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63K views 391 replies 69 participants last post by  nickweems 
#1 ·
Okay four broken diff's later and no factory warranty on number 3 or 4, I have to find a fix. I broke my last diff about two weeks ago along with the drive shaft and both axles (half shafts)........who wants to know what the parts bill was? I have been running the KARS III kit and it has helped minimize the hop but not eliminate it all together, Well I bought a new carrier and put the KARS kit on minus the carrier bracket (due to the instant whine) put UUC diff bushing in and I believe I cured the hop all together but not with the KARS kit or the bushing. I had custom half shafts made which was GM's fix for the 2009. I'm not sure anyone has figured this out yet. Used was a larger diameter shaft on the left side. These axles use bigger stronger 108mm cv with chromoly cage and race set. The axles are designed to twist at different rates thus reducing the stress on the rear diff and completely eliminating wheel hop. I will put this new product to the test and keep everyone updated. The half shafts are a direct bolt in and swap right in with no other mods. The same design is used by Underground Racing on there world record setting Viper and will support over 1000hp. Kit will run $1800 which is about $200 more than replacing the factory axles from Cadillac, and if we can get together a group buy of 5 sets or more I'm sure we will get a significant discount.
 
#319 ·
hmmm...a moderator should exempt my "infraction" during a previous post towards n20junky basically calling him out. we have all seen he is a liar, i tried to push him along to prove he wasn't lying, and then brought nathen to the forum...my infraction/offense should be like etch and sketch...shake it up and never happened ;)
 
#320 ·
:lol:

Your infraction was just a warning, but you're already off the hook anyway for bringing Nathan around. Even though it appears that a bunch of lies were told by "someone", I still like to wait for proof before calling them out on it.

soundexp said:
this has turned into reality TV!
Agreed. And guess what happens on reality TV shows when the judges decide that someone's full of it? :D
 
#324 ·
We now have two videos of Vs with the DSS axles peeling out and not wheelhopping, so I'm curious why you think it's a lie?

Other than n2ojunky posting up old pictures and claiming he broke a diff with the axles (which he didn't), I'm not seeing any lies in this thread.
 
#332 ·
So how hard is it to swap the axles one's self? I haven't performed auto repair of that magnitude since I (helped) change the clutch on my 92 Saturn. That was pretty easy, but my uncle was as good a mechanic as I have ever seen, and now God Rest his soul. So I am on my own for this one.

No, I think I will pay the stealer, I mean dealer (lolz at Tony) One of these days I am gonna stop by Motorwerks and talk to my guy there and see what they think about it. I figure if they install them, that would quell any warranty concerns.
 
#333 ·
if you can switch a clutch this is 10x easier.. 1 hour tops doing it in your driveway with hand tools. just unbolt everything out of the way, slide out axle and slide in new one.. there is nothing tricky or confusing about it. just out with the old and in with the new.
 
#335 ·
LOL an hour for the whole sheboygan!??! I'm going to hire you to work on my car then. You are the fastest mechanic on the planet! :2thumbs:
Not trying to be a dick, but let's not be misleading here.

I would say it takes me at least 20 minutes just to get the wheels off and put in the air on jackstands. I say this job will take about 3 hours (1.5 hours a side) if you take your time and torque everything correctly.

Follow up to the part about taking out the diff......
http://www.cadillacforums.com/forum...um-2004/143184-differential-diff-install.html

Maybe Ewill can chime in and tell us how much they charge for installing new axles, or what the service manual calls for as far as hours it takes.
 
#334 ·
dont forget your torque wrench!
 
#336 ·
Axles will be a snap. You don't need a torque wrench. Take the axle nut off with an impact and put it back on the same way. They have locks so they wont be going anywhere.

The only thing I have ever used a torque wrench in this car for was the engine. The rest is pie. You take the wheel off. Bust the axle nut loose. Pull the upper a arm and pull the axle out. Thats about it.
 
#338 ·
You can pull the axle nut without an impact as well. Just have somebody stand on the brakes and use a breaker bar and a cheater pipe if needed. I have air tools but like doing things by hand. Unless its something like the axle nuts. If you have air its much easier because its a 1 person 1 minute job. Without, its still easy but I dont really have anybody to help me work on stuff so I do everything alone. Even when I put my engine and maggie in.

FWIW

I have never torqued header bolts. I use my wrench and my calibrated arm and snug them down. Have yet to have a leak. I do torque internal engine components though. Also, flywheel and pressure plate bolts. A torque wrench has never touched anything else on my car. Call me foolish. I dont care. Its my ride and I have to drive it. I have never had a failure of any kind because of the way I assembled my car and I have wrenched on many many cars.

If you think you need to torque something, by all means dont let me keep you from it. Its just some people get a little crazy and think every single bolt has to be torqued to a specific spec. Common sense goes a long way when working on a vehicle.
 
#339 ·
It may sound nuts, but at my job (Nuclear Boiler & Condesor Mechanic) I have to be qualified to use a torque wrench. Im required to go to 8 hrs of in class training, 8 hrs of on the job training, and then I have to take an actual hands on test JUST to use a torque wrench, regardless of how many years you have been using one. There is a good reason for that though. We used a torque analyzer between 10 different people, and had to torque 100 ft lbs by arm (no torque wrench). Not one person was even close to the 100 ft lbs whether it was over or under that criteria. I used to feel the same way about working on my cars, why would I need a torque wrench? Simply for the peace of mind, that every bolt that I took out is back to it's proper specification that it is inteded to work at. Some are intended to stretch a bit, and some are intended to allow play. If you swapped out your diff bushing for a UUC, didnt use a torque wrench, and still had the clunk...how positive are you that the bolt was tight enough keeping it from clunking? When I hand torqued it, it was no where NEAR the 130 ft lbs needed. The rear lower shock mount is 111 ft lbs, who would have thought that much? Most of us would just tighten it up, which might be 50 ft lbs by hand depending on the tool you use. When nuts/bolts are torqued it reduces wear on bushings, therefore reducing the chances of squeeks, creaks, and failures. Basically, use one if you can. Pride of ownership and being a good mechanic reflect it.;)
 
#344 ·
me and my friend did it in a hour and a half while talking and bullshitting most of the time.. Not even trying to hurry or anything.. But I know I could do it quicker if I was to do it again. Once I figured out one side the other side went way faster. It's honestly not that hard and doesn't take that much time with 2 people busting it out.. I thought it was going to be a nightmare when I started.. I planned for like 4 hours.. I couldn't believe how fast it went.
 
#347 ·
time it.. with 2 people from start to finish, each guy working on his own side... I bet you can do it in a hour :) Remember the other guy here did it in 45 min at a shop by himself.. with a lift and air tools of course.. so there is no reason 2 guys can't do it in a hour. I wish all car repairs were that easy.. Let me know who else is interested. Thanks guys. I will just sit back and wait to hear from you all and see who else is on the list.

Nathan
 
#348 ·
Like I said, dont let me stop anybody from using a torque wrench. I dont use one for everything and will continue not too. You can use it and torque every bolt on the car. I could care less.

I was simply implying that you don't absolutely have to have one to work on a car. Some things are critical, some not. 100lbs is a lot. Not many bolts on the V are going to be over that and that would be something I more than likely would use a torque wrench on.

As I said, common sense goes a long way.

By the way dynojet man, what did you use to remove and reinstall your axle nuts?
 
#351 ·
Actually, every nut and bolt in the rear is:
95 ft lbs toe rods
110 ft lbs shocks
130 ft lbs lower control arm knuckle
110 ft lbs lower control arm frame
185 ft lbs front cradle
155 ft lbs rear cradle
40 ft lbs end links (i think)
Hub nut is just a tighten, no torque (unless im wrong)

Anti Sieze is your best friend as well :) just dont paint your threads lol
 
#350 ·
There you go. Its that simple.
 
#352 ·
You only have to remove a a few bolts to replace an axle. Most people will never disassemble the entire rear cradle of the car.
 
#360 ·
So is there still a wait (GP) on these, or can you get em whenever?

Also, I'll pose the same question to you dynojet.....

You are a DSS distributor right? DSS website says they eliminate wheelhop and have one year warranty on their axles. We don't have to tighten any bolts or provide stock CV's, correct?

http://www.driveshaftshop.com/pdetail.php?pid=464
1000HP Level 5 Rear axles RA5264L5 / RA5265L5
Description:The Level 5 CTS-V axles are designed to handle up to 1000HP. Using our chromoly center bars, 108mm Porsche-style CV's and bolt-on chromoly inner and outer stubs, these are a direct bolt-on that fit the stock hubs and come complete with all the necessary hardware. Not only will these axles handle the horsepower, we have used different diameter bars on each side which will eliminate wheelhop! The CTS-V is notorious for wheelhop at launch which can be extremely damaging to the drivetrain and makes getting traction very difficult. By allowing the axle bars to torsionally twist at different rates the result is traction, not wheelhop. These axles are priced as a set and have a 1-year warranty.
 
#368 ·
So what is the bottom line best way to fix the rearend issue? Which parts and place to buy? After reading the first five pages, I honestly saw that it was going back and forth in opinion and this sticky hasnt been updated since 2009, so I want to see if there are any updated fixes. Thanks
 
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