This is Exactly what I was talking about in the MY04 power plant (Transmission, Clutch, Engine, Prop shaft) referance. I think 04+ slave cylinders play a major role in the Drvieline shock factor, and subsequent diff/r&p failures.

 

please do us another favor. take pics of the rest of the diff. the caps mean nothing. as is apparent by the number of comptech diffs that have failed also. improper setup, and tower strength is the issue with the ap1 unit. the cap simply keeps the bearing races in place, and the entire diff assembly from traveling towards the rear of the housing.
what causes failure is the side to side movement. IE the forward case integrity, and the strength of the towers. (the part the caps bolt to) if this moves, AT ALL, then the ring moves away from the pinion, and the contact is incorrect (were talking microseconds here) and when this happens the diff goes boom, as the teeth are overloaded on their outer edges. this is what the problem has been with the ap1 diff. housing strength. so it would seem to me, so far, that honda redesigned the forward housing, better oiling, and stronger case design, be it ribs, in the right spot, a different forge process, or just thicker in the right spots. coupled with the delay valve, it works now. i have 24k miles, and prob near 500 clutch dumps. and i havent broken a thing.
severe drivetrain shock, and wheelhop are what usually cause the (pufferfish effect) on the diff casing. softer rear suspension, delay valve, and slightly better case design, are what i attribute to the lack of ap2 diff failures.
those who remove their delay valve, your time is coming. for being too cheap to get a stronger pressure plate.
laters dave

p.s. how many forward ap1 cases have you seen with HUGE cracks all the way down one side.......case strength baby.

 

You asked for it. They do look EXACTLY the same.

 

I know of 2 comptech diffs that have failed. one was in a racing track S2000 that gets beat the snot of and is built for all out racing, and the other was in a supercharged car.

so what do you mean by the number of comptech diffs that have failed?

 

I had two ap1's. My first one went about 44,000 miles with WELL OVER 1000 clutch dumps and never had a single issue.

My 2nd car had probably close to 800 clutch dumps before I upgraded the diff to the comptech (for purposes of FI).

So what's your point??



and FYI, the diff housing has NOT changed. in fact, it's still the exact same part number as the ap1's.

 

So the comptech Diff. is basically the new caps and bolts on a stock ap1 diff.?

What are the diffrences from the ap1 diff to the ap2 differential?

 

no no. i wanna see up REAL close. ill have to do this check myself.
and actually, ap1 boy. ive just been lookin at the sheets here myself, and just from 02 to 03 the part number changed. and it doesnt even show an 04-05 part #... hmmmm. from what ive been told they are different, stronger mold. we shall see. you cant see a difference in forge process,, LOL. so all of us look dumb if we wanna get technical. pretty much, if you read my last post, it explains the lack of ap2 parts broken. period.
laters dave

 

This is very interesting... I'm subscribing..

I've removed my delay.....but I NEVER launch my car... EVER..

I removed it because it was effecting 2-3, 3-4 shifts at redline.

 

i think that the suspension and clutch delay have more to do with the 04 diff having less problems than anything. they may have made a few suttle changes on the diff. either way, i doubt that either diff is less prone to failure than the comptech diff.

even a stock ap1/ap2 under heavy acceleration can cause the caps to flex slightly. this is believed to be the cause of many of the failures. hence the reason comptech came out with their diff. and remember comptech and honda work together (you can buy all comptech parts at any honda dealer as well). so i'm sure that comptech along with honda, had some data and research done. and thus comptech addressed the BIGGEST problem with the diff. the flexing bearing caps, and the tendency of the gear ring to then travel toward the rear of the diff when the caps flex, causing the same improper contact on the teeth that causes failures. even i've seen enough pictures to see that the failures often snap off half of the tooth, indicating too much toe/heel contact, which is likely caused by the gear moving due to cap flex.

you, however, want to say that the failures are more often caused by a weaker forward case causing side to side movement.

if i had to choose between your word and the research done by comptech/honda, sorry but i'll take their word over yours any day.

(and from what i've seen in the parts manual, the 03+ diff housing has the same part number. if they have made a change then I am unaware of it)

 

the comptech comes with the reinforced caps and stronger arp bolt/studs, rather than the bolts that come with the stock diff. this is the case regardless of whether you have an ap1 or ap2.


as for the differences no one knows. basically you can see a slight change in the shape of the caps on the ap2, but aside from that, no one knows for sure if/what the differences are.

either way, I don't see that the comptech diff would be weaker than either one, as the comptech diff addresses the biggest reason of failure in the S2000 diff.