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Just like the sun rises every day, the differential on my TA self-destructed the way GM had planned from the beginning. I replaced it with a Strange S60, but in a little over a 1 year period I developed a leak at the lower drain plug and an axle shaft seal blew out. Has anyone else had problems with Strange rears (keep your mind out of the gutter!)? Would Moser have been a better choice? Just curious...:flex:
I had an issue with my axle seal on my Moser 9". After 2 unsuccessful replacements, I finally got it on try 3. I built a homemade tool to install the seal perfectly straight and used a generous amount of RTV around the OD of the seal. That was 2 years ago now and it's been fine since.
Strange all the way hands down. Avoid Moser like the plague. I've preached why in the past so I'll refrain. In a nutshell Strange quality and workmanship is head over heals compared to Moser, and customer service from Moser doesn't even compare.
I have a Moser 12bolt and the quality is far from what I expected from a $3000 rear axle.it whines like hell,which is.common for a Moser from what i understand,It also is moist under the pumpkin( not enough to drip on a driveway but it does smell like axle fluid when I walk behind the car) and I have wondered if I should have gotten a Strange.
Moser 9" here. Only had one axle seal give me a problem, but I didn't use rtv on the install, so I may be partially to blame. I'm happy with it. Bolted it up myself in less than a day, and it takes all the abuse I can throw at it. I'd buy another if the need arose.
No leaks or issues with mine since I fixed the axle seal. That was a problem from the shop. The axle seal was installed backwards. Mine is also quiet. Running 4.11 gears.
Moser 12 bolt hear. Noisy sumbitch, but other than that it works fine.
David -- any chance your vent hose is leaking? I had to re-tighten the clamps on mine after I noticed the bottom of the rear was wet not too long after installation. Been dry ever since.
Most all of those 12 bolt mosers are noisy. That was the issue that I had which started the spriral downfall of using Moser for me.
Turns out it's a housing issue. Doesn't matter who's gear you put in. Darn housing wasn't square with the pinion when we put it on a jig. Moser didn't want to hear that :D
Just to let everyone in on a little tid bit,,,,Moser casts their own housings in house while everyone else like Strange and Currie use an outside source.
How would you check for this with a dial indicator?
Well that's the problem. I'd set the gears up according to specs with the dial indicator (pinion depth/backlash etc..) and everything looked great. What it would do though is show a funky gear pattern with the marking compound. I always use that stuff after I set everything per spec, just as a last effort of checking my work.Quote:
Originally Posted by pajeff02
I was never quite happy with the pattern, it made it appear as though the pinion depth was too low. Shimming it more never seemed to correct it completely. I tried setting it both ways as well as break in procedure with cool downs before putting a load on it. 5 miles on it's first trip it sounded like a school bus.
Richmond was nice enough to send another gear set no charge, I got the same issues. Perfect setup via gauges with odd readings on the gear pattern. Same issue, sounds like a school bus. Richmond sent another set of gears no charge, but I didn't install those. I installed a set of Motive gears because at this point I had decided I wasn't using this housing.
Same issue with those gears. That's when I hauled the housing to a buddy to setup on a jig. He concluded the pinion centerline was off kilter. Maybe a core shift during casting? I don't know for sure, and it might not be the case with all Moser's. Anyway, went round and round with Moser over that deal and got nowhere. This was 1998.
I buttoned that thing back up and sold it. Told the guy it was going to make noise. He was good with that and took it.
I then bought a strange housing, installed that last set of new Richmond gears they sent me that I didn't install in the old rear. Setup was perfect, great pattern, gears were super quiet. When I did some checking I found that Moser was the only company casting their own housings while the others were using an outside source, (name escapes me at the moment). I've used Strange housings ever since. I do remember learning Currie using the same outside source for their 12 bolt castings that Strange uses so that should be another good one. I've only used Currie for brackets and such however.
My father had some issues with axles from Moser too (about 2 years after my issue) but that's another story.
Not sure if this helps you, sorry for the book.
That helps. I checked backlash on ours after 500 miles and came up with .011". I remember that it still had the marking compound on the gears when I bought it, but nothing looked out of the ordinary.
That's pretty normal to see backlash that big after some mileage. I usually set them up with .006 or .008 and after a few miles it opens to what you are seeing. Bearings seat in and the gears seat in.Quote:
Originally Posted by pajeff02
Sometimes I'll go back and reshim, especially for a stick car.
Strange
My Strange 12 bolt is loud as shit. When it was new it leaked from the vent on the side a little but I honestly don't remember how we fixed it. Never had any other issues other tham the noise.
My Strange is leaking through the axles. When i installed it turns out the axles were a little bent prob at the hub flange from bumps or potholes or whatever. Budget for 2011 was dry so I never got around to getting new axles. It's on the agenda for 2012 along with finally installing my headers and getting y fabbed for my car. Sadly i think the wobble bobble has busted up the seals and bearings which i'm not too upset over since I planned on getting brand new bearings with the new axles as a just in case type thing. Aside from that I have no complaints with Strange. My gears are 4.10 with an Eaton posi. whine like mad at 65 but no noise above 70 or below 60.... at all. the posi was shimmed out by the last owner and is VERY tight to the point it groans and pops on low speed parking lot maneuvers. The launches i've gotten on it all felt great. I don't have that anxiety that something will pop and it all feels very strong. Despite not being the original owner Strange has been very helpful on the phone with tech support and parts. I got the rear off a 4 channel car and strange got me all set up for 3 channel in no time. From the horror stories i've heard of people dealing with Moser.... Strange gets my money every time.
