Swing and a miss there, Clark. It's Cousin Eddie.

 

Maybe instead of side by side pics, is an overlay possible?

 

What is the torque recommendation for the two bolts connecting the OEM brace to the subframe?
Ordering my OEM brace today...

 

32 ft/lb torque for the two M10 bolts in the diff cover
25 ft/lb torque for the two M8 subframe bolts on the OEM cover brace
45 ft/lb torque for the one M12 subframe bolt on the Z1 cover brace

 

Ask and you shall receive

 

That Christmas Vacation quote made my night lol.

 

Haha! One of my favorite movies. So many good lines.

 

 

Although 35°F outside, it was also sunny and dry, so I pulled the G into the driveway and ran the back end up on ramps... so that I could scope out the situation. I've got the OEM-style diff brace from Bell Raceworks.

I see the two subframe holes intended for the brace, and understand now about the need for an angled wrench to hold the top in place while you torque up from the bottom. Whether you go bolt up or bolt down, doesn't matter. I would say it makes more sense to do the bolt pushed through from the upside, but you would want to adhere the washer to the bolt head first. Otherwise you'll go insane fishing loose pieces through the subframe. That "oops I dropped it" situation seems inevitable.

I also see how the upper diff cover bolt is a PITA for access with the brace in place. That sucks.

So after eyeballing the situation... I'm leaning towards having the shop install the brace in the spring, same time as I have the engine mounts replaced. Having the car on a lift would be vastly more efficient. Should be a 20 minute process, in and out. But on my back in the driveway, I can see this getting pretty frustrating.

I don't know. Perhaps this is something better looked at a second time in warmer weather. I would need to figure out a way to confidently slip the bolts into place without losing them in the subframe, and a way to secure the bolt heads inside the subframe while torquing them from the bottom. I believe the right name for that tool is "offset box head wrench".

 

Received the replacement today, and that one fit like a glove. Also found the problem. One "tube" was not quite square.




Initial impressions with a 20 minute test drive..... Wow, what a difference!

• No added NVH, not even a little. Granted I have subframe collars, etc... already.
• Shifts (not only shifting, but also clutch modulation) seem.... smother? A little less sloppy? Improved!
• The entire rear end seems less sloppy.
• May have helped clutch chatter.
• Reduced, and may have eliminated wheel hop. <--- slartibartfast has been waiting for that report

Some of this may be placebo, but I can definitely feel a difference. Worth every penny. And, I should note, Arthur Bell's customer service is outstanding. If it wasn't for the Post Office, the replacement brace would have arrived on Friday.

Excuse the dirty underside.

 

Glad to hear you are enjoying the brace. I am also in to hear about reduced wheel hop. It looks like I will have to wait a bit longer to experiment myself with this since we are getting a foot + of snow today.

 

Yeah, I need to do further testing, I just half-heartedly tried once and there was 0 wheel hop. While not definitive, it seems promising.

Sorry you are getting snow. That is one reason I don't move back to Colorado.

 

I don't mind the snow. I like driving in it, but it is a lot more fun with AWD.

 

If my stock diff bushing is ok, would this be better to go with or just replace the diff bushing first? Or can i skip the pain of replacing the diff with this route lol.

 

My stock diff bushing is ok, so I skip the pain of replacing it and I'll see how long the OEM survives with this bracket installed.
That's the best answer that I can provide. Time will tell if my decision was correct or not.