Kaaz LSD install / review

[Blown_xa]

First off, I want to give kudos to Micro Image for having these in stock. Also to Jeff for having extended knowledge of the products he sells.
This install is definitely not for the average Joe, so beware. I have put lsd's in the Scion tC many times, along with a few other fwd cars. This one is most difficult ( fifth gear syncro is a pita to remove). Along with the LSD, I used the guts from a near new Yaris trans because I wanted the taller gearing. The casing from the Yaris trans has a few differences, otherwise I would have used the whole trans. Removing the 5th gear syncro hub on the xA xB trans, is nearly impossible without breaking... The Yaris 5th gear syncro hub is tapped so a bolt style puller can be used, so Toyota must have known they screwed up ( on the xA trans) lol. Good thing I had a Yaris transmission to use the parts from!
I will post a better performance review soon, I have a auto x this weekend and a circuit cross ( high speed auto x on a road coarse) next weekend. But I can tell you, that an LSD is a must have for a competitive autocrosser. The difference is night and day. When you get on the accelerator in a turn, the car pulls into the turn tighter and retains traction.... Completely the opposite without an LSD. The circuit cross on
the 25th at VIR consists of a few off camber turns along with one entering the back strait, the LSD should shine.

[CrankyOldMan]

I've been working on a hybrid Celica/Matrix manual trans for my Yaris, but I'm currently stalled on the funding and final assembly. I feel your pain on the non-threaded hub: I had to borrow a Posilock style puller for one of them and still almost busted the hub. I also recently started a thread that documents the physical differences of the different C5X gearbox cases that I have.

I'm assuming that you're familiar with transmission rebuilds. Do you have any advice for someone learning how to rebuild, that isn't covered in the repair manual?

[Blown_xa]

Yes I do... Have a good assortment of pullers, and a couple of cheap ones which you don't mind modifying. Fifth gear itself has a lip for the puller, but most arms are too thick to fit under the lip. I had to flatten the arm points. And use a puller which has a cross bar ( keeps arms from spreading).

[cali yaris]

Are you dizzy from running 1st gear figure-eights yet? (Kaaz break-in protocol)

Glad you like it and thank you very much for coming to us.

Garm

[CrankyOldMan]

Originally Posted by Blown_xa

Yes I do... Have a good assortment of pullers, and a couple of cheap ones which you don't mind modifying. Fifth gear itself has a lip for the puller, but most arms are too thick to fit under the lip. I had to flatten the arm points. And use a puller which has a cross bar ( keeps arms from spreading).

I'm actually past this point, and on the verge of reassembling it. I may have to replace a few gears that were damaged, and will definitely replace the bearings/seals, but the synchros all seem to be in good shape. As far as checking the bearing preload, I have access to a few different precision torque wrenches/watches, so that should only be a minor pain to set.

Oh, when I was pulling apart the bell housing and gearbox, I dinged the inside of the outer bearing sleeves (where the bearing between 4th and 5th goes) on the shaft splines. I can probably polish it down with a mild abrasive disc on a die grinder, but I'm concerned that it could have disastrous results, i.e. a spun bearing. Are those bearings supposed to have enough clearance to be able to spin the outer race by hand when mounted in the gearbox?

[Blown_xa]

Originally Posted by cali yaris

Are you dizzy from running 1st gear figure-eights yet? (Kaaz break-in protocol)

Glad you like it and thank you very much for coming to us.

Garm

Yea I didn't have enough room at work to do tight turns, but I did that for 10 minutes. Then later that night I went into a church parking lot and did full lock circles. I changed the oil after the 10 minutes, for initial oil I used Mobil 1 75w90 gl5 with a tube of LSD additive and then put in the Kaaz stuff. Everything seems good.

[Blown_xa]

Originally Posted by CrankyOldMan

I'm actually past this point, and on the verge of reassembling it. I may have to replace a few gears that were damaged, and will definitely replace the bearings/seals, but the synchros all seem to be in good shape. As far as checking the bearing preload, I have access to a few different precision torque wrenches/watches, so that should only be a minor pain to set.

Oh, when I was pulling apart the bell housing and gearbox, I dinged the inside of the outer bearing sleeves (where the bearing between 4th and 5th goes) on the shaft splines. I can probably polish it down with a mild abrasive disc on a die grinder, but I'm concerned that it could have disastrous results, i.e. a spun bearing. Are those bearings supposed to have enough clearance to be able to spin the outer race by hand when mounted in the gearbox?

The new carrier bearing come with new outer races, so use those for sure. As far as clearancing, for the tC trans I use a analog style torque wrench to measure the drag. The drag on the diff with the casing halves bolted together should be about 12to 20 in lbs from what I remember. Toyota sells the different size shims.

[Thirty-Nine]

I wish I had the cash to install one of these in my Yaris. Thanks for sharing!

[cali yaris]

smart to use throw-away oil for the break in -- I did the same. That Kaaz oil is pricey, so that's a good strategy.

[Blown_xa]

Did an autocross this past weekend to get used to the LSD. It was with Blue ridge region SCCA. I compete in SMF class. There were 7 SMF cars total, 3 of which were heavy hitters. I ended up being edged out to get 2nd in class, 12th overall (84 entrants).
I was really impressed with the car, I had to change my driving a bit which I expected. The steering is heavier, which is expected, and the car understeers now during turn in. However, you turn with the throttle now... And the reward far outweighs the slight negative effects. If I were to guess, 3 seconds faster around a typical auto x
coarse is to be expected.
Circuitcross coming up this weekend......

[Blown_xa]

Garm, just to let you know... I found a worthy alternative to the Kaaz LSD oil. I switched to Diaqueen LSD gear oil the day after the autocross. It is available at any Mitsubishi dealership, we use it in Evo transfercases and rear diffs, which come from the factory with clutch type LSD's. Comes in 4 liter cans for the same price as a Kaaz 2 liter can. So far, the diff is just as quiet and has the same performance.

[cali yaris]

^ That's great news. Is your Kaaz a little grindy in 1st? Mine was for months before it settled down.

[Blown_xa]

Originally Posted by cali yaris

^ That's great news. Is your Kaaz a little grindy in 1st? Mine was for months before it settled down.

Yes, I had some issues in the auto x quick shifting. I can tell you though... It can be expected from any GL5 gear oil, especially ones formulated for LSD's. In simple explanation, GL5 is more slippery which makes for a quiet LSD.... However the syncros won't function as smoothly ( don't slow the gear down fast enough for smoothe engagement).