Diff Service advice pse

[nigel e]

Could a more experienced hobbyist advice a newbie as to how I tell if
the differentials on my Schumacher Cat 3000 purchased 8 months ago are
in need of their first service / rebuild ? Do they begin to noticeably
stiffen up ?

And if so, any tips on actually performing one ?

Many thanks

Nigel E.

[ollo]

nigel e wrote:
>
> Could a more experienced hobbyist advice a newbie as to how I tell if
> the differentials on my Schumacher Cat 3000 purchased 8 months ago are
> in need of their first service / rebuild ? Do they begin to noticeably
> stiffen up ?

8 months??? Gawd, it's about time you rebuild them. They start to feel
gritty with dirt & wear and the wear will progressively increase.

> And if so, any tips on actually performing one ?

RTFM? I'm not sure if the CAT comes with tungsten carbide balls, but I
guess not. I'd suggest you replace the big balls with tungsten carbide
ones, replace the thrust bearing balls with tungsten carbide ones (the
thrust bearing rings rarely wear), turn the big diff rings the other way
around (next time buy new ones). Clean everything thoroughly with a
solvent, use axle grease on the thrust bearing & diff bushings/bearings
and diff grease on the big balls. Check also the diff pulley for wear,
it's wise to change it at the same time if needed, since you got the
diff in parts anyway.
The tungsten carbide balls will last a lot longer, so next time you
might get away with just cleaning everything and using new diff rings.

BR,
-olev-