Newby needs trans advice.

[fractured]

(nailbyt)Hey everyone. I'm a new owner of a 2003 MSP. I knew the car had issues when I bought it, but I'm a tech and can deal with them. The main issue is the final drive gear noise,most evident at 25 to 30 mphs, any gear. Is there a resident trans ace that can give me an idea what I'm in for before I crack the case open? Any aftermarket parts or manufacturers I should consider? Thanks alot!

 

[littlemimus]

are you lookin for a new final drive gear or what???

 

[orng1]

If your going to open it up replace the bearings, the races and get the diff welded. I just did one this weekend that shattered and really messed stuff up inside.

 

[fractured]

Thanks. I think I'll go easy on it until the weather warms up and hope it holds together. So far I havn't been able to find any repair info on that tranny. Any ideas?

 

[littlemimus]

check in the how to section.

 

[fractured]

Thanks. Looks like some good info. Dude, your shirt!

 

[el_Don]

So what does a welded diff do in simpleton terms that's better than a regular protege's?

 

[isbre]

So what does a welded diff do in simpleton terms that's better than a regular protege's?

Regular Proteg's uses an open diff. MSP's have a LSD (Limited Slip) and this causes more stress on the housing and they are known to crack leaving you stranded. Welding will reinforce the housing to prevent them from breaking, in other words we are not talking about welding the diff completely stuck on our MSP's.

And in very simpletons terms: An open diff will blindly give more power to the wheel with the least resistance. What a Limited Slip does is to try to negate this and make sure that the wheel with the most resistance always gets some power. This increases handling at the cost of torque steering.