Shimming an R200 or J30 vlsd

[ballsy240]

bumping an old thread, but just got my vlsd in today and cracked it open to see what size shim was in there and it appears that the stock one in there is so worn down it has bonded with the metal behind it and is unable to be taken off. has anyone else seen this? could this be from the diff having high miles? and same as everybody, i want an aggressive lock, but no chirping around corners, so i'm thinking that i should add two .8 shims. i have one on its way, but thinking about it now, i don't think it'l be what quite what im wanting. any input?

[holslut s13]

Originally Posted by holslut s13

I added a .80mm washer to mine, which IIRC is one of the smaller sizes and my j30 is pretty much locked up 100% of the time. Use a smaller washer if you don't want an essentially welded diff.

msgg&hhhggggghgg

[240SilviaX]

read a bit and you will be more than informed

[ballsy240]

yeah, i read entire thread. been wanting to do this for a while. mainly wanted to see if anybody cracked theirs open and found what i did

[ballsy240]

UPDATE: There was not a washer on the other side as well although it looks like there is a wear spot where there used to be one. I'm wondering if i should add 3 (.8) shims now to get it to where it should be with adding one like the op

[ballsy240]

FINAL UPDATE: since there was no shims at all in my unit when i opened it up, i decided to do 2 (.8) shims and 1 (1.1) shim. I swaped the shimmed j30 unit into my s13 open pumpkin and it feels pretty good. I would maybe want it a little tighter, but for me it works out perfectly for my daily driver/drifter. It basically feels like a brand new lsd. just wanted to add my expirience

[MattRose]

Hey guys,

So my r33 has the factory viscous in it and I'm trying to get it to lock up like a two way/welded. I use this for drifting and don't care how it feels on the street, I just don't want to compromise the track performance. From what I've read, the skyline shims are in both sides, so my question is, what size shims are the Gus running that are fully locked up?

[240SilviaX]

Originally Posted by holslut s13

I added a .80mm washer to mine, which IIRC is one of the smaller sizes and my j30 is pretty much locked up 100% of the time. Use a smaller washer if you don't want an essentially welded diff.

lol its stated about 100 times on how much shim you need to use to lock up the rear or bind up the rear.. there is also info on how to have a mild rear end.. I recommend reading these 7 pages so you will know everything (or most) about the vsld.. your r33 vlsd is pretty much the same as a J30, S-Chassis, Z32, Q45 ect. with minor differences. they all for the most part have 2 factory shims

[MattRose]

I read through the entire thread but the answers differed on all accounts. Yes there were many people who said they locked theirs up, but some of the shim thicknesses changed, alongside the amount that were put in depending on which side the shim was put on.

[S12 Drifter]

Originally Posted by 240SilviaX

lol its stated about 100 times on how much shim you need to use to lock up the rear or bind up the rear.. there is also info on how to have a mild rear end.. I recommend reading these 7 pages so you will know everything (or most) about the vsld.. your r33 vlsd is pretty much the same as a J30, S-Chassis, Z32, Q45 ect. with minor differences. they all for the most part have 2 factory shims

you need to pull a micrometer our and ACTUALLY measure. when i was doing my Q45 hybrid VLSD i had to pull it apart roughly 10 times to get it the way i wanted.

[EvilRB]

Originally Posted by MattRose

Hey guys,

So my r33 has the factory viscous in it and I'm trying to get it to lock up like a two way/welded. I use this for drifting and don't care how it feels on the street, I just don't want to compromise the track performance. From what I've read, the skyline shims are in both sides, so my question is, what size shims are the Gus running that are fully locked up?

http://240sxdrifter.tripod.com/writeups/vlsdshim.html

For the R33 specifcally but is the same for all R200 diffs, just add thicker shims and follow the directions. If it's too much add thinner ones...

[MattRose]

Exactly the answer i was looking for! Thanks a lot man!

[240SilviaX]

, Matt just buy a couple of different sizes and experiment like S12 Drifter said,, It doesnt matter what side you put the shim on, its all doing the same thing, that write up is funny 1.5 , 2 way lol its not a clutch diff ,, its just gets tighter the thicker you go.. by adding more shims you bind the spider gears and eventually get a locked rear end .. as for the measuring, I measured my original shims and went from there cuz I know every diff has different sized shims from the factory or if it has been rebuilt in the past.

bc. wrote; Don't think about shimming as 1 shim is 1.5 way and 2 shims is 2 way!!!! There are like 20 different shim sizes and the smallest one is .80mm and the largest is 1.49, read the fsm for the exact sizes.

DO NOT JUST ADD 2 SHIMS!!! that is not the right way to do it. Take apart your diff and measure what you have and then decide how much you want to increase by.

