Determining If It Has A Quaife

[dobboy 231 2 Cars]

Just found out that if car has a Quaife diff fitted, and you jack up, leave in gear, and spin one wheel by hand, the other wheel will go the opposite direction!

 

Handy to determine if a car has a Quaife fitted that you can't get a go of, or if you're buying a box off a car you could always plonk a couple of shafts in.

[Tom Fenton 1,542]

Standard diff does as you describe.

[dobboy 231 2 Cars]

Mmmmm, not that i doubt your knowledge, but are you sure?.... Quaife told me how to check.

 

Am i right in saying a plated diff both wheels go same way?

[alync406 4]

I agree with Tom that with a standard diff the wheels will go in the opposite direction.

 

With a plated diff both wheels should go the same way.

 

Best way to check what diff is fitted is to remove the casing to be sure, it's only a few bolts anyway so not a big job.

[dobboy 231 2 Cars]

The reason i've brought this up is i'm going to collect a non road legal track car i won on ebay, advertised as having Quife ATB.

 

I phoned Quaife to ask how i could check, and they advised two methods, the first i've mentioned above. I never paid any attention to the second method but will call them again.... Think you put it in gear and hold one wheel, turn the other and listen for the gearing on the diff or something.

 

Feel sure it's advertised correctly but as the car is costing less than a diff, it was kinda the deal maker for me,.

[Simes 248 2 Cars]

RC cars with diffs also do exactly as Tom described.

[jackherer 543]

A standard diff does what you describe, if you spin one wheel the opposite wheel turns in the opposite direction but if you do the same with a Quaife ATB fitted both wheels turn in the same direction.

 

And if the box is off the car you don't need to stick shafts in, you can see the crappy weak pin thing on a standard diff if you look where the driveshafts fit.

[dobboy 231 2 Cars]

Jack, i have a quaife on my BE box which i fitted, the wheels definitely go opposite, maybe there is some kind of threshold for them before they start doing their fancy stuff.

 

I never mentioned but the car/box i'm buying has an MA box, which i believe the diff gets fitted inside the box as opposed to being strapped on like BE, and even if box was off the car you couldn't see any tell tale signs.

[welshpug 1,661]

yep, look through the driveshaft hole.

[S@m 156]

I've tested this with a forestry Berlingo and can agree with what most are saying, with an open diff the wheels turn opposite directions, with the limited slip they go the same way.

 

Not sure what kind of LSD those berlingos have though, plated/torsen or otherwise.

[dobboy 231 2 Cars]

Would you still be able to notice the difference if it's in an MA box?

 

I won't be able to do it anyway as i won't be dismantling the guys car lol

 

Hopefully theres a turning circle i can get a shot in and i should be able to tell right away by the way it behaves (compared to mine).

[dcc 855]

Quaiffe is a pretty s*it lsd whe. You consider it doesnt work when wheels lose traction.

 

I did manage to get hardimans 205 to spin both wheels with a quaiffe for about 40-50metres

[S@m 156]

Quaiffe is a pretty s*it lsd whe. You consider it doesnt work when wheels lose traction.

 

I did manage to get hardimans 205 to spin both wheels with a quaiffe for about 40-50metres

 

Surely without the Quaife it would have spun one wheel for twice as far!

 

I'm still torn over which i'm going to put in my mi16 though....never driven a plated to be honest, but that's not the purpose of this topic.

[Anthony 1,003]

If you managed to spin both wheels simultaneously then it wouldn't have mattered which diff you had

[Tom Fenton 1,542]

The Quaife is a torque biasing diff, NOT a limited slip. Its been a while since I had a Quaife in a car but I have a feeling that when it is unloaded it would operate like an open diff and allow the wheels to turn opposite. That is the reason that when in the car its easy to drive and steer with the Quaife fitted.

[welshpug 1,661]

indeed, hit a slippery enough patch with one wheel, or indeed have enough torque and you'll spin a single wheel with an atb.

 

a plate will bite and launch you down the road

[jackherer 543]

I have seen the wheels turn the same way with a Quaife fitted with my own eyes on at least two different 205s.

[welshpug 1,661]

was that in gear or not?

[jackherer 543]

Not in gear.

 

There is a Quaife equipped 205 here with the front in the air so I just tried it both in and out of gear. With it in gear they do indeed turn the opposite way just like an open diff.

 

However in neutral they turn in the same direction which is the opposite of an open diff in neutral so it's a valid test to see if one is fitted or not.

[dobboy 231 2 Cars]

Great Jack, i hadn't checked the N position...., about an hour away from collecting car in my 5 hr journey.

[dobboy 231 2 Cars]

Jacked the car up, in gear, turned one wheel other wheel went opposite direction. Put it into neutral, turned one wheel other didn't turn at all........ Different to what you said Jack?

 

It's needing a clutch badly, and has stood for a while.

 

We put it in 1st and tried physically holding one wheel, and the other spun freely which i think confirmed no fancy diff fitted.

 

Was a bit gutted as had got stuch in traffic and driven 6hrs to collect it.

 

but made a cheeky offer and we eventually agreed a cheaper price....and it's now home and in need of a fair bit of attention ????

[jackherer 543]

That's different to what I've seen with Quaifes but not quite the same as an open diff either!

 

Now you've bought it pop the left driveshaft out and have a look in the hole, if there is a cross pin it's an open diff.

[dobboy 231 2 Cars]

First opportunity i will.

 

Is there any chance that the gears/mechanics of the diff have seized with lack of use? And it just needs a run?

 

i'm a little bit hopeful that the clutch is so worn it's had an effect too.

 

The guy i bought it off said he was told it had a quaife, and when i asked if it lit up the inside wheel on track he said it didn't, tbh he wasn't the brightest and would probably have told me anything.

 

I'm resigned to the fact it's not got one, but i'm 2% hopeful, If it has it's deal of the century,

[jackherer 543]

I guess if the clutch is slipping that will affect it. Maybe the clutch was spinning against the flywheel when it was in gear, either in the same direction or the opposite to the wheel

[dobboy 231 2 Cars]

I took the car to a big industrial estate and it hasn't got ATB.

 

Booooooo

 

But on a positive, the plate on the car is valued well over £1k on a £270 car ????