Diff screeching??

[Skelbo]

Morning all.

I had another very happy day with the Centro yesterday, but have a quick question. Under hard acceleration I was getting a screech that I would automatically assume to be the diff slipping. However, having taken the gearbox apart and looked at it with fellow Cento drivers, the diff feels ok and pretty tight. I cleaned up small grains of sand that had sneaked in there and in the damp conditions and accelerating gently I was able to finish the day without problems, but the screech is still there if I accelerate harder.

What do you suggest I do or check next?

If a rebuild is in order anyway, what spec of parts do you all recommend?

Cheers, Nick.

[Richard Lowe]

When you get the diff making funny noises it's time for a rebuild with some fresh grease. Over time the grease breaks down or if you get water in there it happens a lot faster.

Assuming you have ceramic diff balls usually all you'll need to do is a fresh set of diff plates and clean/re-grease the balls and plates. If you're on the standard carbide diff balls rebuild it with new plates and see how smooth it feels in your hands, it it's still very lumpy you need a new set of diff balls. Don't run it with a worn set of balls or you'll just ruin the plates straight away.

Remember the diff plates have one (shiny) side which is what's meant to run on the balls, it's not a good idea to flip them and use the other side without doing some work on the 'dull' side - much easier to just put new plates in