Has anyone had the dreaded transaxle/diff failure?

If you need a housing I have one.

 

Wow. Please check your private messages. Thanks =^)

 

Just finished taking my friends car apart after he last week heard some very unpleasant noise, followed by not being able to drive at all.

The images shows what we found...

It did however not seem like anything wrong with the diff carrier section or its welds.
I guess just plain old metal fatigue.

Uno
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You see more gear failures on the 365's than the 512's percentage-wise. Ferrari messed around with different ratios in the 365 until settling on the 3.21:1 on the 512 version right through the TRs where they seem to go through carriers, propellor shafts, main shafts, forward gears, side covers and crown and pinions. The crown and pinion for the 365 was available from Ferrari as of last year, unsure of the ratio they have though. I offer the gears more suited to the 512bb and up even in different ratios up to around 3.70:1 - just imagine the hole shot with that ratio in a TR!

How many teeth "did" the pinion have before it failed?

 

Looks like 12 teeth. Was just curious since the more teeth you have on the pinion the stronger and less likely it is to fail.

 

Yes, this car have (had!) 12 teeth on the pinion and 45 on the crown giving it a 3.75 ratio.
Did not know they were "experimenting" with different ration there in the beginning of the boxer era.

Uno
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Note the big fat weld. Unique to the 365's. Once the BB 512 came they machined the welded area smooth almost looking like there were no welds. The Testarossa got two rows of welds that were small enough that the machining step was skipped altogether. So far I haven't seen a broken 365 carrier, can be a combo of that massive weld bead and less torque, smaller tires and a little less weight.

 

OK, I thought the carrier problem was common to all of them, 365, BB 512, and TR's...
So when he called me last Sunday just after the "miss-hap", my guess was a broken carrier, that would then subsequently have led to the crown/pinion gear failure..

But then again I'm more of a classics Lamborghini guy, having more experience with those models

I think the owner might already have located a new old stock, crown/pinion gear, but not sure yet and have no idea about the ratio.

Btw. what do you do for shimming it? The plates are AFAIK not available from Ferrari, other than as a full set, but would not be to difficult to either water jet cut or laser ditto, in plates of a few different thicknesses.

 

Check your preload without the crown gear installed then install his new gears and see where your backlash and pattern is. If you're lucky (it happens) you may not need to adjust it. If you need shIms to set it up I have no doubt you'll know how to arrive at the required shims and just get them made as you suggested.

 

Someone who purchased a carrier from me said they used dana60 pinion shims behind the cup to adjust preload as they come in .001" increments. The large ring shim is through Ferrari if available or make them.

 

Aha!!! That's why it looked familiar!

Light is now on Me

 

And one more again .... in Down Under ...

Yes, you are absolutely right or keep K$ 10 for preventive change to the upgrade ...

 

Have you guys worked out some sort of external marking so future buyers can look and see that the Newman swap has been done?

 

The receipt of the carrier purchase and the Shop bill (showing VIN number) for installation is the best marking I know off.
These items should be kept with the binder that most owners should have with the car to document the maintenance performed over the years. The engine and transmission number should also be included in the documentation.
(Anybody can add a mark to their differential if it will sell the car.)

 

There is no marking or way to tell that the improved part is now on the car?

 

Open the plug and check with a boroscope. The difference is obvious.

 

I have not done the Newman swap but I have done the U.K. full version upgrade. Why ? read here all about it !

What I did: I have stamped the date on the outside of the gearbox but anybody can fake that .... (as Han mentionned correctly !)

Important is only: to have the official document stating "lifetime guarantee" for that U.K. diff and that in combination with the bill of all new parts is the only proof !
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I had my differential failure at about 84,000 miles
Thank god it happend just as i was pulling away from stop light.
It allso took out the left side cover.Replaced it with one of newman's units + side cover+bearings.I did the repair with motor and transmission still in the car,took about three days.

 

Whaauw ... Awesome ! ... can you show us some pics of that job please ?

And no C & P damage ... YOU were lucky !

 

Yes, please do.

 

This happend 3 yrs ago I did take photos.I think i still have the negitives i will look for them.Like i said thank god it happend just as i was leaveing a four way stop and that it didn't take out my crown and pinion.
I would not want to think what would happen if i was going at any speed.
Newmans unit was top notch and the whole job is not that hard to do it took me about three days doing it at home after work.Newmans unit is a great update and if i ever buy a TR again i will do the update before the failure because you will save yourself $2300.00 for the side cover that will also need to be replaced when the differential carrier fails.

 

Absolutely !! Do NOT wait imo ...

 

Some can drive over a mile after the dreaded carrier fails without any additional damage.
Awesome!
http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/boxers-tr-m/404487-failed-carrier-not-necessarily-death-sentance-r-p.html

 

On top of that good news, I found the side cover from Superformance.co.uk for $965.73 - Landed.

The best price for the new carrier is currently Forzacomponents.com at approx. $2800