[Whizbang]

The next thing that was tackled was the 3rd member. I wanted to retain the LSD so we had to do some time with the rear end. i went to the junkyard a friend owns on Saturday (yesterday) and came across another Kia Sportage 4x4. So i came home with the 3rd member. This made today's mess a bit less of a hassle since Peejay had limited time on his hands. Having plenty more experience on setting up rear differentials that i, Pete swapped the differentials, while i documented the process for a write up ill be doing soon.

The biggest thing was trying to get the backlash set. The Mazda manual does not give useful insight on bearing preload. Pete reversed engineering their setup and determined the preload to be about 2-1/2 holes. He also recommended tightening up the backlash. The GSLSE rear end was around .007" while the Kia rear was .011". But from experience, a backlash of .004" was chosen. But synthetic lubricant is now a requirement. This should reduce the noise from the rear from chattering and also help keep it alive. After getting everything wrapped on this, i stuff on the shelf til i get the lift open so i can swap it out for the Open 4.78 3rd member currently in the car.