Limited Slip Diff - low oil damage

Hi there!
What an awesome site this is. I am new here and am just soaking up the wonderful information everyone has shared.

I recently bought an 05 dbl cab, long box with 140,000 km. Unfortinatly the rear oil seals are leaking and I will have to change them (before the snow fly's I hope). Due to road construction I have been un able to access my garage for some time to do the needed work so I just decided to make sure the diff has oil.

Now the concerns. I bought some LSD oil and was able to add just over 3/4 of a litre and the total capasity is only aroun 3 litres!

Does anyone know if being that low could cause damage to the clutches (assuming the LSD is a set of clutches) and how one can tell?

Becoming aware of this I started paying close attention and notice a slight vibration or shutter in the rear end when making a slow sharp turn from stop. The same turn on gravel will cause the tires to spin slightly.

Any help would be appreciated! I hope to do the work in 3-4 weeks and don't want to order parts that are not needed (and don't want to cange parts that may cost good coin).

 

I would drain the Diff completely and refill after you get new seals on. Better safe then sorry!

 

Yes, I plan on it when I do change the seals. I like to stick to the side of doing things right vs quick, cheap and easy.

 

Welcome to TacomaWorld!

You should probably be alright if you are low 3/4 of a L and it wasn't for too prolonged of a period. The LSD that comes with the 05 Tacoma is a mechanical LSD and does use a clutch pack like you have mentioned. The only definitive way to tell the condition is to pull the axles, remove your third and then remove the carrier and disassemble it. Once you have the third member out, disassembling the carrier only takes a matter of minutes.

Another way you could 'test' the carrier would be to have a friend stomp on it while your outside the truck and taking a look at the rear wheels. This will give you a ball park idea as to how well your LSD is working.

 

Don't forget to add the limited slip additive. I have heard of guys complaining of noise because the used the gear lube that had the LSD additive already included. Just get standard 75 or 80 weight gear lube and add the LSD additive you can get from your dealer.

Here is a good link as well - http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/technical-chat/24545-changing-differential-fluid-step-step-how.html

 

Thanks Grant!
As I bought the truck like this, I don't how long it would have been that low. Just that the oil would have slowly leaked out.

I guess the "spin the tires" test would work best with one wheel on gravel and the other on the cement?

 

No problem. I would try it out on a dirt or gravel road. Being that the mechanical LSD works as a torque multiplier, the multiplication of torque that is being applied toward the wheel with traction in a situation like you mentioned (one wheel on dirt, the other on concrete) would transfer little torque. Probably not even enough to burn rubber.

If you try it out on dirt and both wheels are spinning at a similar rate of speed (one will still spin slightly faster than the other) you should be alright. The worst thing that could of happened other then damaging your bearings is that your clutch pack is burned out. If this is the case you simply wont have an effective LSD, you will have an open differential. Not really a big deal other than the fact that you will have less traction capabilities.

 

Awesome!
Good to know. I was not sure if the clutches would be more grabby if damaged or like you said, burn out and become an open diff.

Thanks again!

 

If & when you put more oil or do an oil change, make sure you do some TIGHT 8 turns in both directions. This helps circulate the oil in & around the diff/clutch paks.

 

I also have a 2006 TRD Sport, and when i flexed the truck out the other day on a loading ramp, the rear end would not lock up. The lightest wheel just kept spinning, and the other wheel never engaged....... anyone have any ideas???

 

A limited slip is not going to lock-up like a locker would. LS differentials use either one of two methods to throw power to the ground. A torque multiplier system, or a clutch driven system. Either way you must have at least a small amount of resistance at both wheels to transfer torque to both wheels. One way you can do this is to use the 'poor mans locker' technique and pull the ebrake out a couple clicks while you apply throttle. This will cause the rear end to send power to both rear wheels and help you to keep moving forward.