Steeda Differential Bolt Sheared Off on a NA car!!!

[Brian V]

Yes, I know. But I don't know what is on your car. IOW, did you re-torque your OEM bolts, or do you have a Steeda set installed?

Steeda diff bushings inserted April 2018 . If anything should come out of this thread all of us that have performed the installation would have to be more prudent and check the fitment of these bolts and bushings monthly . Just to add the diff . Bolt backed out .

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[TheLion]

Steeda diff bushings inserted April 2018 . If anything should come out of this thread all of us that have performed the installation would have to be more prudent and check the fitment of these bolts and bushings monthly . Just to add the diff . Bolt backed out .

Agreed in regular inspection. They work just fine and do what they are supposed to do. However it does come at a cost of periodic repeat maintenance that I'm betting 90% of us are NOT expecting to have to do and failure to do so could result in you ending up with a situation like mine where I had to drop the entire IRS out of the car, pop the half shafts, drive shaft, pull the diff, pull the cover to swap it because the bolt threads are now stuck in the cover then reinstall everything.

I'm NOT willing to do that regular inspection on a street car. I don't want to add parts that require additional maintenance other than maybe a catch can which is pretty easy to periodically check. So just be sure you know what you need to do if you decide to install them or keep them (if you already have them). Do your due diligence and avoid the head ache!

They do eliminate wheel hop BUT ONLY when combined with other IRS modifications. Alone they only reduce wheel hop. Assuming you have the most critical IRS changes (Cradle Lock out, Outer Toe Link Spherical Bearings and after market lowering springs), you've reduced wheel hop by about 60%~70% even without the differential bushings.

So for NA street or track applications I don't believe they are really necessary unless your car is FI or if your serious about competition. If your into periodic track for fun just the above 3 IRS changes are more than enough. Stickier tires can eliminate wheel hop as well. If your tires aren't breaking traction under full power, they won't hop.

Braski ran a 12.08 with just a set of big / littles and Power Pack 2, no other changes on a 2016 6M PP GT. He said the DR's didn't hop at all. They just hooked up. Wheel hop only occurs if the tire breaks traction, so a high performance tire can go a long way! He then did a full IRS rework and managed a best of 11.86. Maybe he could have run better than 12.08 even without the IRS updates and just a Power Pack 2 + Big / Littles, but it's a good indicator of the car's potential even with the stock IRS and just a good set of tires / power adder.

 

[SteedaTech]

Steeda diff bushings inserted April 2018 . If anything should come out of this thread all of us that have performed the installation would have to be more prudent and check the fitment of these bolts and bushings monthly . Just to add the diff . Bolt backed out .

The importance of re-torque after installation is a must. After any on track event you should re- check your fasteners. You will be surprised what will come up as far as bolts loosing torque.On another note, under normal driving conditions it is not necessary to check the torque monthly. We have sold thousands of these kits with no issues.

Anymore question please pm me.

Thanks,

Mike D

 

[lxh89]

I upgraded my diff bolts to the 12.9 set for fear of breakage. I'll be sure to check torque periodically.

After I initially installed the stop the hop kit, my first track visit ended with a destroyed aluminum differential and a driveshaft after the 2nd pass The hop was definitely stopped and now my diff got to feel the full brunt of 700rwhp...

 

[TheLion]

I upgraded my diff bolts to the 12.9 set for fear of breakage. I'll be sure to check torque periodically.

After I initially installed the stop the hop kit, my first track visit ended with a destroyed aluminum differential and a driveshaft after the 2nd pass The hop was definitely stopped and now my diff got to feel the full brunt of 700rwhp...

