I went from auto to auto. It's a direct swap if you get the right diff match as yours (auto/manual/etc) and year range. I read that thread too about drilling out the threads. I had no such issue. Both my diffs were threaded for the axles. Just look under your car. If you don't see a nut on the other end of that bolt yours are threaded too and then just make sure when you purchase one you ask if it's threaded.

Overall it wouldn't have been terribly difficult if i didn't run into that last nut rounding off in the sub frame. I was on ramps/jack stands, so it would be MUCH easier if you had a lift or for a mechanic with a lift. It took me several hours due to that nut rounding off and me having to sawzall through the back of the diff cover to get through the stud and get the diff free.

My installation words of advice would be:

1. Lift prefered. Can be done with ramps/jack stands. You will need to rotate drive shaft and tires (put in neutral/parking brake off) to be able to get to all bolts so you will need to have the tires in the air for this.

2. Break all the nuts on the diff loose before dropping exhaust, drive shaft, axles or anything. This includes: rear stud nut in sub frame (soft nut rounded it off 1st time), front mounting bolts, drive shaft, and axles. These are the hardest. Make sure you can get them loose before you waste all your time dropping stuff that you may have to put back up if you can't get the darn thing out!

For some reason every single nut on my car was un-godly tight. I ruined several of them and had to go to ace hardware for new ones.

3. Have a 2nd person :-)

 

Did you soak the bolts in PB blaster or equivalent prior to removal?
I am assuming you need to get the exhaust off the hangars, and lower it a bit, but it's not necessary to completely remove it?
Did you also remove the rear sway bar?

How about driving impressions after the install?

 

i did soak them. not much help... you will need to remove exhaust mid sections, 2 shields around the drive shaft/exhaust, drop clamp around mid section of drive shaft so you can pull the drive shaft back far enough to get off the 1" pin that extends from the front of the diff, sway bar, etc. You don't need to do any of this to break the bolts on the diff loose though.

i put on new hotchkis sway bars and did the vlsd at the same time. i can def tell a diff in the sway bars. the car eats corners without a problem and im on stock 17" tires still. I need more time to drive yet. been raining here in south fl, but i can tell you it lays down posi with no problem with traction control off. as far as off the line it def seems to launch much better than just getting the 1 tire going and getting some jumping in the back end. i need to wait for it to dry up and have more time to see how the vlsd is working. if its taking awhile to engage or not (doesnt seem to be). so far it seems smooth when it engages, etc. i dont notice any noticeable spin and then it engaging violently and currently anything.

with traction control on the car just seems to go. i dont recall getting the red light in the dash saying the cars losing traction or the engine cutting out. overall for the $400 i picked 1 up with and half as many miles as my car had on it i'd say im pleased. i have no idea how long the vlsd last in these cars, etc. i'll deal with that when that time comes. even if you dont get a vlsd get some sway bars for sure!

 

I was planning on doing a VLSD Swap too and was was wondering the same thing. Did you ever find an answer/solution when you ended up doing yours?

 

Hashim-

The marks should still be there on the VLSD, so you should still be able to match them up. To be honest, I don't really know why they are there. I don't know why it would matter how it bolts up...

Make sure to loosen the nut on the pin out the back of the VLSD 1st. just get it broken loose. Mine rounded off and i had to cut it through. all the other nuts/bolts where fine, but i would recommend getting that one 1st, so you dont get everything else done and then get stuck with it not coming off.

Another thing- would you mind reporting back to me the resistance it takes to turn the shaft on your VLSD vs your normal one? My VLSD seemed to turn really stiff compared to mine that i took out. i dont know if thats normal of a vlsd or mine is damaged. my MPG has even went down since putting in the vlsd. the diff. i removed i could just sping with one finger on the input shaft. my vlsd i needed my whole hand to turn it. would be interested in seeing what yours is like. I'm close to pulling mine back out and putting in my original one.