Group Buy for Front Diff Collar

Rock Lizard · **Posted:** Sun Jul 30, 2006 9:54 am

Ted Here....

Got mine in the mail a few days ago, went to try to put it on last night, and it wont fit, I even tried on my spare dif in the garage, and it wont fit that one either... How tight is this supposed to be? I do not want to crush the pinion opening or break the ring. figured I would ask, please someone post pics of fitting it on so I can see how everyone else's fit prior to tightening it... Mine has about a 1/4" gap on both sides, it will not even go around, like the ends are too close together?

I will take pictures to show tonight. These are supposed to need no modification, just put it on right? otherwise I wouldn't have gotten it.

KJ04 · **Posted:** Sun Jul 30, 2006 2:27 pm

Rock Lizard wrote:

Ted Here....

Got mine in the mail a few days ago, went to try to put it on last night, and it wont fit, I even tried on my spare dif in the garage, and it wont fit that one either... How tight is this supposed to be? I do not want to crush the pinion opening or break the ring. figured I would ask, please someone post pics of fitting it on so I can see how everyone else's fit prior to tightening it... Mine has about a 1/4" gap on both sides, it will not even go around, like the ends are too close together?

I will take pictures to show tonight. These are supposed to need no modification, just put it on right? otherwise I wouldn't have gotten it.

Don't tell me the housings differ somehow from year to year. The collar fit Adams 03 with a little bit of force according to him.

I've got an 04, does that mean it won't fit?

AdamIsAdam · **Posted:** Sun Jul 30, 2006 3:15 pm

I'm driving now so I'll be brief:
clean diff really good first.
u must install each half separately.
It is snug.
the ends will not close completely. I recall reading that this is how collars r designed. just try to keep gap equa on both sides.l

DarbyWalters · **Posted:** Sun Jul 30, 2006 6:24 pm

I seem to remember that one member had one that was open and another who carved out the middle had one that the ends met. I thought that this custom one was cut so that the ends met when snug. Have not installed mine yet, so I don't know for sure how mine will fit.

Hey Ted...did you happen to measure the circumference of the diff where the collar is placed?...Is it 3 9/16ths?

KJ02 · **Posted:** Sun Jul 30, 2006 7:07 pm

I have to agree with Rock Lizard mine does not fit it has 1/4'' gap on both sides therefore I decided to take it off for now. I think the collar is a little bit to small.

Eddo · **Joined:** Thu Jul 07, 2005 7:01 pm **Posts:** 1214

KJ02 wrote:

I have to agree with Rock Lizard mine does not fit it has 1/4'' gap on both sides therefore I decided to take it off for now. I think the collar is a little bit to small.

I've used shaft collars plenty of times before and they are not designed to close all the way. Having a 1/4" on each side is normal.

If you put the ends completely flush and you will see it no longer forms a circle.

lilmatty · **Posted:** Sun Jul 30, 2006 9:04 pm

Eddo: You were about the first to engineer this solution as I recall. We're all assuming you haven't broke your diff case yet.

Eddo · **Joined:** Thu Jul 07, 2005 7:01 pm **Posts:** 1214

lilmatty wrote:

Eddo: You were about the first to engineer this solution as I recall. We're all assuming you haven't broke your diff case yet.

No, but I wheel with a light right foot.

W3CSX · **Posted:** Sun Jul 30, 2006 9:18 pm

Anyone but me have this problem?

I can't get the thing to fit between the collar and the underneath cross member. The outer diameter of the collar is too large. I'm thinking could this be different on CRD's. Did anyone else with a diesel order one?

The inner diameter seems fine. At least on the half that I could get on.

Jason

USAFCOP · **Posted:** Mon Jul 31, 2006 4:55 am

Here are the pics of my collar on my spare diff. Are these gaps in the middle of the rings supposed to be there, I would think it would fit snug, but not need beat on... will tightening it down make it fit? I understand a gap where the two halves meet, but not in the center as shown... Also, the ends are as snug against the diff as I can push them by hand.... Did I get shipped the wrong one?

Sorry so blurry on the first two, no matter what light I used it would not focus right.

AdamIsAdam · **Posted:** Mon Jul 31, 2006 7:34 am

Ted,
that will go on! Mine did the same thing and I had the same fears. Like i said, first I took a break for dinner as I thought about it (chinese food

). Then I cleaned the diff by spraying the entire area with brake part cleaner and rubbed it hard with a rag. I found several spots where there were bits of petrified mud, like zits. That will effect this!

Then I put the top half on and got a hammer in there. I LIGHTLY tapped it down, simply be letting the weight of the hammer fall on the collar in the small space I had to work with inside the diff.

For the bottom, I used a long screwdriver and wedged it between the collar and the cross member, and pushed up. Once I was able to get the screws to thread, I clamped down using them the rrest of the way.

I DID NOT MAKE THE ENDS MEET!!!

It was clear to me that they weren't going to meet without something bending. I assume the collar would go before the diff would bend, but I wasn't about to put that much pressure on the diff for fear of changing the bearing's gap.

