AWD to FWD conversion: done it (temporary)

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So, in a previous topic, I questioned if it was safe to drive in 2WD mode while waiting for a decent rear diff replacement on my wife’s car, which is a front wheel dominant 4WD car.

Long story short, the 2WD button was tipped of by the keys, and the rear diff case splitted, almost in two.

So to get things rolling while awaiting a decent rear diff replacement, I decided to remove the driveshaft, diff, axle shafts, separate the cv joint bowls and put them back in the hubs to hold the bearings.

Well, it took a few steps:
Jack up the car, remove catback exhaust (2 bolts, 4 rubber mounts) and rear wheels
Remove driveshaft (4 screws on front, 4 bolts on the rear diff, 2 bolts that holds the halfway mount)
Remove diff (1 electrical connector, 2 pipes, 2 screws upside, one bolt on rear), bring it down halfway
Remove axle shafts from diff (a good lever is needed to pull them out of the diff case) and pull diff away
Remove axle shafts from hubs: Unscrew the big nut in the center of rear hubs and push the shafts inside with a hammer, holding on the other side to prevent them from falling
Separate the cv joint ends from the shafts: need to open the big end collars, slide boots and pull them off with a hammer and piece of wood
Screw them back in the hubs after sealing
Refit exhaust and wheels, put car on ground, ride
smile.gif
 
How does it go? You are on a dot in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Resources are limited. Fix it,make do, go without. You made the best of what you had to work with. Bonne Annee
grin2.gif
 
When I was an auto tech there was a AWD Ford Tempo that a customer had that had the rear driveshaft removed and it seemed to cause no harm.

If I ever have rear differential trouble with our sienna I will just pull the driveshaft.
 
Originally Posted By: 5AcresAndAFool
When I was an auto tech there was a AWD Ford Tempo that a customer had that had the rear driveshaft removed and it seemed to cause no harm.

If I ever have rear differential trouble with our sienna I will just pull the driveshaft.


Well, if the case was split, there'd be no lube at all and the OP was probably afraid that it would lock up in use, with potentially dire results.
My first thought was also simply to remove the driveshaft, but after thinking a bit, I came to understand why the OP did what he did to take the rear diff out of the equation entirely.
I recommend that we name OP DIY mechanic of the year 2017 for having thought through the problem and then doing a whole lot of work to remedy it, all of which work he knows he'll have to repeat when he gets a new diff.
 
I recommend never installing a new AWD rear diff.
You don't need AWD on an island at that latitude. Snow? Ice? No.
 
Originally Posted By: oil_film_movies
I recommend never installing a new AWD rear diff.
You don't need AWD on an island at that latitude. Snow? Ice? No.


An abundance of rain along with high, muddy hillsides?
Yes.
Hence the need for AWD.
Nobody as thoughtful as the OP buys an AWD on a lark, unlike many Sunbelt Subaru owners.
 
Originally Posted By: andyd
How does it go? You are on a dot in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Resources are limited. Fix it,make do, go without. You made the best of what you had to work with. Bonne Annee
grin2.gif


It goes alright! Only have the service light on, and a “Check 4WD system” displayed on instrument cluster.

Originally Posted By: Linctex
Good on you!

How much to do the repair back to original?

I can source some used rear diff for around 1000 USD + shipping from a salvage yard. Hope I’ll find one with no problem. The thing is the service manual says that the output seals are to be replaced each time removing the shafts. Plus I’ll need new cv joint boots collars.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: Donald
I would have rented a car while I waited.

Of course, but renting for months is costly, plus the chance of damaging the paint on offroad/dirt roads.

Originally Posted By: ctrcbob
Off Subject.

How far is Mauritius from la Reunion?

I have friends who normally go to Reunion, but this year, they went to Mauritius.

Maybe 150 miles away

Originally Posted By: fdcg27
Well, if the case was split, there'd be no lube at all and the OP was probably afraid that it would lock up in use, with potentially dire results.
My first thought was also simply to remove the driveshaft, but after thinking a bit, I came to understand why the OP did what he did to take the rear diff out of the equation entirely.
I recommend that we name OP DIY mechanic of the year 2017 for having thought through the problem and then doing a whole lot of work to remedy it, all of which work he knows he'll have to repeat when he gets a new diff.

You got it, safety was the concern. As we’re not rolling on dollars, finding a comfortable ride to rent, plus the fact that it would be damaged, took the rental out of equation. Same with buying another used backup comfortable car.

My wife is a visiting nurse in some difficult access areas. Ground clearance is a must, LSD/antislip is strongly recommended and 4WD is a real comfort.
 