I just tried to put 2 shims in (both were .80mm) and the diff would not go back together in the pumpkin, so 1.60mm of shimming is too much!!! and that is 2 shims of the smallest size. I ended up just using the one .80mm shim and it barely fit back in the pumpkin, i couldn't imagine going more then .20mm more.

EvoVIII808 wrote;
J30 VLSD
Stock Shim size : 1.27 -1.30 on the micrometer (kept bouncing around, went down to 1.25 once). I picked up the .08 and the 1.01. Tried to put both of them on but the 2 screws didnt seat properly, so i decided to use just 1 shim.
I went with the 1.01, on top of the stock. Its not fully locked, but it does skip the tires when turning at low speeds. Havn't done the break in process yet (installed and drove home 5miles.)

Matt, buy a couple of shims, measure your stock shims and decide on how much shim to add also you might want to measure the slack in your diff b4 you start stacking shims like I wrote;
I think every J30 has its own diff sizes from the factory. What I did cuz I didnt want such an aggressive rear end (canyon/mountains) is measured the slack with the stock shims in place with a feeler gauge. so there was .20mm in slack and I added up the 1.13 shim size and added .10 more for stiffen it up and got 1.43... 1.13+.20+.10=1.43 and conveniently there is a 1.43 shim and went and ordered.
Yes I know I didnt want a locked rear end but you should measure and add .30 to .80 of shim to get the feel you want and take note of how much slack there is

[2fastandfurious]

hi sorry to bump this old thread but I was wondering what are the mm suckets you used for doing this? im about to try this on my j30 vlsd just wondering

[jbart003]

I am having a real difficult time removing the output shafts off my j30. One was able to pop out striking with a hammer in the back 5 times. The other will not at all. I believe its the shorter output shaft. I have been wacking that thing for about 1 week now. Any advice will be appreciated. thanks.

[Kallixtos]

Originally Posted by jbart003

I am having a real difficult time removing the output shafts off my j30. One was able to pop out striking with a hammer in the back 5 times. The other will not at all. I believe its the shorter output shaft. I have been wacking that thing for about 1 week now. Any advice will be appreciated. thanks.

Don't be scared, grab a brass hammer and smack the living crap out of it.

[jbart003]

Originally Posted by hscalixto

Don't be scared, grab a brass hammer and smack the living crap out of it.

Brass hammer did the trick. Thanks

[EvoVIII808]

Update:
Mine is nice and broken in. I didnt drive it much last year, but have been driving it daily recently.
Initially the Diff was basically full locked. Now that it is broken in I still get slight tire chirp at slow tight turning, but it is not as bad as a welded.
Mild turns at speed, it does not lock. Tighter turns with throttle it will catch. VERY STREETABLE in WET or DRY (as long as your not at speed and making a tight turn)

[jamg]

how do i break it in?

mine locks like a welded, but it's fairly new.

[Kallixtos]

Usually doing figure 8's in an empty parking lot will help. Eventually the shims will wear slightly after a few thousand miles of driving and loosen up.

[slidesquad240]

I'm running a shimmed j30 in my s13 had it for few years now is it possible for it to start slipping or not grabbing posi? I did an event Saturday seemed fine all day came home went to bang out a few donuts and it started as locked but went to one tire fire. I bought it already shimmed not sure how many were used..any ideas

[xaaronx]

Just thought I'd add that I shimmed my S14 VLSD and it's great. I added an extra 1mm over what was already in there (1.22mm). It's a little more aggressive than I had expected but I'm not complaining. Def feels better than my old welded diff.

[Juanimeus]

240's suck. BMW is #1

[Def]

Originally Posted by Juanimeus

240's suck. BMW is #1

Somewhat agree with you after reading some of the shit in this thread dedicated to the most brokedick ghetto mod there is.

Can't believe people still do this shit then act like binding up the spider gears in the diff increases the "lock" - grinding your spider gears away is not "locking" like an LSD does.

[ATLspeed]

I've had my shimmed j30 vlsd for 2yrs now varying from 350tq-500tq. It def lost its touch. May reshim it again.

[laurentj23]

So the output shafts just come out after being knocked by hammer? Does it connected to any bolts?
What do you use to hold the differential to separate ring gear from the differential?

[laurentj23]

Ok. I managed to assemble everything. The one with 3 plates should be on the right correct.? Facing me? I tried to put the output shaft together. I managed to put the left side back in. The shorter one but unable to put the longer one in..on the right? Do I need to hammer it harder like when i remove it?

Help

[jbart003]

Originally Posted by hscalixto

Don't be scared, grab a brass hammer and smack the living crap out of it.

hscalixto suggested me a brass hammer. $20 at HF. It takes a lot of persuasion to put them back on as you did with removal.

[laurentj23]

ok. as far as the sides of the output shaft I'm correct right?
longer on the right facing me and shorter on the left?

[jbart003]

its hard to tell which direction without pictures.