As for the CRD, I don't know. Mine is certainly close to the crossmember. Did you try turning the collar so the narrowest part is between the crossmember and diff? I definitely don't have much clearance in there either, so I wonder if you do have a different setup. Keep trying.

Everyone else, if you get the collar to fit like you see in Ted's pics, it will go on.

AdamIsAdam · **Posted:** Mon Jul 31, 2006 7:42 am

Or, the person who measured their diff in the first place was wrong about the size!

Eddo, are you sure that collars are not meant to be closed (ends meet)? It makes sense to me, especially if the circle is distorted when it's closed completely. That definitely would make me feel better.

I can see how they wouldn't manufacture something with that tight a tolerance but instead would make it so that there's a gap when it is installed correclty. Otherwise, if they were off even slightly by being too large, it wouldn't do ANYTHING but sit there.

AdamIsAdam · **Posted:** Mon Jul 31, 2006 10:00 am

The label says what? 3.57"? I don't have mine any more.

9/16=.5625
7/16=.4375

Did anyone else get theirs on besides me?

I guess a few folks should measure their diffs with a micrometer to see what it really is. Ted, can you do that with the diff you have out of the Jeep?

DarbyWalters · **Posted:** Mon Jul 31, 2006 10:10 am

AdamIsAdam wrote:

The label says what? 3.57"? I don't have mine any more.

9/16=.5625
7/16=.4375

Did anyone else get theirs on besides me?

I guess a few folks should measure their diffs with a micrometer to see what it really is. Ted, can you do that with the diff you have out of the Jeep?

Yep my label says "Split Collar; 8A309 Low Profile Style; Aluminum w/3.570"ID

It is probably correct...Aluminum Castings like our diff could vary from diff to diff. Maybe just some light "sanding" of the diff area to clean it up a bit is warranted. I would think that a light spray of WD40 might help with installation also.

AdamIsAdam · **Posted:** Mon Jul 31, 2006 10:31 am

DarbyWalters wrote:

Yep my label says "Split Collar; 8A309 Low Profile Style; Aluminum w/3.570"ID

It is probably correct...Aluminum Castings like our diff could vary from diff to diff. Maybe just some light "sanding" of the diff area to clean it up a bit is warranted. I would think that a light spray of WD40 might help with installation also.

I was thinking the same thing about the variances. LIGHT sanding maybe. WD40 and tapping first before sanding. I personally didn't want to leave any permanent marks in case I blow it up while still under my 7/70 warranty. Just in case... :cry:

DarbyWalters · **Posted:** Mon Jul 31, 2006 11:11 am

AdamIsAdam wrote:

DarbyWalters wrote:

Yep my label says "Split Collar; 8A309 Low Profile Style; Aluminum w/3.570"ID

It is probably correct...Aluminum Castings like our diff could vary from diff to diff. Maybe just some light "sanding" of the diff area to clean it up a bit is warranted. I would think that a light spray of WD40 might help with installation also.

I was thinking the same thing about the variances. LIGHT sanding maybe. WD40 and tapping first before sanding. I personally didn't want to leave any permanent marks in case I blow it up while still under my 7/70 warranty. Just in case... :cry:

One other consideration. On a diff with miles on it, heat cycles?ect might have slightly deformed the tailsection...warping if you may. Just another possible variance.

dirtykj · **Posted:** Mon Jul 31, 2006 1:00 pm

AdamIsAdam wrote:

It was clear to me that they weren't going to meet without something bending. I assume the collar would go before the diff would bend

Mmmmm. If the "collar would go before the diff" would bend, then there wouldn't be much point to the collar now would there? :shock:

AdamIsAdam · **Posted:** Mon Jul 31, 2006 1:17 pm

dirtykj wrote:

Mmmmm. If the "collar would go before the diff" would bend, then there wouldn't be much point to the collar now would there? :shock:

I don't think so. The collar is supposed to act as reinforcement. Like having another rib added to that part of the diff.

Kind of like how the entire structure of something is stronger than any of its parts alone. Think unibody construction.

JFortier777 · **Posted:** Mon Jul 31, 2006 2:37 pm

Just for sake of saying so.

Our diffs will not "bend" they will crack and break. Cast aluminum is stupid strong but very brittle much like other cast metals.

Cacher123 · **Posted:** Tue Aug 01, 2006 12:16 am

It's not uncommon for "cast" parts such as our diff housing to have variances in outer diameters. After all, after the part is cast, it is line bored for the bearing or whatever will fit inside it. That is the crucial dimension and that is held to a tight tolerence. The outer dimension really means nothing other than where it has to fit in relation to other parts that may be around it. Usually, the tighter the spec is on a manufacturer's mold, the more expensive the mold is to make and the shorter it's lifespan.

Yamaha used to make heads/cylinders for various motorcycles and they would use the molds until the dimensions on the heads/cylinder block exceeded a certian mesurement. Since the heads were planed to spec and the cylinders bored and sleeved, the dimensions only became critical when there started to be misalignment with other parts that attached to it or cracks developed because the molds were "tired".

Group Buy for Front Diff Collar

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