Broken 1.6l differential pinion gear and ?'s (pic)
 

I drove to school this morning and was hearing this wierd sounding howl coming from the back of my car. I left school a few hours later and noticed the howl sound becoming more noticable. I started to hear some ticking sounds and babied the car home, which was just a few miles away. Blah blah blah I figured the diff had let go so my buddy and i dropped the diff out and began to dissect it. Found this:

Attachment 212828
Pinion gear stripped a few teeth.


so...

Knowing that eventually I am going to turbo the car, I think the best option is to upgrade to a 1.8l differential. I searched mt.net and m.net and still had a few questions about the swap.

1. Will the 1.8 half shafts fit into the 1.6 hubs? Some threads said they did and some say they didn't.

2. Will +97 model diffs, half shafts, driveshafts, ETC. fit directly on my 1990?

3. Any other things or tips I should know before completing the swap?

TIA
Bond

0: that's what they do. I've got like 50 like that at work
1: yes
2: yes, though they have 1 piece axles 95.5+
3: consider r&p ratio to meet your future goals

Good thanks.

Sorry about the massive pic BTW.

The early 1.8 cars, '94-'95 I think, used two-piece halfshafts just like your 1.6, whereas the later cars used a one-piece halfshaft. They're all interchangeable, but if possible, try to find halfshafts from an early car. They will be easier to install (you can drive the stub axles in on the bench) and much easier to remove if necessary at some point in the future.

Also, not only are the 1.8 halfshafts compatible with the 1.6 hubs (at least from the NA), but the 1.8 hub itself is compatible with the 1.6 control arms. If you can buy the halfshafts with the hubs still attached, it will spare you the task of having to unbolt and remove the old halfshafts from your hubs- just disconnect the hubs from the control arms and bolt the new 1.8 hubs with halfshafts into place. Much easier. At most, you'll have to trim the dustshield from the 1.8 hubs slightly to fit your calipers, but it's a five minute job.

how much abuse did you give it for this to happen? or do these just have a tendancy to fail under normal driving?

and, not to go way off topic...

but is your 1.6 differential a LSD?

it funny that my 1.6 open diff is still holding up fine on a t3/t4 at 14psi

some people just know how to drive better than others.

so i'm assuming its shock loading that does this... IE poor launches?