Ok, Grandpa...
Hah, yes, those springs are soft soft soft. I would run more spring before more bar, though!
I drive this car almost 100 miles a day during school (mostly through construction zones these days, ugh...) I need to make sure it's comfortable above all.
Anyway, diff install pictures:
This wasn't too much of a struggle.
Had lots of cleaning to do so I didn't fill the center section with grime.
Goodbye G80. You won't be missed.
Test fit 1: Fail! Needs more backlash. We found 1031 and 1041 specs are different.
Test fit 2: Not enough of a change. Baby steps.
Final wear pattern. Happy with it.
And here's a fantastic picture of the coast side.
Measuring backlash.
Pretty much dead on. I think spec says to shoot for 0.0045". We measured in a couple spots around the ring gear and they were all the same.
Some notes taken during install. I think everything but the wheel bearings got changed. I checked the Kaplhenke tone ring for diameter before installing as well and it was maybe hundredths of a millimeter off. Needless to say, the speedometer is exactly the same.
And all back together, ready for action.
Shortly afterward I re-sealed most of the front of the engine with Volvo stuff (front cover/cam seal/intermediate shaft) which went mostly well other than the fact that I broke one of the front cover bolts off in the block like a doofus. It came out easily, thank goodness. The electric ratchet had more beans than expected.
All in all a massive upgrade.