Volvo Diff Decisions

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Fred
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Volvo Diff Decisions

Post by Fred »

Yes, this is a ridiculous thread, but I need somewhere to make notes on the topic and record decisions. So...

I have five chassis that require a Volvo live axle beneath them.

I have seven such axles, two of which are 240 style (and in 240s).

Centres:
* one G80 on bench in pieces
* one G80 in axle in caravan
* one open in 740 sedan
* one open in 940 wagon
* one open 740 on lawn
* two open 240 in cars

Housings 7/9:
* new style in 940 wagon
* new style on bench in pieces
* old style in 740 sedan
* old style in caravan
* old style on lawn

R&Ps:
* Good tall in 240 wagon
* Good short in caravan
* Good short on bench in pieces
* Okay short in 740 sedan
* Okay unknown in 940 wagon
* Okay unknown in 240 sedan
* Bad rusted in housing on lawn

So, what do I want?
* Both G80 centres in vehicles (740 sedan and 240 wagon)
* Slightly noisy diff out of 740 sedan (and a good quiet one in)
* Lighter lower friction axle in caravan (without R&P, with brakes)
* No change to 940 wagon or 240 sedan diffs
* Rusted R&P recycled
* Modern style housing into the 740 sedan? Not worth the effort.

Next post how to achieve it, musical chairs style.
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Re: Volvo Diff Decisions

Post by Fred »

Additional consideration is that the studs on the diff with the rusted R&P are also rusty.

Prudent:

Axle prepared for caravan with mods, prepared from one of the two bare axles, swapped into caravan leaving the G80 out and ready.
Caravan diff out, cover off, G80 modded for any-speed operation, cover back on, Penrite Pro Gear 80W140 installed, and into 740 sedan.
740 sedan diff out, into storage for another day, perhaps cover off and grease gear surfaces for longer storage life.

So the question is, which housing do I use for the caravan.

I want to butcher the housing in various ways, so I feel like it'd be a waste to use the modern housing on my bench to do that.

However the old housing has rusty studs/hubs in it.

So if the good shafts fit the old housing, then I'll mod the old housing, use the fresh shafts from the later housing in it, and everyone can live happily ever after.

That'll leave me with some rusty spare shafts (recycle? or stash?) and a good bare modern bung-less diff housing for swapping into the 740 sedan later if I upgrade or have to swap due to destruction.

I'll also have a pile of G80 parts pending installation into something. I guess the next logical step would be to fit the G80 to the modern housing with the old 740 axles, and swap it into the 940.

Lots of labour above, and some missing info:

1) Ratio of diff in 940 wagon?
2) Compatibility of axles into older/newer housings? (probably fine)

First steps:

Strip down rusty 740 diff
Remove R&P
Slice off the nose
Slice off excess brackets/suspension
Weld on nose plate (0.9 wire preferably)
Water based rust converter on any surface rusty pieces
Black zinc paint on anything bare or rust-treated pieces
Reassemble with newer half shafts, plug in sensor hole, existing bearings, and ordinary gear oil (used is fine)

Brakes! Caravan needs brakes, and I don't think I have any spares.

Solution, install caravan axle without brakes, use brakes from 740 sedan once axle pulled from that.

More news as it comes to hand.
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Re: Volvo Diff Decisions

Post by Fred »

Previous caravan post on diffs: viewtopic.php?p=43718#p43718

Diff progress today:

Attempted to undo the pinion nut, and failed, chewed through the rust on the ring gear instead
Pulled brake shoes and brackets and springs and spacers and cables and rotor off
Unbolted both bearing retainers and back plates
Unbolted both main centre bearing caps
Knocked the half shafts out of the ends of the housing
Pulled the ring gear and centre out of the housing
Placed the main centre bearing caps back in
Pushed the half shafts, bearings, and seals back in to stay dry
Removed the bolt retaining plate from the back of the centre
Removed the ring gear bolts and ring gear from the centre
Knocked the toothed wheel speed tone ring off the centre with kwila
Degreased, scrubbed, brakecleaned, and CRCed the remaining centre and bearings
Measured radius of the main part of the centre, and confirmed it would oil without the ring gear flange
Discovered minor rust on the side/spider gears that I should wire wheel off before reassembly
Contemplated how to remove the ring gear flange from the centre in a balanced fashion
Packed up all tools inside and put all parts inside

Next steps:

Wire wheel rust from side/spider gears
Remove ring gear flange from centre carrier
Thoroughly clean, degrease, wash, dry, and relube gears and bearings
Clean out the entire housing and wash dry with solvent
Cut the nose off the housing, and radius the remainder of the fins
Cut the brake backing plates down to bare minimum size (deformed as is)
Weld up the oil feed and oil drain holes exposed by cutting
Wire wheel the studs and hubs enough to use (not actually too bad)
Wash, dry, and relube the outer bearings/seals
Remove spare sensor from the rear cover and plug hole
Remove gasket from the rear cover
Reinstall the centre and torque up the main side bearing caps
Reinstall backing plate remnants, axles, outer bearings, torque up outer bearing retainers
Free fill/drain bungs in the rear cover and treat for longevity
Clean and dry the rear cover and flange, then RTV the cover onto the flange
Fill with some gear oil, 75w90 is fine, no hypoid action here

Tweets to come, pics maybe in the next post, maybe by a keen member of the audience, if I'm lucky.
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Re: Volvo Diff Decisions

Post by Fred »

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Re: Volvo Diff Decisions

Post by Fred »

Did some work on the housing and axles this evening, pics/etc:

https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 4535811072
https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 8717162496

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In other news, I think I might weld the open diff that comes out of the 740 and perhaps swap it in temporarily between WOFs for giggles. Would balance out the freewheeling nature of the above contraption, too :-D
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Re: Volvo Diff Decisions

Post by Fred »

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Re: Volvo Diff Decisions

Post by Fred »

Different progress:

https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 3748705282
https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 0433509377
https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 6795168768
https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 8939344896

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I wasn't sure how well that would work, but with a CNC elbow, laser eye, and trusty 4" grinder, it was a precision operation, despite being done in the dark! :-D
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Re: Volvo Diff Decisions

Post by Fred »

All cleaned and ready for machining: https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 1450549248

Image

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Image
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Re: Volvo Diff Decisions

Post by Fred »

Recleaned and ready for a debur and derust: https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 4243303424

Image

Image
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Re: Volvo Diff Decisions

Post by Fred »

Final cleaning of the housing ready for welding: https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 2368238594

Image

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