IIRC, Strange is one of the very few companies that makes an LSD for FWD (front wheel drive) cars that can handle over 500hp.
Many guys in the 660 forums stand by them..
This is nice that they even consider wrong wheel drive American cars because most companies do not.
Any company willing to put time and tooling into performance parts for more than RWD cars always gets my vote..
Just sayin'..
But you see...we dont have FWD cars...and we dont have 660s.....so we really dont care.... :drivin:
Some people have FWD cars as daily drivers and just might..Quote:
Originally Posted by Spikito
...And,, I don't care if you don't care double "0" seven...:)
lol, just giving you a hard time. My wifes car i believe is one of your fabled 660s, ive never really checked hers out, its a 2003 Oldsmobile, 3.2 or 3.4 V6
Sounds like a lot of issues to me to still be voting for Strange...Quote:
Originally Posted by LSCyaL8R
The center section was set up by the last owner not by strange. I'm sure as it was set at the factory there was no groans when the wheels moved different speeds. The axles may have been bent a little when the car they were in was wrecked. also could have been my own fault as i had the spacers in the bump stops and the pinion angle set wrong when i first installed it and that left very little suspension travel. I can't blame strange for things way outside their control. The thing works... works well and seems well built. As for the leaks and such.... probably also my fault for not fixing the axles fast enough.
I have an S60 and I have not had a single problem so far. I likethe way it fits and the ease to service this unit. It was a little expensive but it is really bulletproof.
Mine was set up by Strange and it's loud as shit.
Quote:
Originally Posted by INMY01TA
What happened with your S60 ? Mine fit fine, very little adjusting, no noise or whine. tracks well on turns and is super strong. Maybe you just got a Friday rear ?
I can't speak for setup as I always setup my own using a Strange bare housing. I've never had my hands on a Strange rear that was already setup and not tampered with so I just don't know. I'm speaking purely from a parts quality standpoint and their customer service.
Appears I'll be setting up another Strange 12 bolt for my wifes car. I've had the housing and axles sitting here for about 4 years now and never got around to it. Now the 10 bolt is starting to tell me to get off my butt and do it :D
What are some these signs you speak of? Just curious.Quote:
Originally Posted by Firebirdjones
Oh that. It's been making a rather severe bearing noise or growling, and I'm also now getting some very mild gear whine out of it. Probably a pinion bearing going south. So far it's not causing the seal to leak. It's only a matter of time though.
Many of you say that your 12 bolts are noisy and i didnt see much talk of a 9 inch. I was looking to get a Moser 9" and was curious of anyones opinions.
Noise is more of a matter of setup, or in Moser's case a bad 12 bolt casting from my experience. I've setup a few of these 3rd-4th gen 12 bolts from Strange and they have been quiet. Which is exactly what I have here for my wifes 6 speed 4th gen.
The 9 inch I haven't had issues with either, but Strange claims them to be a problem with the torque arm setup and noise which is why they don't sell them. I have yet to see that myself though.
Something else worth mentioning about noise is how these rearends are bolted in.
Seems everyone want's to run poly bushings and solid or tubular control arms and torque arms, heim joints etc.... All this stuff is going to transmit more noise as well, especially that torque arm.
Alot of people complain about noise but neglect to point these things out, which is imprortant information to know in determining the cause.
I have the Strange 12 bolt. I like it okay but if I could do it over again I'd go with the Moser 9". If you have a six speed like me get the 9" definaetely. If you have an A4 the 12 bolt would fine. It's a little lighter and more efficient.Quote:
Originally Posted by T/A98
Get the dana over the 9" from strange
Love my S60 :bounce:
Moser 12 bolt. 4.11. Loud but dry. My car actually seems quieter when the t tops are off
I'm thinking it might have something to do with all the wind noise coming in the car?? :lol:Quote:
Originally Posted by rbws6
I concur. The wind noise is more pleasant than the whine
:think: it seems a 50/50 split on this.
I'm gonna add some more on my experience with Strange. I finally got around to replacing the axles. They were again amazing to deal with on the phone and got the parts delivered lightning fast. Since the new ones went in everything is nice and dry.
I'm gonna agree with firebirdjones on the how they're bolted in bit. I simply could not bear the whine present with the torque arm and went back to the OEM arm for now. It's amazing how much sound these things transmit. Might go with a factory style mount but relocated off the trans. also thinking of spraying the new arm with sound deadening to dampen any vibrations it picks up from the rear. I need the arm but don't want to deal with noise.... it doesn't need to be pretty... just needs to work! I went with poly bushings on the chassis end of my lower control arms for this very reason. seems to have been a good choice as i didn't notice any increase in noise with them.
Glad you got it worked out.
I agree that my tunnel mount transmits noise directly into the driver compartment -- but it helps me hook at the track so I can live with it. I just switched over from 2 point to 3 point SFC's and believe that the noise was muted somewhat by this change. My guess is that with the 3 point SFC's there is more mass at the center mounting point to absorb the harmonics.
This works,,,,,products like Lizard Skin for sound deadening are good for this. I'm sure there are others, maybe even something at Home Depot??Quote:
Originally Posted by LSCyaL8R
I've used some of the sound deadening spray as well before for a sound system in a vehicle in the trunk area. I don't recall what the name of it was as that was many years ago now, but I do remember it working quite well.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Firebirdjones
Lizard skin is a great product.
It provides not only sound deadening but also acts as a heat shield. Water proof so it helps as a rust preventive and is safe for the environment for the tree huggers.
It can also be painted over.
I think it's also a lot cheaper then dynomat.