uprated viscous cupplings

S

sleeper

New member
lalojamesliz":3vkcbw14 said:
^? I just saw this thread and now I'm interested myself :) I have a st205 trans sitting in my garage just waiting to be installed and I would like to make a drain and fill hole to replace the fluid. Did anyone confirm what fluid is inside?
Click to expand...


Have opend a diff to lock it, and i really think that you won`T be ablt to change the fluid by doing that... it is waaaay to thick to get it out or inn... so only option is to open it and change the fluid, then weld it back togetter.. )
 
T

TRDTurko

New member
I may be interested in getting mine upgraded in the near future. I agree there should be a write up on how to remove and test it.
 
T

temperacerguy

New member
st185-sainz":3stmwn2e said:
hi,

I found a company that can uprate our viscous centre differentials. I did one example for my car and it feels great. The car seems to have much more traction and does not have so much understeer anymore!
The company already made some visco units for a lot of rally cars, also the TTE gr. N cars.

I paid 590EUR to get mine uprated. It was a special price...

Is there any interest from your side?

cheers
mario
Click to expand...


What ever happened to this? Did anyone else actually get it done?

I am interested in having my VC improved, and this sounds interesting.... but $800 seems a little stiff... was that with R&R of the coupler from the car, or is that just the price of cutting it apart, pouring in the new fluid and welding it back together?
 
S

st185-sainz

New member
meanwhile the exchange rate changed and it got worse for you!

if you calculate the shipping costs and really think over the effort of cutting this part and welding it together again - so that it works better than before - you will see that it is not that much money.

but what I found out is, that a hand full of people have got genuine tte parts (x-trac) and the rest is searching a front lsd although their front rear distribution is shit. nobody really bought anything that was discussed!

drivetrain components are expensive! my rear lsd was around 1000EUR, the VC was a prototype and was also more expensive - so the price is valid for finding at least 3 people.

I have enough VC at home and can let them made for a deposit and can ship them to you! so you can exchange it on one evening...
 
T

temperacerguy

New member
st185-sainz":1130qgny said:
meanwhile the exchange rate changed and it got worse for you!

if you calculate the shipping costs and really think over the effort of cutting this part and welding it together again - so that it works better than before - you will see that it is not that much money.

but what I found out is, that a hand full of people have got genuine tte parts (x-trac) and the rest is searching a front lsd although their front rear distribution is shit. nobody really bought anything that was discussed!

drivetrain components are expensive! my rear lsd was around 1000EUR, the VC was a prototype and was also more expensive - so the price is valid for finding at least 3 people.

I have enough VC at home and can let them made for a deposit and can ship them to you! so you can exchange it on one evening...
Click to expand...


While I agree that the VC is very important... I just find it a true waste to ship the damn thing around the world, for what is essentially a (albeit difficult) fluid change...

We are not buying a driveline component here, we are buying a fluid, and we are paying for the cost of having the coupling cut apart, and welded back together... Now I know fabrication, and this will probably be cut on a lathe, and then TIG welded back together... but we're still only talking an hour cutting (MAX MAX MAX) and an hour TIG welding Even at a HUGE fabrication rate of $100 per hour, you're still paying nearly $600 for a quart or two of a fluid.... seems pretty extreme.

Can we just buy the fluid from them/you and have the service performed here?
 
S

st185-sainz

New member
TTE thought the same and let their grN VC made in Europe!

if it is really that easy like you say and you find a shop that can open and weld the unit, they will have the fluid and the test facility to make it right to your specifications!

we can arrange that I sell a whole unit to you - not on exchange. for 100EUR extra we can do that.
 
S

sleeper

New member
temperacerguy":34sxprbn said:
st185-sainz":34sxprbn said:
meanwhile the exchange rate changed and it got worse for you!

if you calculate the shipping costs and really think over the effort of cutting this part and welding it together again - so that it works better than before - you will see that it is not that much money.

but what I found out is, that a hand full of people have got genuine tte parts (x-trac) and the rest is searching a front lsd although their front rear distribution is shit. nobody really bought anything that was discussed!

drivetrain components are expensive! my rear lsd was around 1000EUR, the VC was a prototype and was also more expensive - so the price is valid for finding at least 3 people.

