I know the 1.8 rear swap is probably the way to go, but what breaks in the 1.6? Axles, ring and pinion, diff? Just wondering....

 

Or does it all go boom?

 

R&p

 

Typically the teeth on the pinion gear and the ring gear fracture / shatter / shear / whatever the correct ME term for broken gear teeth is.

 

Ok. Thanks. I was looking to upgrade the rear end, but I'd still like to keep my 4.11. Seems that most 1.8's are Geared much taller. The dollars all start to add up if you do it right. I was considering, perhaps hardened gears? I mean, I'd end up buying gears and an LSD For the 1.8 anyway... thoughts?

 

None of it's cheap. I'll do the right thing and start with a 1.8. Thanks for the info.

 

Sounds like you got it figured out. Firsty, you can get a 4.1 1.8 rear. Iirc they come in 4.3, 4.1, 3.9, and the ever rare 3.6.

 

Yeah, 1.8 has more options.... Gears, lsd's etc... Overall, a cheaper, more solid build.

 

You actually have a 4.3 rear end if you have a 1.6

You can get another 4.3 out of a '99-'03.

And why would you think hardened gears would help when they're already shattering?

 

That would be nice. I passed up a 1.8 diff carrier stub shafts and axels for $275 Shipped a few weeks ago. Now that I'm looking, I'm kicking myself.... That was a good deal. Just have to keep looking. Now that I know a 4.3 is what I need, I'll just have be ready when one pops up. Are these fairly common? How would you know by looking at it? As of now, I'd have to take thier word for it. Thanks.

 

Yeah, most people know what car it's coming out of, or count the rotations of the axles per rotation of the driveshaft.

 

Ahhhh. Ok.

 

I just swapped a 4.1 into my car, replacing the 4.3. I can't tell a difference in acceleration or any other aspect related to gearing. I guess I see fewer revs on the highway but it's not that obvious. I wouldn't sweat it too much if you are going to be turbo'd in the future.

 

IRRC the 4.3 only came in open diff cars so if you want one you need to buy a 1.8 diff with a torsen and also an open diff from an auto NB to get the 4.3 and swap the R&P.

 

You could get a 4.3 Torsen as an option from 1999 to 2002. (03 cars got the TF and I believe all 04-05 cars were 4.10s)

 

It's good to know the gearing isn't too much of an issue, although, I do like my current setup. I'll probably look for an open diff with a 4.3 just to get it on the car. Thanks for steering me in the right direction.

 

i recently noticed a "woo-woo-woo..." sound that happened when my car was rolling in neutral and was amplified when engine braking in gear. The sound disappeared however when accelerating in gear which was strange, never the less i jacked my car up and found an oil leak permeating from where the pinion seal was on the diff. I think the reasoning the sound got worse is because of the amount of oil that leaked over time.

I took it to a mechanic i trust today and he told me that my car has the 1.6 LSD (the seller must have provided a fake copy of a reciept for a 1.8NB LSD, an enticing factor when i bought it a couple of weeks ago).

The mechanic also told me (without looking into the diff) that with the amount its going to cost in labor that i may as well buy a 4.1 diff and axles used in the 1.8 instead of replacing the seals on my current 1.6 LSD. i like the LSD, especially fun in the wet but my car does have a 1996 1.8L engine in it.

is the mild power difference between the engines enough to warrant the spending on a new diff and axles when i can simply replace the seals for $130 + 3ish hours of labour if the current gears in the diff are in good condition?

this is the closest thread i could find to match my question, if someone finds another thread with my predicament id be happy to read it if linked below.

 

I have seen 1.6 differentials break with only the output of a 1.6 engine. I would replace with a 1.8 if you are SURE you have a 1.6 in there.

 

thanks for the response olderguy

I'm not very good at distinguishing if it is a 1.6 or 1.8 diff however they said it was a 1.6 diff because it was smaller than the 1.8. I thought a model number imprinted on the diff would be a better determinant than the size however i didnt look into it because i was at work when the mechanic called. I thought the size of the diff would be a better indication to the gearing inside but im mechanically noob so i just took their word for it.

is there a tell i should look out for?

 

The 1.6 VLSD is easily identified externally, as the stub axles have a unique flange where they mate with the CV joints:

Left:


Right:




The 1.6 open diff has star-shaped stub axle flanges on both sides:





The stub axles on the 1.8 diff (open or Torsen) don't have the extra four ****: