I'm assuming I am not the only one with this issue but it seems like my differential has major heat issues. I already toasted one diff when the a few teeth on the pinion gear sheared off. Looking at the metal it looks like it was not only the greddy turbo kit but also the heat; based on the uniform stress marks. Whenever I change the diff fluid (about every 6-8k miles) the oil smells horrible and seems scorched/overheated. Ive tried Redline, the GM stuff, Royal Purple(sucks) and OEM. I'm trying to figure out a cooling solution. I have seen the Spoon increased capacity diff cover but I wonder if that will help enough. Has anyone made a cooling system? Ive seen a pic in the R&C forum but it wasn't very visually descriptive. Thanks!

 

Can you really make a diff cooling system? There is no oil pump, and its just how much oil it picks up off the bottom, right? I dont see how you would be able to unless you run a electric oil pump...you could get a trans cooler, mount it somewhere the gets air...get a drain bolt, tap it, and pump it from there to the cooler, back to the fill bolt?

idk, im just saying hypothetical stuff. Hope someone w. more info replies

 

spoon website

Increases capacity. 22000(std. 700cc)

three times the oil i feel it would help greatly, or if you wanna be creative this might help:




bulletproof's other website

ARC proudly introduces the Cool Fin, an innovative patent pending fin design developed to quickly suppress temperature increases in crucial components of the engine and drive train. Easily attached using a special adhesive, the ARC Cool Fin can be used on temperature sensitive areas such as the oil pan, intercooler piping, differential and transmission. Because of the high thermal conductivity of the ARC Cool Fin, differences in temperature can be as much as 10 degrees celcius! Easily manipulated to fit over any shape. Competitively priced versus buying complete cooling systems. The ARC Cool Fin gives racers that competitive edge without the cost.


maybe get creative and try that see if that helps, looks like it should


*edit* sorry the picture for the ARC cool fins isn't working for some reason click on the link and you can see

 

On the M3's our diffs took 2 quarts of fluid, it helped keep the temps in check having twice as much fluid in it than the S2k diff but we had 2 viable options for improving that if we needed it.
One was a new back cover with bigger fins for increased cooling, like the one shown in the post above, and another was a new cover that gave increased capacity to run more fluid.
I had a 95 M3 that was turbo'd and ran the stock diff with synthetic fluids with no problems, its very similar to the S2k diff but carries twice the fluid.
I've seen guys with stock M3 diffs running 400-500rwhp through forced induction and had no major problems, the diff would tear away from the subframe before it failed.
Only on BMW race cars have I seen anyone run a diff cooler, we run them on our World Challenge cars. The diff is basically stock but you have the drain and fill plugs have a line going to them, pump provides suction out of the bottom and it runs through a trunk mounted air-air cooler and then dumped back into the line entering the stock fill location.
It wouldn't be too terribly hard to recreate on an S2k, go to some racing supply shops for diff cooler kits that have the pump and cooler, pick a spot for the cooler and fab up your lines, piece of cake.

 

I would probably be more curious as to why its overheating.

There are a lot of FI cars that dont have overheating problems, even with driving it hard? Is the diff stock? Been opened up to install gears?

 

what are the temperatures like where you are located? but either way I would switch to LE 605.

http://www.hardtopguy.com/store/product.ph...2&cat=56&page=1

 

OEM diff fluid? You should try Amsoil or LE1605.

 

Temperatures aren't to bad here. 90-100 in the summer, highs in the 40 during winter so I doubt thats the issue. I guess I can give the LE1605 a shot. I dont have the turbo kit anymore and I just installed a new diff so Im hoping it was a isolated situation.

 

hmm...sure theres not a problem with the diff? do you have pics?

 

sheared teeth off the crown and pinion are not from overheating. Its from taking the load of starts