else about it?

thanx alot

 

To do just a N/A -> N/A LSD diff. swap, you just need to swap the actual diff. Make sure you clean everything with brake parts cleaner first, and use an LSD additive when you fill the pimpkin with oil.

 

wati i need to replace the whole differential? or u mean just the actual gear inside. ?

sorry, newbie to LSD

 

You just have to replace the actual differential (the entire LSD unit; the "pig."); the casing is the same for a non-lsd as it is for an LSD. The only difference is that the LSD has a "clutch" inside it (if it's from an 86-88). Since the gear ratio is the same, no need to mess with the pinion/ring/pumpkin. The output shaft cups even slide right in (pry them out with a crowbar; leave the CV boots intact).

Now, doing the actual swap can be a bear. A lot of people like to drop the subframe, wheels and all, and do the work from there (replace those differential mounts while you're at it!). The problem lies in trying to get the subframe bolted back up, as it does not like to line-up without a little persuasion (it's not that hard if you've got 3 jacks and a friend). Crawl under the car and see what you'd prefer to do; at any rate, you'll have to get the CV shafts out of the way. Removing the wheel spindle works great; I don't know if just removing the shock will allow the spindle to be rotated out of the way though.

The swap is really straightforward as long as your car is a 5-speed. If it is (or was) an auto, then either your speedometer will be off (currently is an auto) or it will be correct again (was an auto and someone forgot to swap the speedo gear inside the tranny).

Also, see if you can grab the "LSD" tag off the fill hole of the GXL's pumpkin. This tells any future mechanic that your car has Limited Slip, and requires a special additive.

 

thanx so much man, u are great help, AWSOME!

 

ok i got the whole pumkin it is from an 88 GXL 5speed it had 160k on the odometer and the LSD seemed fine when we tried spinning the tires. everything should be fine right? (it looks clean too, not leaking)

what fluid do u recommend i use to drain and refill it, and where can i buy it, thank you very much.

 

Use any GL5 based lubricant (synthetic preferable), and add a LSD additive to it. All these fluids are readily available at any auto parts store. FILL THE DIFF BEFORE YOU PUT IT IN THE CAR. The oil is thick as hell, and unless you have a pump, it'll take forever to fill it. Just follow the directions on the LSD juice, and everything will go smoothly (bad puhn). Get 1 gallon of gear oil, and a tube (bottle?) of LSD juice. Before you add anything to the pumpkin, drain it, and clean it thoroughly with brake-parts cleaner. Drain the diff, replace the plug. Remove the fill plug, and spray the contents of brake-parts cleaner in it. turn the output cups back-and-fourth for a few minutes, and drain it. Blow compressed air through both holes for a minute or so to dry the cleaner. Fill with LSD additive (per directions on container), and top off with gear oil.

I personally like Redline-brand fluids. They're kind of expensive, but IMO, you get what you pay for. While you're at it, change that tranny fluid. Just use the gear oil, as the tranny doesn't need LSD additive.

Enjoy your new LSD!