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What is my diff made out of...?

 
 
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mike328
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 07, 2015 8:00 pm    Post subject: What is my diff made out of...? Reply with quote

hi ive just had my G wagon front diff machined to accept locker on other side and now need to get it hardened as per the factory side.. does anyone know what grade steel its made out of (or where I could find out?) so I can tell a professional company.. or if you've done this at home with gas and a tub of oil how did it work out? pic so you know its happening Wink


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RichardD
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 08, 2015 8:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Can't answer the question but I was recently told that the hardening process causes the metal to shrink slightly. You might want to get advice on that as well.
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Xpajun
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 08, 2015 9:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I can't really answer the question but the guys that did the machining should be able to tell you or give you a good idea.

I'd suggest cast iron - certainly some sort of casting


You need to find someone local to you that does case hardening - a foundry maybe? - fortunately (according to the blurb) you shouldn't have any problems (or minimal) with shrinkage or distortion - certainly not enough to cause you problems.


Can't help you more I'm afraid - I've only seen case hardening done once - that was in college many centuries ago
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mike328
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 08, 2015 6:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

hi, thanks for replies!
I wouldn't be worried about the shrinkage if it was just the diff lock surfaces that would be affected (hopefully they would all shrink the same amount and contact wouldn't be affected) but as the diff bearing and seats for the 4 pin diff are in the same casting they could potentially cause problems? worth looking into at least... Confused

it is definitely a cast piece but machinist said that it was possibly a stainless or a high grade cast steel (silicone content to aid casting?) as was pretty tough to work with..
they wanted to send it for metallurgy(?) analysis and then to a specific heat treatment place at a cost of £100000000(ish) so I decided to take it away and look into it myself! I did find a place in cambridge that do all manner of hardening processes but il bet when I phone them theyre going to want to know what its made out of aswell... and then £10000000000000... Sad

I Just want to get it cherry red and dump it in my pond cuz that's free and works with cheap screwdrivers... Very Happy

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Turnip
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 08, 2015 10:59 pm    Post subject: Heat treatment Reply with quote

I have no idea of specific heat treatment for this either............ but if you heat it cherry red and use the fish pond it will probably harden ok but will also make it brittle = crack! Possibly you could try case hardening with something like Kasenite? This means you heat it up and dunk it in the powder and only harden the surface leaving the core ductile? but Im no expert!!
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RichardD
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 09, 2015 9:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Professional case hardening is not that expensive. I had the new gears, shafts and pins for the Allday's gearbox case hardened for less than £75
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mike328
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 09, 2015 6:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

theres no fish in the pond anymore, its just a regular large murky puddle of water with some plants dying in it..will this change how brittle the metal becomes?? Laughing

seriously though, I did hope there would be a reliable way of doing it at home but the more ive looked into it the less viable the idea becomes.. case hardening is definitely the way forward, I don't want to create a diff that shatters if it gets a shock load!

£75 is well within budget, if I broke down at a p&p, had to get someone to trailer me at cost, then buy them a thank you pint, we're at about the same money already(without even starting on the repairs)... I need to pull my finger out and start phoning around companies for recommendations and quotes!

Thanks for your input Smile

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