All,
I had my Calmini Gears and LSD installed just before Christmas and went wheeling with the group on Wed. 27th. Gears did fantastic, and so did the front LSD (I already have rear ARB Locker). Now the issue.

When making turns (either direction) I hear a loud clunk and a tire jerk from the front end, almost like the front is fully locked and the CV joint is jumping. Question, is that possible to do without breaking the CV joint? or is it even the CV joint?

I noticed (by sticking my head out the window) that the tire jerks a little when it makes the noise. A friend at work said that is normal and that is the LSD is just slipping at that point. I talked to the shop that installed it and the machanic said he felt it too and it did appear that the front was fully locked, but he could not loosen it any more and that my only option was to go back to open diff. They did add the fluid to make it slip properly, but I was just wondering what you all thought?

Thanks,

That sounds like proper operation. It takes a good amount of force to make the LSDs slip. My oem LSD in the H233b was like that. Took 250+ ftlb to make it slip. By hand, you couldnt turn the tire without the other turning.

The Calmini LSD is known to be mighty tight, almost locker-like. No worries, enjoy it!

Might be a good time to upgrade to manual hubs so you can unlock one if needed.

the front lsd on my titan has the "tire jerk" as well...

It does take some time for the CALMINI supplied LSD to loosen up some ~ 20-30miles offroad or so I recall

After that what you’re describing is not normal IMO, you should not hear any clunks..tire jerk & squeal yes. Mine never did clunk/thump even when new and I don’t recall anybody else with that symptom. Sure it’s a lot tighter/harder to turn. I ran the stock auto hubs which worked fine for me for ~ year. Although CALMINI recommends the manual hubs because according to them the LSD can be unpredictable with the auto hubs for some reason?

Brian

quote:

Originally posted by Desert Rat:
Might be a good time to upgrade to manual hubs so you can unlock one if needed.

So Andy, you still have those extra manual hubs laying around?

Sigh.....

Yes, I'd probably sell them at this point. Had planned on keeping them for the X, but probably won't swap them out. I gotta find the conversion parts...need the hubs and another piece.

Bob, I may have missed it elsewhere, but what was your reason for not going with another ARB?

-Spike

When DBAX had to part out his X, he had the T-Case Gears and LSD he bought from Calmini, and I got a good price for both of them. Calmini also recommends the LSD with the Gears, and after thinking about it, being IFS, the LSD will hopefully slip prior to breaking a CV. But with this noise and if its not slipping, then maybe I should have gone with the ARB.

One thing someone said above about Calmini saying the LSD doesn't work well with Auto-Hubs, if this cluncking noise is not the LSD, could it be the Hubs (hence the need to go to manual hubs)? I need to get it out on a trail again and see if I can identify the issue more in detail.

I see, it was a good deal, and seemed like a good idea.

In my opinion, a non-selectable device in the front axle isn't desireable. I've never dealt with the Calmini LSD, only a modified factory rear LSD that was essentially locked. I would guess that if the LSD was fairly robust that it would cause difficulty in steering in good traction situations, and more stress and wear on the suspension and drivetrain. I would feel obligated to run in 2wd or with a hub unlocked in those situations, requiring me to either get out of the truck or losing the low range. I suppose you'll be running in 4hi most of the time anyway as the 4:1 is too low for driving any speed over 10-15 MPH, and if you're in low range you'll be in a situation where you want the LSD doing it's thing.

The auto hubs use the torque of the driveshaft (CV) to engage the locking mechanism. I could see the hubs locking and unlocking from the unequal tire speeds while turning and such. That might be the cause of the clunking, and the reason manual hubs are suggested. Not a bad feature to have, maybe try that.

Sounds like the Calmini LSD has been used by people with success, so run it until you get your SAS- you know it's coming, right?

-Spike

Hmm I'll bet it is just the LSD doing its thing.
I have a 300zx lsd (same unit Calmini uses but there's are new and mine isn't) its very tight but I can't say I've noticed anything like what you're describing. I do know that when climbing a rock and one fron tire gets air I lose a lot of tracton on the one that is making contact while the other one spins.

This I assume to be due to mine simply being "broken in" with the 80k or so that are on it. Iwas unable to aquire new friction disks when I got it and the traction is soooo much bette than when it was open i've not worried about.

As stated before, the Calmini LSD's are known to be very tight.