I have enough VC at home and can let them made for a deposit and can ship them to you! so you can exchange it on one evening...
Click to expand...


While I agree that the VC is very important... I just find it a true waste to ship the damn thing around the world, for what is essentially a (albeit difficult) fluid change...

We are not buying a driveline component here, we are buying a fluid, and we are paying for the cost of having the coupling cut apart, and welded back together... Now I know fabrication, and this will probably be cut on a lathe, and then TIG welded back together... but we're still only talking an hour cutting (MAX MAX MAX) and an hour TIG welding Even at a HUGE fabrication rate of $100 per hour, you're still paying nearly $600 for a quart or two of a fluid.... seems pretty extreme.

Can we just buy the fluid from them/you and have the service performed here?
Click to expand...



I can see why you think that this is to expencive, but since i have done this myself ( but used chemical metall to "weld" it) i can see why they charge what they do.

IOt`s not as fast as you would think it is.. just the cleaning process takes a LOOONG time! there are 110 plates that needs to be cleaned seperatly, and the fluid that is in there is STICKY!..
It was the first time i did this, and i guess i would have done it faster if i where to do it another time but i did use 5-6 hours to clean the discs..

So, cutting up the unit, cleaning it, reassemble it, fluid, rewldning it, does take quite some time.. That and the fact that they are the only ones that does it i think justifys that it cost what it does.. ( remember that this is not one of the first mods you do to a alltrac.. so by the time you choose to do it you have used way more money on it and this will just be another drop in the sea..)

Anyway, i`m happy that someone does it, but would be nice to have a link to a way of checking rep of the company ( name) before you pay money to somone..
 
L

lumbercis

Moderator
@temperacerguy: if it is that easy and you know fabrication, why don't you do it and sell it to us?

I agree with Mario; drivetrain parts are expensive. $800 seems reasonable, esp when you consider there is only one source for this and it's in Europe. We have a rare car. Custom upgrades for it cost money.

Also, Mario is one of the best vendors on this board. I highly doubt he would suddenly start gouging us for no reason. I hope this is still available in the future once I do some other maintenance and I'd consider it $800 well spent. :)
 
D

darthripley

Moderator
^ exactly. all of it well said.

Even off the shelf drivetrain parts aren't exactly cheap.
Good luck finding any good quality clutch type rear LSD for under $1200 & that is not even installed with correct backlash set etc + the proper fluid isn't cheap either.

I have no problem with someone wanting to do something themselves but there's no need to bash someone for the price they are asking for a service that no one else offers, especially for our cars.
 
S

st185-sainz

New member
we can do it the same way I did with josh (coldiron) and my diffmounts! I sent him one on little money and if the product is as promissed I get the rest I'm asking for it. And he did a writeup about the parts. So people trusted in me and up to now I sold around 100 kits all over the world! If a parcel got lost, I sent an other one immediately.

I have enough of VC at home to let them rebuilt to a specific torque (depends if someone still wants to use the handbrake or not). But I have to spend a lot of money to do 3 or 5 to get a better price on my risk. If I do not sell them, I can put them into the bin in some years...

It was just an offer for you US guys to improve driveability of the car. But it is not a must! Some people put more money in their engine, other into drivetrain...
 
S

st185-sainz

New member
hi,

as some people wrote inquiry in the near past I can see a chance to do a group buy on those parts.

I calculated the prices again and talked to my supplier if he is still doing this services and upgrades. I can offer the following package now:
- Visco Unit tested on entry
- Machining and Welding
- Setting torque to suggested value (around 175Nm is stock, 300-350Nm recommended - all tested at 50rpm)
- it is not on exchange and shipping your visco around the world - you will get a whole unit!

this all goes for 595EUR included Visco Unit shipped to your door (+ paypal fee)

To get this price we have to find at least three people. Who is in for this?!

mario
 
A

ALLensTRAC

New member
I am interested but I want to wait until the Quaife front LSD is done. That way I can do them together. Will these still be available in about a year(at the group buy price or not)?
Allen
 
S

st185-sainz

New member
This works on all 3 generations. Maybe early ST165 were different. Caldina is also different, but I would have one from ST215 at home too that can also be done.

I already thought of offering this to some of you austrian guys as well...get me an email if you are interested!

Mario
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top