Vit Mk2 Rear Diff Removal

[trigolf]

Hi Steve,

Glad to be of help and that the job went well. Your Vit looks very nice underneath too !☺️

Gav

[GT6M]

Petes correct in his tinki,n,

its the easiest method I use and very quick too

nee need for spring lifters,

 

M

[Pete Lewis]

Hi Marcus youve been quiet for a while    

pete

[GT6M]

Dissalusioned wid the Mr PCs, Pete

[Pete Lewis]

know what you mean , but you always  had some interesting solutions to share 

Pete

 

[Adrian Cooper]

1 hour ago, Pete Lewis said:

you always  had some interesting solutions to share 

I second that!

Good to see you back Marcus.

Adrian

[dave.vitesse]

I agree, don't be put off Marcus. There are different views expressed on the Forum and that's what it's all about.

If anybody get's out of line then Pete sets his Black Cat on them!

Dave

[Anglefire]

16 hours ago, GT6M said:

Dissalusioned wid the Mr PCs, Pete

I'm not really sure what you mean if I'm honest - I haven't been here that long (a year?) and can't say I've seen anything untoward - the odd spat perhaps but nothing you wouldn't expect with so many different people and views.

[GT6M]

Thanks Ladds,  but was no here, but another site thats havin trouble,

lots of posts, whole threads  deleted to appease ..foreign agents!!

no been there, , no intention of goin there,

to me,it seems as if the nationals,or infiltrators of a certain Terrorist nation shout,

then they get their way, every thing gets took down cos it offends them,

it offends me,  { and others, as lots of my friends have not been there either ,for years, told  so in PMs, Emails. calls. } that they get away with it, and for the gutless folk that act on their behalf  to get stuff removed.

no doubt thIs,l be took doon for speaking the truth, even though it did,nt happen here.!!!

 

M

[Anglefire]

Ah - that makes more sense now! I've never been on that one! 

[Colin Lindsay]

1 hour ago, GT6M said:

to me,it seems as if the nationals,or infiltrators of a certain Terrorist nation shout,

then they get their way, every thing gets took down cos it offends them,

 

Ah.. I see... you were on the MG forum.

[johny]

On 16/09/2018 at 21:54, Steve Brown said:

Hi Gav,

Thanks for this detailed advice.

After a long hot summer and a couple of other projects I finally found some time and patience to swap the diff on my Vitesse this weekend.

In summary I followed your instructions word for word and it worked like a breeze, no spring lifters required, and no movement of the spring.

Called in a couple of favours and borrowed 2 additional trolley jacks (including a heavy weight one for the diff) just to add a bit of additional safety under the chassis, see photo. The larger lifting plate on the heavy weight trolley jack was ideal for holding the diff at the required angle when re-installing, in fact I got it spot on and it went straight in (more by luck than judgement !!)

To confirm, if you can remove it, removing the exhaust on a Vitesse certainly aids with access.

An additional tip I came up with was to strap a crow bar on the radius arm to lift the drive shafts up and away from the diff, giving me more room to drop and replace the unit.

Just need to tidy up the diff paint and take it for a test drive, had the cup of tea ?

Couple of photos below

Thanks to you and everyone for their advice and comments !!

Steve

Hi Steve, looks like you might have put a 3.63 diff in your Vitesse. If so how is it compared with the original in particular whats the pull away like in first gear and can you maintain fourth on the steepest of inclines? 

[Steve Brown]

Hi Johny,

It should be a standard 3.27:1 diff, at least that's what I ordered. To be honest, apart from a couple of gentle rides around the block to get everything settled, I've not had chance to drive it with any "enthusiasm" yet. Been swapping the wheel studs for the LR Freelander beasts :-)

[johny]

even more interesting as the 3.27 ratio was never used in the Vitesse which had a standard of 3.89. Your ratio was only used in the lighter GT6 and then only if it didnt have overdrive so its the rarest of the ratios. Is your engine standard?

I still have the original diff in my non overdrive Vitesse which I like but would consider going to a 3.63 only if I can go up the steepest main roads without having to drop a gear (I think doing this too often would rapidly finish off my gearbox!)

