And done.
TrueTrack fitted too.
Thanks to
www.bakaxel.se
Fast shipping, good advice, excellent supplier. High preload 922A588 version.
Checked backlash, was at 0.16mm. Original carrier bearings didn't look that good anymore. The outer ring had a very slight ridge I could feel with my nails and traces of flakes of metal in the surface (looked like FOD though no sand to be found and very little steel on the magnetic drain plug). Also where the bearing outer ring was bearing against the diff housing it showed slight wear/fretting. Bolts were tight when I opened it. Old diff came out with hardly any preload, new one had good preload and 0.14-0.15mm lash.
Made a tone ring some time ago. Just plain mild steel. Speedo works, only fluctuates at low speeds. Maybe slightly reducing the air gap helps. Will try later.
And done. Silver diff cover just because.
Tested it for ~200 km now. Still works.
The spherical trailing arm bearings/bushings: Wow. Before I was constantly making small adjustments to the steering, esp/even at highway speeds/cruising. And (mid) corner when transitioning engine brake/power etc. Always felt 'play' or rear axle movement going on/off throttle. Sometimes a clunk when reversing or pulling away. Rear end just follows now. Axle follows road imperfections much better now. Much more comfortable on speed bumps and imperfections. Car goes in the direction where I point the front wheels! The rubber TA bushings that were replaced were 10 year old and cracked but not totally shot.
TrueTrack: Good, excellent. No strange diff noises from the gears etc. Not more than before. Only heard the TT working when I made a tight U-turn on pavement just after installing. Some creaking noise. Heard it twice and not anymore. Not as tail happy as I expected, its still super easy to drive it fast and use some of the torque to get the rear end to turn without going drifto. On loose surface the inner wheel instantly tries to spin when you make a tight turn. Kinda fun. Coming back home today I tested some WOT first gear turns in a parking lot and yeah then the rear end breaks loose and spins both tires (at least thats how it feels).
For the rest, point the front wheels where you want to go, press the rite pedal and it just goes go go go! Before it would go too but with some wheels spin, hop etc.
Winter will be fun too!
Big thanks to Marko who helped me installing the axle and discussing all the various things to fix etc!
NVH:
Front of trailing arms Skandix brand rubber bushings. Axle side Fluro steel/PTFE lined rose joints. Front of torque rods poly, axle side Fluro M16 steel/PTFE lined rod ends. 22mm rear IPD anti-swaybar, Koni yellow shocks, Lesjof?rs lowering springs.
I can feel the drive shaft u-joints better. Some rpm especially i can feel there needs to be some adjusting.
For the rest this setup doesn't transmit more road noise than my old setup and it is more comfortable. Just follows the road so much better, absorbs more imperfections without transmitting them to the chassis.
Curious how it will react with the good wheels, not these 15" all season air ride things.