Is that supposed to be a good thing...? lol. Hey, at least your bolts didn't come loose

 

[Brian V]

 

[TheLion]

As an aside, if anyone has to swap diff covers or pull the diff apart, you need an EPL 16 socket (Torx Plus) to remove the 12 bolts that hold the aluminum cover to the cast iron (or aluminum if you have an auto) diff housing: https://store.snapon.com/TORX-Plus-...ORX-Plus-with-Countersink-Socket-P796661.aspx

Ford shop manual for the GT350 diff cooler install works as a good guide for disassembly / re-assembly. Torque is 34 ft-lbs each for the 12 Torx Plus bolts. For sealant you can use either Motorcraft TA-29 (what it comes with from the factory) or MotorCraft TA-30 which is a high temp gasket maker that for some reason Ford Performance recommended using over the original TA-29. I believe TA-30 is a slightly newer and more robust compound than TA-29, but it does come with TA-29 from the factory (Grey) for the diff where as TA-30 gasket maker is used on the oil pan. Both are silicone based.

Also be careful when you pop the CV joints out. I found that a long rectangular 1" hollow steel square tube (got it at Home depot and used it as a pry bar extension in the past) and a 3 lb hammer work well, you can put the tube end up against the edge of the CV joint body at about 45 degrees, give a few good whacks and it should pop out.

I originally tried having some one smack it with a 1 lb rubber mallet while I pulled on the CV joint and ended up ruining one of them by popping it out of it's socket (separated the joint on the wheel bearing end and the spline got marred badly trying to pop it back in). A $164 mistake I managed to avoid the first time I had dropped an IRS in the Ecoboost Mustang I originally started out with.

So I now have the new diff cover on I pulled off of my spare Ecoboost diff. Castings are identical including the identification number and even year of mfg. so they truly are the same between Ecoboost and GT, at least the diffs housing components are. Although the TA-30 is a fairly quick set gasket maker, I do believe it takes 24 hours to fully cure and that's exactly what I'm doing first, so it should be good to go to start putting back in tonight.

This time around I'm sticking with the factory diff bushings as the car came from the factory due to the added maintenance of the diff bushings. For me it's just not worth the risk on a car I drive 10k miles a year including on long road trips. With all the other IRS / suspension mods, a good set of sticky street tires should eliminate wheel hop, so here is what I ended up with as a mod list for a street / part time track car:

1. BMR SP080 Performance Lowering springs on the factory PP Struts

2. Maximum Motorsports Caster / Camber Plates

3. BMR CB05 IRS Cradle Lockout

4. FP Outer Toe Link Spherical Bearings (PP Cars already have spherical bearings on the inner ends)

5. Steeda Tri-axes Short throw shifter WITH Ford Performance Aluminum shifter arm bushings.

6. Ford Performance Power Pack 2

7. JLT 3.0 oil separator with a custom slosh baffle I made from 2" aluminum blanks

The aluminum shifter arm bushings are the real magic in improving shift quality as it converts the stock shift arm from an isolated remote mount to a hard coupled remote mount. The issue with remote mount isn't that it's...well...remote. It's that the mounting arm is isolated from the transmission tunnel by rubber bushings that flex, this misalignment of the arm causes issues aligning the shift gates.

Ford is notorious for it's extensive use of rubber bushings EVERYWHERE to minimize NVH. But I think they too far some times, especially with their "performance cars" that are then buried under the VAGUENESS of too much isolation.

Combine a flexing mounting arm with a stock shift stick that has a rubber core (it's two completely separate pieces of steel joined by a molded rubber core) and it's a recipe for vague and difficult shifting, albiet with little NVH which was their primary goal.

I had the arm mounting bushings left over from the FP Short throw I had in my Ecoboost as I wasn't willing to do the work of installing them at the time (one of my first mods), but did with the GT. They even improve the stock shifter quite a bit, but are best when combined with an actual short throw. I would highly recommend their kit over any other for that reason (unless your willing to splurge on an MGW). Some times the most simple solutions can be the most effective. What a novel idea, replace the rubber arm bushings with aluminum bushings to eliminate arm flex that causes shift gate alignment issues...

 

[gtorpedo]

I would through-bolt both the front and rear of the diff while you’re in there.

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