[Nick Jones]

2.0L Vitesse is under-geared from the factory.  Having run one for the last 14 years, I'd consider the 3.63 to be what they should have had.  My 2L, somewhat modified, would pull a taller diff ratio in spite of having a 0.79 5th gear, though I'm not sure I'd want to go as far as 3.27.  For a 2.5 engined car a 3.27 is ideal, though the 3.27 is not the strongest size.

Nick

[Steve Brown]

So, the way I read it is as follows

Mk 1 Vitesse 1600 = 4.11:1 - Part No. 511350

Mk1 Vitesse 2000 = 3.89:1 - Part No. 518946

Mk2 Vitesse 2000 = 3.27:1 - Part No. 518950

Mine's a Mk2 2L with O/D, hence I went for the 3.27:1 which I presume is the factory spec version. Trouble is wherever I look there's a different view on reliability, suitability etc. I guess that's what makes the classic car world interesting ;-)

[johny]

I dont know where youre getting your info from Steve but it was definitely: 

Mk 1 and 2 Vitesse 2000 (both with or without OD) = 3.89:1

As you say theres often many different opinions so trying stuff out is the only way to know and yes is all part of the fun! Dont worry though if you dont like the 3.27 unit it'll be easy enough to sell.....

[Nick Jones]

AFAIK the only small chassis Triumph that used a 3.27 diff was the non-overdrive GT6.

All 2L Vitesses, Mk1 or Mk2, with or without overdrive had 3.89 as did all overdrive equipped GT6s.

That's only what the factory did though and the non-OD Vitesse especially is horribly under-geared. The 3.27 will make a much better cruiser, especially with OD. Does make for a fairly high first gear though.

Nick

[johny]

Dont entirely agree there Nick, maybe the Mk2 Vitesse with a bit more power can pull a higher ratio but in my Mk1 I find the 3.89 pretty good. It depends on your driving style and roads I suppose but for me 60 - 70mph is enough and its not mechanical but wind noise (plus handling) that limits me more and thats in a fixed head! True first gear could be taller but I love the acceleration in the other gears and then using 4th for everything else.....

[Paul H]

9 hours ago, johny said:

Dont entirely agree there Nick, maybe the Mk2 Vitesse with a bit more power can pull a higher ratio but in my Mk1 I find the 3.89 pretty good. It depends on your driving style and roads I suppose but for me 60 - 70mph is enough and its not mechanical but wind noise (plus handling) that limits me more and thats in a fixed head! True first gear could be taller but I love the acceleration in the other gears and then using 4th for everything else.....

Hi Johny what revs are you pulling at 70mph?

Paul

[johny]

Hi Paul, I run 165/80 13 tyres which make a surprising difference to wheel diameter and dont hit 70mph very often so my engine is doing around 3500revs which seems to suit it quite well

[Nick Jones]

3,500rpm gives me 85-ish and comes in very handy on the continent where you can cruise for long periods at those speed.  Can't disagree with you on the wind noise though!

With those tyres your speedo may well be under-reading a bit.  Originally calibrated for 155/80 13s (175/70 13 pretty close also).

The OP will find his speedo under-reading a lot with a 3.27 diff unless the speedo head or drive gear are swapped to match.

Nick

[NonMember]

15 hours ago, Nick Jones said:

AFAIK the only small chassis Triumph that used a 3.27 diff was the non-overdrive GT6.

All 2L Vitesses, Mk1 or Mk2, with or without overdrive had 3.89 as did all overdrive equipped GT6s.

Almost right. All Vitesse 2L were 3.89, non-OD GT6 were 3.27 (possible caveat regarding Mk3), OD GT6 were 3.89 except by special order when 3.27 with OD was an option.

[johny]

Well at least we're all agreed on what Steve's Vitesse should have had from new! Be interesting to see how he gets on with the replacement diff and what serial number the old unit had.....

[dougbgt6]

1 hour ago, NonMember said:

Almost right. All Vitesse 2L were 3.89, non-OD GT6 were 3.27 (possible caveat regarding Mk3), OD GT6 were 3.89 except by special order when 3.27 with OD was an option.

That's interesting, where does the special order info come from? Surprised it was offered as an option. A lot of people retro fit OD to their GT6s and don't upgrade their 3.27 to 3.89. Result is relaxed motorway cruising but struggles on inclines. 

Doug