DF-03 Diffs

[gracoat]

I know this has been posted upon before, but I can't help show off the battle wounds of a bashing day!
This is from a DF-03 (Avante Mark 2) rear diff driven by a Mamba Max 5700.
Late last night I thought to myself, "Meh... I think I'll tighten up the slipper just a bit to get a touch more acceleration out of it off the line."

1/4 of a tightening turn on the slipper, and only 30 minutes of bashing time down at the all weather soccer field...

When I got the motor, I thought to myself, Hmm.. I better get more diff gears...
Anyways, I should be out bashing again tomorrow!
-Graham

[Crazy L]

I'd say that's pretty well ########

[tom_chang79]

Ok, I have the same setup (Mamba Max 5700) in my DF-03MS, you're scarying me!

[ongbenghui]

used to have the same problem in touring car. I think the main problem is that your diff is set too loose.

[gracoat]

I think actually the problem is with the Diff balls now. I'm pretty sure they've got flat edges now.
At the time I had it out on a large gravel field when it happened. Unfortunately now that I think about it... No matter how much I loosen up the slipper, if I drive the car in large circles the diff is going to rotate no matter what. The slipper should only 'slip' when it's accelerating off the line. Am I right? Anyhoo, I've managed to lock the diffs so there's no rotation. It's totally bomb proof now, but it doesn't corner all that nicely when there's a bunch of grip.

[sim]

No no no no no. The diffs are supposed to rotate, but not 'slip'. By slip, we mean that both sides of the outdrive can go in the same direction when the middle (gear) part stays still (or, the outdrives stay still but the middle part can move).

If you can find a way to hold both outdrives firmly (two allen wrenches, but some people use something like a Team Much More diff adjustment plate) and turn the middle gear bit with your hand, it's slipping too easily.

[tom_chang79]

+1 on that Sim.

If you find yourself loosening the diff because it feels gritty, even after you clean your diff balls and ring, you might want to check the thrust bearing as well. I clean out my diff quite often but I found out recently that it was because the thrust bearing wasn't being cleaned as thoroughly as my diff ring and balls that was causing my diffs to feel clicky.

Diffs should not be too tight but should also never slip. There's a gray area between it and you can find out by "how it feels" within the region that it's not slipping as you hold the two ends down and trying to rotate the gear as Sim stated...

It's good advice, I use the same trick, I just stick in two cheapo L-wrenches on the ends and try to hold the two ends steady with one hand and try to rotate the gear with as much force as possible with the other hand. Your finger may hurt a bit so applying a towel over the gear teeth may alleviate some of the pain it may cause.

The hand test is good but just remember that if you have a hot brushless setup, by the time the gear reduction takes place in your spur and pinion, there's a lot more torque exerted onto the diff often times when your vehicle is at a standstill or while braking...