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Last summer, I happened to come back from driving in city traffic for a couple of hours and put my hand on the diff casing. It was HOT! I'm of the feeling that diff temps may be an important component to the health of the diff. I guess that's why Honda put fins on the casing. Our diffs work pretty hard given that it's quite small for what it has to do. Keeping it cool might be a good thing.
Anyhow, I set out to try to help those fins work a bit better. How will I know? Until I can get some kind of surface temp probe and a readout, I'll have to do the "hands on" approach.
I had some aluminum sheeting around from another project I was working on and made some fins that I thought might be of adequate size (not too big and not too small):
The small bent tab is what I used to wedge the fin between the existing fins. I do not wish this to be a permanent modification, so ease of removal was important. However, I didn't want them to fall out too easily either so...........................
I made some "coils" out of the aluminum to act as stoppers to help keep the fins more solidly in place. The coils have a bit of spring tension that compresses when jammed in.
I jammed the fins in and jammed the coils in and this is what I ended up with:
Will it work? Who knows! They're under the car and hard to see, so I don't care. I'll run 'em like this for a while. I have a lead on a surface temp device. I'll try to get it and keep track of what the temps are doing and compare them to what Modifry is getting.
If you truly want to try lowering temps, you're going to need a better connection between the pumpkin and the sheets. As it is, you probably don't have more than 0.5-1" square of surface area between the fin and aluminum sheet, and the connection is tenuous. Consider getting some thermal grease from Radio Shack and placing between all of the items.
[QUOTE]Originally posted by MacGyver
If you truly want to try lowering temps, you're going to need a better connection between the pumpkin and the sheets.
What you really need is a decent quality pyrometer...it will set you back several hundred beans, at least, for the correct temp range, but they're worth it if you plan on doing any real testing. Jump out of the car after a hard drive and point the laser at the pumpkin.
Originally posted by RedondoS2K
Couple of safety concerns:
If these aluminum fins get detached for whatever reason:
1) Isn't it possible for it to hit the cars behind you if it happens at high speed?
2) Couldn't thin aluminum sheet with sharp edges lying on the road pose danger to tires?
Of course there is that possibility, just as there are possibilities of someone's muffler, nut, bolt falling off. As for the aluminum, it is very thin and soft. I've done what I can to secure those things without drilling holes.
As for buying all kinds of expensive gear, remember, this is not a serious experiment. I mentioned that right off the bat. I'm just "playing" to see what I can see (having a little fun). Don't expect temp readings down to 3 decimal places (if any at all).
If you really want to cool the diff, why not just make a cooling system. All you will need is an adapter that will connect to the lower drain hole. Then attach a small oil cooler and a small pump to circulate the diff fluid and return it to the refill hole.
The system might add a half quart of fluid and about 15lbs worth of pump and oil cooler. I think you could use a 90 degree elbow to make the drain hose low profile so it wont hit anything. Thos whole system might cost you $200 or so.
Diff casing cooling fin extensions.
