ae86 diff upgrade

[EVOSTi]

then why is everyone paying a premium for T18 diffs? i spose for the correct panhard position and tailshaft?

[wraith]

For what its worth, when I did my Celica diff swap, I simply cut the panhard rod in half, sleeved a bit of pipe over it & welded it back up. I must stress that this was a tempory solution to get me going again, but may be worth considering...

cheers
Ash

[brett_celicacoupe]

then why is everyone paying a premium for T18 diffs? i spose for the correct panhard position and tailshaft?

NFI.

im not even sure if anyone has even tried the said swap.

[45aken]

so what your saying is the RA60 is the same diff as the late model t-18, and the ra40 is the same as the earlier one, except for the mounting position which can be fixed with an adjustable panhard rod?

did they come with disks or drums? (guessing drums)

[cri_ag]

so what tailshaft is used? rear half t18? rear half ra40/60?

[brett_celicacoupe]

i have never owned a AE86 so i dont know what needs to be done to fit a T18 diff.

all i know is that the mounting points, and the width of a RA60 dif is the same as a RA40 diff, BUT the RA60 diff has got swaybar mounts.

RA60 diff is drum

id probly get a lend of a RA60 diff to play with first though.

[i do not take responsibilty if if it doenst fit]

[Rallystanza]

Although i have not tried fitting an RA40/60 diff into a sprinter, i would say if it did fit then people would be doing it. I am pretty sure that something is internally different as the axles are about 10mm longer and require this shaved off them to fit into a T18 rear.

They are drum diffs also.

And i think the biggest problem is people cant be fucked going out to wreckers to pull the T18 diffs out. Everytime i have sent someone or gone to get a T18 diff there has been one there. People think if they arent being sold on Toymods they dont exist at all...

I have an RA28 diff housing sitting out the back, I know the axles are different, bearings and centres are interchangable, will check on the housings.

Tis all for now,

Jeremy

[EVOSTi]

yep my local wreckers want between $70 and $100 for a complete T18 diff, one wrecker has found out about the ae86 swap and now ask $500 but he was always a knob.

i was always under the inpression that the RA40 diff was wider than the ae86 diff, so that would make me think the RA60 one is also. BUT from the list compiled on this site it says that the RA40/60 diffs are 1410mm wide? im thinking the celica diffs are wider because from the one person whom i spoke to about a year ago who put an ra40 diff into his sprinter he estimated his wheels sat 10mm further out on either side which would make sense when taking into account what rallystanza just said.

[20v86]

ra40 diffs are a little wider than T 18's, not sure on the exact measurement but sorry. but they do bolt in.

[brett_celicacoupe]

when i wrecked a RA60 a while bac, i kept the diff housing.
seeing as i had my diff jig laying around in the yard...(that i used to put RA40 mounts on a MX13 housing), i slid the jig straight onto the RA60 diff .

from this i concluded that the RA60 diff housing was identical in mounting positions AND width between the 4bolt flanges on each end of the diff.


i think fo memory i didnot actually measure an RA40 diff, merely used width measurments that every1 claimed and said "yep thats within a couple mm of 1410"

its not easy to measure a diff accurate to the nearest mm without a giantset of verniers

[ae86]

hey guys. I'm not sure what you guys mean by using a panhard rod to allow the axle to be mounted. I thought the purpose of a panhard rod was to stop unwanted movement between the axle and the chassis. So are you guys suggesting to use the panhard rod and it alone to take the entire force of ALL the movement in the axle? Coz I can see how having the panhard rod would then allow you to mount the axle.... Could someone clarify for me?

[EVOSTi]

i think you are a little confused. if the panhard rod is too long, the diff will be forced to the left hand side of the car, too short and the diff will sit to the right. just stick you head under the car and look at it and its easy to see what would happen if you changed the length of the panhard rod.
it doesnt take all the forces acting on the diff, but it helps prevent sideways movement of the diff.

[ae86]

never thought about how the ride height would affect the panhard rod.... lol, yeah it does make sense thanks mate. I knew it stopped left and right movement but just never thought of the physics of it. If you changed the ride height you'd start to get a pendulum effect going on, raised or lowered..

This RA40/60 stuff is pretty interesting. I also had no idea t18's were common enough to be found at wreckers. Will keep my eyes out from now on.

[c2888]

RA60s definately have different mounting points on them, the top pickups are a fair bit wider apart than the AE86. I don't remember how much, but enough for me to stop measuring there and then. I can check tomorrow and post up what i measure.

dan

[Valkyrie]

Hi,
This is what my brother had to say about the RA40 to AE86 diff conversion:-

I have a ra40 diff in my sprinter, you need a longer pan hard rod. I got a whiteline adj panhard rod, when i ordered it I asked them to make mine with longer adjustment.

I used ra40 bushes on the diff mounts and ae86 bushes for the body mounts, the hand break cables and brake line bolts straight up so no mods need to be done for the brakes.
I welded the sway bar mounts on and used a toyota tercel swaybar,

I also used the rear half of a t18 tailshaft as you need the 10mm shorter shaft because the diff head is bigger. This is a good option because ra40 diffs are 20mm wider than t18 which give more track, they have bigger axle bearings, bigger drums and are cheap.

Ashley