Cabstar Diff

[James1979]

Morning All

Just a quickie on cabstar diffs please. I’m reassembling one and it’s being an ****.

The clutch pack isn’t slipping. Ie I can’t turn the wheels by hand. I’ve taken it back out of the vehicle and tried on bench with a couple of half shafts and it’s solid. I’ve not done anything to it, apart from disassemble and reassemble - it was the ring gear and pinion that were replaced as they were smashed.

Nissan are no help whatsoever. I got a manual emailed from a kind tech but he couldn’t tell me much on the phone. It’s wrong for this truck which doesn’t help!!

I’ve no idea why the secrecy. It’s a diff on a truck not a nuke!!

Anyway. Anyone have any questions experience or pointers please? Only thing I can think is that it was a long lead time for the bits so the plates might have gone dry although they were sealed in oily bags for the duration.

 

[sako243]

No help but is it worth leaving the clutch packs soaking?

To my knowledge he's not worked on a Cabstar diff but it may well be worth giving Nige Barker from Xcess4x4 a call to pick his brains. He knows Land Rover diffs inside out but has done a fair bit on other brands (chiefly 4x4 based ones like Land Cruisers and Patrols). If you mention that Ed suggested picking his brains he'll either tell you where to shove it or be helpful

 

[James1979]

Thank you.

I’ve let them soak over night and I’ve rigged it up again on bench and got a stub of old half shaft in the vice and a 4’ stilly on another in the other side of diff.

She’s now moving but under protest.

I’ll keep feeding it oil and I’ll give him a call. Thanks very much.

 

[James1979]

Land Rover diffs are easy compared with these. Massively over complicated.

 

[8ob]

It’s a plated lsd, not a hope in hell of getting any slip by hand. Some of these things are rated in hundreds of pounds before they slip. I would road test it and see if the tyres scrub on the turn, if they don’t all is well.

Bob

 

[500e]

Or they make clicking or grating noises don't frett to much

 

[James1979]

Cheers bob.

I’m used to that on bigger stuff but thought I’d get slip on this? What paperwork I scrounged off Nissan reckoned 11kg/m. I’m getting about that having exercised it and lubed it so I’ll just put together and road test it.

Appreciate your help. It’s not much to it but the file I got from Nissan is massively over complicated and really turns a molehill into a mountain

I’m concerned as it was a massive wait for parts and I don’t want damage! It’s a customer but it’s more a favour as no one else would touch it. I’ve never worked on one but done diffs before. I think it’s the Nissan ******** that’s confusing me.

 

[Morrisman]

Morning All

Just a quickie on cabstar diffs please. I’m reassembling one and it’s being an ****.

The clutch pack isn’t slipping. Ie I can’t turn the wheels by hand. I’ve taken it back out of the vehicle and tried on bench with a couple of half shafts and it’s solid. I’ve not done anything to it, apart from disassemble and reassemble - it was the ring gear and pinion that were replaced as they were smashed.

Nissan are no help whatsoever. I got a manual emailed from a kind tech but he couldn’t tell me much on the phone. It’s wrong for this truck which doesn’t help!!

I’ve no idea why the secrecy. It’s a diff on a truck not a nuke!!

Anyway. Anyone have any questions experience or pointers please? Only thing I can think is that it was a long lead time for the bits so the plates might have gone dry although they were sealed in oily bags for the duration.

Aren't they supposed to be pretty tight, so one wheel doesn't slip? If it can resist the torque on the engine I can't see how you would be able to turn it by hand.

Or is it like a Powerlok, it only locks up under a certain power input.

 

[James1979]

All good points gratefully received

An issue I have is that I’ve been flat out of late and when I’m tired my brain just goes into mush. I just cannot think straight!!

Something that would take me seconds takes ages because I over think it and over analyse it because I can’t think logically.

It’s a wiring issue

Bad earth or sommat

I’ve a long weekend booked so that should help. Meds don’t.

Thanks very much for the above all. I’m putting it in now so I’ll just road test it.

 

[roofman]

remember if its post 2000 its a renault..that explains everything

 

[m_c]

I’ve no idea why the secrecy. It’s a diff on a truck not a nuke!!

It won't be so much secrecy, it'll just be the fact very few people in the UK have probably ever done one.
And it really wouldn't surprise me if the manual for them is not easily accessible even for Nissan dealers.

 

[James1979]

So.

I persevered with lube and exercising it. Got the 11kg/m on my fish scale.

Took it for a good test drive and it’s just passed MOT no advisory so I am happy. So is customer.

@m_c i think that’s the nail on the head. I told MOT man it had new diff (he can be heavy footed) and he said “what, a second hand one?”, I told him I’d re built the one in there and he said he wouldn’t have done that. Makes you wonder how many more like him.

It was hard. Mainly because I was in the dark for most of it and had to second guess and work out special tools etc for myself with regard to setting up the clearances

 

[m_c]

The only diffs I've rebuilt have all been in tractors, as they're a bit difficult to send to a specialist.

Anything road going, gets sent to our tame gearbox rebuilders, or they come and do them on site.
It's just not commercially worth doing gearboxes/diffs, as you need that many specialist tools to do them properly, so unless you're doing them every week, it's just not worth it.

Even some of the local dealers are sending warranty jobs out. The rebuilder keeps the common failure parts in stock, and they'll turn around most common gearboxes in a day. For the warranty jobs, the dealers just claim the time/parts they'd spend/use on the rebuild, and pay the rebuilder. Rebuilder gets access to all the tools/tech info they need, and the dealers don't have techs tied up rebuilding gearboxes.

 

[James1979]

Totally.

He/we couldn’t find anyone to take it on.

Orkney being what it is, it would have been a pallet both ways as well which added to the price.

Even the ‘local’ Nissan main dealer in Inverness weren’t interested. They could’ve farmed it out - no one this end would’ve cared who actually fixed it as long as it was fixed.

Getting the parts from Nissan took 6 months! They wouldn’t deal with me. Then they kept messing about with orders getting lost etc. whole thing has been a nightmare.

Although phone has just pinged to say he’s paid invoice so happy days!

 

[500e]

You shim plate diffs to a figure, say 60 lb or 120 all acording how much slip you want we did rough and ready tests with 2 stub 1/2 shafts and a torque wrench hold one in vice tr on other

 

[James1979]

You shim plate diffs to a figure, say 60 lb or 120 all acording how much slip you want we did rough and ready tests with 2 stub 1/2 shafts and a torque wrench hold one in vice tr on other

Pretty much what I did.

Just used a fish scale on a 1m breaker bar as it was easier to work out.

 

[Bornfree]

It won't be so much secrecy, it'll just be the fact very few people in the UK have probably ever done one.
And it really wouldn't surprise me if the manual for them is not easily accessible even for Nissan dealers.

It's the labour charges that finished all this type of work. By the time you've set the pinion preload, the diff preload the tooth contact the backlash several times because each one affects the others, hours have gone by.

 

[pint]

Getting the parts from Nissan took 6 months! They wouldn’t deal with me. Then they kept messing about with orders getting lost etc. whole thing has been a nightmare.

https://partsouq.com can get near anything within 3 days

 

[James1979]

Have you used them?

 

[scottmk1]

I’ve used partsouq quite a bit, never any problems but you do have to be mindful of the import fees