Differential Service Tullamarine

A whine that rises and falls with road speed (not engine speed) usually points to worn crown wheel and pinion or pinion bearings. A clunk on take-off or when changing from drive to reverse points to worn side gears, spider gears or a worn LSD. A rumble that changes with cornering usually means carrier bearings. Book a road test and we'll tell you which it is.

Most manufacturers spec a diff oil change every 40,000–60,000 km on a sealed road car, and every 20,000–40,000 km on a 4WD that sees dirt, water crossings or towing. LSDs need their specific LSD-rated oil (often with a friction modifier) — wrong oil causes chatter on slow turns.

Most diffs can be rebuilt. If the housing's straight and the crown wheel and pinion are within spec, we replace bearings, seals, side and spider gears, and reset backlash and pattern. Full replacement only when the gear set is chipped, the housing is cracked, or the ratio change makes a swap cheaper than a rebuild.

Almost always a failed pinion seal — the seal where the tailshaft enters the diff. Worn pinion bearings let the flange move and chew out the seal, so a proper repair replaces both. Side seals at the axle ends fail the same way. Cheap to fix early, expensive if you keep driving it dry.

Not necessarily. An LSD chatter on tight low-speed corners (carpark turns, driveways) is usually the clutch pack needing the correct LSD oil with friction modifier — a fluid change fixes most cases. If the chatter stays after a proper fluid swap, the clutch pack itself is worn and needs replacement.

Yes. We swap ring and pinion sets to change diff ratios — common on 4WDs running larger tyres or used for heavy towing. We set up backlash, bearing preload and gear pattern properly so the new gears bed in instead of howling at 80 km/h.

An oil change and pinion seal is half a day. A full rebuild — bearings, seals, gear set-up — is typically 1–2 days depending on parts availability. We quote the full job after the inspection and never start without your approval.

Yes — a 12-month warranty on parts and labour on all standard mechanical work, on top of any manufacturer warranty that applies to the parts themselves.

Yes. We accept Afterpay, Zip Pay, and Humm so you can spread the cost with no upfront payment. Just let us know at booking or drop-off.