The Differential

One of the first major jobs to be completed is fitting the differential to the back of the chassis.

Things you may need -

2 People to lift and secure the diff in place
A few simple straps
Sanding belt
Set of spanners
Mole grips
Torque wrench
Regular Lithium or Copper grease
Spray paint
Thread lock

We unwrapped the differential from its plastic packaging and spent a good 10 minutes figuring out how it lifted and bolted in place. At first we thought of using a step with a trolly jack to lift it up into place, after looking at other blogs and photographs. The only jack we had was very old and the handle connection was slightly broken so it couldn't be jacked to its maximum height, which was a problem.
We both lifted it up and decided that the task could be done with some good old elbow greece and some straps. Together we lifted and aligned the unit which we secured with a strap to the top bar of the chassis. This technique worked and the diff stayed in place once we had let go.

In total there are 5 holes you need to secure the diff to the chassis.

The first two are the long bolts that run from right to left. Both these bolts need washers and spaces to fill in gaps. The bottom bolt connects to the chassis through a long vertical bracket. This needs to go in first so you can allign your diff to put the top bolt in.

We had to use a belt sander to make some of the spacers smaller to make then fit between the diff and the bracket.

Our final bolt arrangement was as such;

Top bolt: Bolt head, washer, bracket, spacer, diff, spacer, washer, bracket, nylon nut.

Bottom bolt: Bolt head, washer, bracket, washer, spacer, diff, spacer, washer, bracket, washer, nylon nut.



Note: We sprayed our mild steel spacers with black paint to prevent rust

Note: All bolts should be lubricated with copper or lithium grease to help push through and rusting.    

You may have to fit the front holding bolts before the top one, what ever aligns the easiest.

The order for the front holding bolt is as follows:

Bolt head, spring washer, washer, diff.

Apply some thread-lock to the bolt before finally screwing it in.

This applies to both sides.



The 5th and final bolt goes on the back of the diff and a hole needs to be drilled out of the chassis to allow the bolt to connect, I'm pretty sure the bolt is 10mm. Finally a spacer needs to be fabricated to fit the distance of the hole and the diameter of the bolt. This process isn't immediately essential to hold the diff in but does need doing for extra security.

Finally once everything was bolted in place we tightened up the bolts with a torque wrench. We used the torque settings from Pauls GBS blog which where very helpful.

Here are a few spare images we have from the diff placement.

Spacers and washers between diff and bracket
we cut the spacer down and used a washer on
the inside to spread the pressure evenly
between the diff and the narrow slot

The securing bolt now drilled and torqued in place with the spacer
As you can see my dad put about 10 coats of paint on it to make
sure it wasn't going to rust.