Originally Posted By: fdcg27
Originally Posted By: oil_film_movies
I recommend never installing a new AWD rear diff.
You don't need AWD on an island at that latitude. Snow? Ice? No.


An abundance of rain along with high, muddy hillsides?
Yes.
Hence the need for AWD.
Nobody as thoughtful as the OP buys an AWD on a lark, unlike many Sunbelt Subaru owners.


This is it. She had a 2WD Dacia Duster with A/T tires and she would occasionally get stuck (many times a month). I thought she could get away with installing an LSD, but the car needed much suspension job and was at 100000km, she wanted to upgrade to a more comfortable ride so she went to the Koleos in Auto Trans and AWD, along with superior interior trim and all the bells and whistles.

We could have chosen a smaller, LSD modified new car (there’s some businesses that do this), but it would have cost the same, plus the fact that we couldn’t have traded the old car in.
 
Superflan, I'm impressed. That's a lot of work.

You are the only guy I know who maintains his cars by removal of the bad parts
smile.gif
When the sway bar breaks, remove it, when the differential fails, remove it. Won't be too long before there is nothing left to drive, and a big pile of car parts in the corner.... Dented fender, pull it off. Bad headlight,,, same thing, get rid of it.

(just messin' with you, of course) Again, I am impressed.

I hope you can find a good replacement and get it back to 100%.
 
Indeed, here are the missing parts on this car:

-4WD parts (most) (will be replaced)
-plastic engine cover (noise damping foam went in dust)
-plastic engine bellypan (maybe a good metal skid plate)
-rear window hat (fell off, but like it that way)
-rear sway bar and links
-1 wheel lug nut (I’ve put cheap antitheft nuts in place but they are far from perfect)

Here are the broken parts that will be replaced soon by insurance coverage :
-right rear door (severe damage, need replacing)
-front bumper and mounting parts and accessories

And the broken parts that needs repair :
-a power window switch lost it’s auto-up function
-sunroof shade broken
-FM antenna wiring seems cut, lost RDS and half signal strength
-rear window wiper
 
And there’s a strange gizmo in the electric adjustment of drivers seat: the inclination goes back to straight up somehow when no one is in the car. I’ve searched everywhere but it does this even when unplugging the switches. Im near putting a electrical cutoff switch to immobilize the seat when not adjusting. Or wire it with an acc relay.
 
Thank you for the Picture of the DS 19 I had a '57 about 1965. You could take doors, etc, off veerrry easily, I used 3" saplings
grin2.gif
 
Originally Posted By: fdcg27
Originally Posted By: 5AcresAndAFool
When I was an auto tech there was a AWD Ford Tempo that a customer had that had the rear driveshaft removed and it seemed to cause no harm.

If I ever have rear differential trouble with our sienna I will just pull the driveshaft.


Well, if the case was split, there'd be no lube at all and the OP was probably afraid that it would lock up in use, with potentially dire results.
My first thought was also simply to remove the driveshaft, but after thinking a bit, I came to understand why the OP did what he did to take the rear diff out of the equation entirely.
I recommend that we name OP DIY mechanic of the year 2017 for having thought through the problem and then doing a whole lot of work to remedy it, all of which work he knows he'll have to repeat when he gets a new diff.


Meant to say driveshafts. If I had problems with our sienna I would pull the rear driveshafts and both half shafts. Meaning I would not fix it. I agree the OP did the right thing.
 
Originally Posted By: 5AcresAndAFool
Originally Posted By: fdcg27
Originally Posted By: 5AcresAndAFool
When I was an auto tech there was a AWD Ford Tempo that a customer had that had the rear driveshaft removed and it seemed to cause no harm.

If I ever have rear differential trouble with our sienna I will just pull the driveshaft.


Well, if the case was split, there'd be no lube at all and the OP was probably afraid that it would lock up in use, with potentially dire results.
My first thought was also simply to remove the driveshaft, but after thinking a bit, I came to understand why the OP did what he did to take the rear diff out of the equation entirely.
I recommend that we name OP DIY mechanic of the year 2017 for having thought through the problem and then doing a whole lot of work to remedy it, all of which work he knows he'll have to repeat when he gets a new diff.


Meant to say driveshafts. If I had problems with our sienna I would pull the rear driveshafts and both half shafts. Meaning I would not fix it. I agree the OP did the right thing.


I removed the diff now because it’s the quickest way to remove the shafts. Else I would have needed removing a lot of suspension parts to get it out
 
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