Lets face it, you own an S Chassis, You already understand why most people have them. Drifting with a stock s13 or s14 is in fact possible, although it is very sketchy so your open differential ‘peg leg’, ‘one wheel wonder’ are total buzz killers. So lets get down to it and get you sideways sooner then later!
If you own a 240sx I hope it is safe to assume you are some what mechanically inclined or at least have a friend(s) who are. I don’t really want to waist time getting into how to remove your differential from your car as it only takes 15 minutes or less but for those of you who insist on it.
– Using a car lift or jack stands, remove the (4) bolts that hold the drive shaft to the differential itself
– Now the axles, remove the 12mm bolts from both axles and use a flat head to separate them from the differential.
– The only thing holding it up now will be the (2) bolts on the front and the (4) on the rear.
– WARNING the differential itself is somewhat heavy so if your on jack stands I suggest putting the jack under it for support, or if your on a lift use a transmission jack or a big friend for his manly arms.
– Once the bolts are removed and the differential is out, it is time to remove the back cover, there is OIL inside and it DOES stink so be ready to either drain before removing the cover or like me, pop it off and let it spill.
– get 1-2 cans of break clean and clean the inside of the differential out, you want all of the residue out.
– Now as for welding it, I use a Lincoln 110v welder BUT I did use a torch to heat up the spider gears or better penetration. If your friend says he can weld and his welds look like bubbly nastiness then I suggest taking it to a welder who might charge $15-$35 for this type of job.
No that the removal of the differential is done, here is what and where you should be.
Now the middle gears are what is going to be welded… I HAVE heard stories of people welding the big gear… That will end VERY badly so don’t do that! Now everyone has the right to add in there 2 cents when it comes to how to weld your differential.
– Heat if with a torch before
– Use a Stick Welder
– Use a Mig Welder
– Put a bolt, or piece of steel in side to fill the void
All are fine and it comes down to what you have available. Me, I personally used a torch to heat up the gears, and used my handy dandy 110V Lincoln with split gas. I have welder many differentials in a LOT of Nissan 240sx. All done the same way, and not one have ever broken. I do not use any metal for the filling, but I simply weld the corners of the gears,”remember there are 2 sides ” so weld the 4 corners and rotate the differential and weld the other side.
The differential itself does NOT have to be removed from the housing, this is simply personal choice.
here is what it looks like with a filler being used:
Both work just fine, preference is pretty much all it is. Now when you are finished, get some RTV and clean the cover and housing and get ready to seal up your newly welded 240sx differential. Once it is sealed up it is time to add the oil. PLEASE not not forget to add gear oil! This will be a very bad thing to do. Any gear oil will be fine, usually 75w-90 or 80w-90 Mobil 1, Pennzoil is perfectly fine. Nissan 240sx Differential capacity is 1.5liters or 1.55 bottles.
Now that you have completed this task, put it all back together and get out there and go skid racing with all your hoonigan friends! Remember to drift with full commitment that was when you tap, and you will, you will have no regrets!
Enjoy!
