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ring gear spalling!!!

Posted: Sun Oct 24, 2010 12:02 pm
by xrad
OK..... so 300$ for alfa trans w/lsd was a good deal no matter how you look at it..

BUT: upon closer inspection of ring gear....spalling on 5 teeth. The pinion looks mint(good).

What to do???

Does the non lsd ring gear fit the LSD...Can I switch the just LSD portion(without the spalled gear) to another gearbox and reset the pinion depth??

I have three spare transaxles (milano) but without LSD..


Or forget it and just use it as a time bomb???

Or get the teeth welded , machined, and hardened???(Is this possible)

THANKS

Re: ring gear spalling!!!

Posted: Sun Oct 24, 2010 12:19 pm
by Mats
That gear is junk, no question.

The good news is that you can fit the non-LSD gearsets on the LSD.

I started to write how to do it (I have built two boxes) but kinda got sidetracked... :roll:
Part one is on here somwhere. 8)

Re: ring gear spalling!!!

Posted: Sun Oct 24, 2010 2:16 pm
by xrad
Darn it! :(

Thanks Mats. I figure alfa would save on tooling costs and make use of what was available..

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1702


I found your write-up Mats. Hell, I even replied to it...few years back.

So any issues with the non-lsd ring and pinion working with the LSD? looks like the teeth are a little thicker on the LSD version..

And where can I find pinion shims??

Re: ring gear spalling!!!

Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2010 8:43 am
by Mats
I dunno, never had to change one... :wall:

Re: ring gear spalling!!!

Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2010 8:58 am
by xrad
is it a striaght bolt up...or special machining?

Re: ring gear spalling!!!

Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2010 10:06 am
by Mats
You need a spacer bewtween the crown wheel and the diff flange. Measure up the correct thickness and have it ground. That's the tricky part.

Re: ring gear spalling!!!

Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2010 11:44 am
by xrad
yeah...thats is what I am afraid of...

Anyway, I called a local gear repair shop. They might be able to fix this problem and reharden the gear......

also looking for new old parts...

Re: ring gear spalling!!!

Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2010 1:56 pm
by MD
If the outcome is similar to reprofiled original cams that shit themselves eventually, I would go the route that fits a good crown wheel to start with. My reprofiled TS cams eventually split at the lobes.

Re: ring gear spalling!!!

Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2010 7:02 am
by xrad
sounds good...gear shop said no go anyway..

Someone on alfaBB told me that this is NOT the force side of the ring gear and that it does not matter?!?!

I am confused because this is the side that the pinion turns against when the car moves forward...

Am I wrong??

Re: ring gear spalling!!!

Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2010 9:14 am
by Mats
No you're right.

The "fix" by re-welding and somehow manage to match the correct profile on the teeth shouldn't even be considered. how to decrease the carbon content for welding I have no idea...

Re: ring gear spalling!!!

Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2010 10:11 am
by xrad
Thanks Mats..

If you feel like sharing your shim/grind technique for using non LS pinion/ring gear, pics or words, please post here.....

Re: ring gear spalling!!!

Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2010 12:53 pm
by MD
Must admit I wasn't paying attention to the detail.

As the imperfection is not on the power side of the drive, why are you going through all this drama? If it hasn't let go yet, it doesn't matter. Sure its not perfect but it is obvoiusly ADEQUATE. So stop worrying your nuts off. It's a cosmetic problem.

Re: ring gear spalling!!!

Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2010 12:59 pm
by xrad
MD, it is on the 'power' side(except in reverse)...

input shaft turns clockwise..same as engine. the pinion turn opposite this(there are only two shafts to the gearbox, so pinion has to turn opposite the input shaft), and drives in a downward direction on the ring gear engaging the squared portion of the teeth.


anyone have a spare LSD ring and pinion they want to sell?

Re: ring gear spalling!!!

Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2010 7:14 am
by xrad
found a local shop that will weld and harden the gear..no other choice as i don;t want to spend 3000$ to have new gears made...and can;t find any old sets...

Re: ring gear spalling!!!

Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2010 10:59 am
by Mats
Good luck, you're gonna need it...

:wall: