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Well after a few months of having some good auto-x/road course miles on it I can safely say that I am also having the ABS issues many have. I have read up on a few other threads and think messing with the tone ring gap and ensuring it is turning true is my first steps. I just have not had a chance to look into it more.
I am also still having gear oil **** out of the breather tube. I have a rag wrapped around the end of my extended hose and after a lap or two the rag is dripping with gear oil. I really wished I would have tapped the housing closer to the center before I powdercoated and installed. This is one time where having a 9" without a cover to easily pull off is a bad thing, as drilling a new hole I will most likely have to pull the center section to ensure I get all the metal shavings out. Other than those two issues it has performed flawlessly. I really don't know it is back there vs the 10-bolt weight of feeling wise. It is much quieter than the 10-bolt and I don't notice any gear noise.
Edit: I did get it up on a lift last week to give everything a once over. Still loving the looks of this thing!!
Yeah not a fun club to be in when your ABS fails on a road course and you went way deep into a turn after a 110+MPH straight and then flat spot your expensive *** 315 front tires.
just be glad you stopped safely.....i hope....even if i check and my tolerances are out of wack, i won't fix it....im too afraid to run abs anymore after having 5% braking power at 100 mph
I have a very similar setup to yours. Does this look right for the forward torque arm mount? What is the purpose of the 5 adjustable holes? The upper nut is very close to the vehicle speed sensor plug. It probably won't hit, but the bracket is already so close that I cannot unplug it, and I suspect the top 2 holes are off limits due to proximity. I may flip the upper bolt to move the nut to the other side, but that means disconnecting the differential side completely, as there is not enough room to do that in the tunnel. Did MWC provide you with any instructions? Thanks in advance for any assistance.
no instructions but the other holes are there to aid in pinion angle adjustment. the sensor out of the transmission can be turned up and out of the way of that. if its not touching you should be good tho. that pivot cant move up and down since its mounted to the crossmember
So time for a little update to this. Just got back from LSfest West this past weekend and I am still having some problems with the oil breather and ABS inop at speeds above 70ish. For the oil issue, I fabbed up a little catch can a few months ago. Last year at the road course, I was pissing oil out of the stock location where MWC drills the breather. Durring a few local auto-x runs it seemed as if I fixed it but same issue this year. Came off track and gear oil was everywhere on the drivers side rear area. Here is a pic of the setup I did.
So now I am going to drop the rear down, pull the 3rd member and tap a new breather hole in the center of the housing.
Last edited by Chrisingermany; 05-07-2019 at 12:49 PM.
The ABS issue is going to take a little more testing as I still want to ensure the 4 channel tone rings are trued up and also to measure the gap between the tone ring and the sensor pickup. Heard that might be the issue but had a new set of rival-s and ended up flat spotting the fronts on one of the turns after the ABS light came on. Super frustrating why the aftermarket housings have these problems using all the stock components.
I am having issues with my MWC 9" leaking as well. I had them assemble it and it is leaking badly from the diff-to-housing seal. Only I haven't even driven the car yet and it is already leaking. I need to call them and see what can be done. I'm guessing the axles have to be pulled to get the diff out in order to remake the seal.
For your issue, Chris, I had an idea that might work: Run the tubing to the passenger side of the car. Maybe even switch the nipple to a right-angle nipple facing the passenger side. The atmospheric opening at the end of the tube should remain at the highest point, so that any fluid still in the tube after the corner will drain downhill back into the axle vent. The reason I believe this could work, is that it is centrifugal force sloshing all of the gear oil to the driver's side in a right-hand corner. If the tube goes the other way (to the passenger side) the sideways fluid level will not exceed the length of the tube.
Think of it like a half-full, closed water bottle lying on it's side. If you cut a hole on the side of the bottle above the water level (remember, bottle is lying on its side), but closer to the base of the bottle, no water will come out. But if you stand up the bottle, the water will come out if the hole, because it is less than half way up the side of the bottle, and therefor below the water level. If you put a tube over that hole, sticking straight out, it will still leak water out of the end of that tube when you stand up the bottle. But if you bend that tube upwards towards the cap, as soon as the open end of the tube is above the level of the water in the bottle (about half way up), the water will stop coming out. Hopefully that makes sense.
For your issue, Chris, I had an idea that might work: Run the tubing to the passenger side of the car. Maybe even switch the nipple to a right-angle nipple facing the passenger side. The atmospheric opening at the end of the tube should remain at the highest point, so that any fluid still in the tube after the corner will drain downhill back into the axle vent. The reason I believe this could work, is that it is centrifugal force sloshing all of the gear oil to the driver's side in a right-hand corner. If the tube goes the other way (to the passenger side) the sideways fluid level will not exceed the length of the tube.
That does make sense and honestly that thought has crossed my mind. The only problem I might have is on very large bumps the housing contacts my exhaust just a little so running a tube over towards the passenger side I will have to navigate around the pinch point of the housing and exhaust and make sure it is far enough away from the heat of the exhaust as well.
For your leaking, I used a lubelocker gasket and it has stayed dry as a bone. The gasket was a little pricey but so far has been worth it.
I didn't even know a gasket was an option. It looks like they just slapped it together with a tube of Ultra Gray. You are supposed to let that stuff set a bit at just finger-tight levels before torquing down, which I would guess they did not do. A solid gasket would probably be better though.
For yours, you could use a silicone tube, which withstands heat well, and there should be enough room to route it over the axle even at full compression if you avoid the interference areas. Zip Ties usually help.
I took my car for a spin around the block finally, just to do a short shakedown run before taking it to the engine tuner, and I officially have the same leaking-from-the-vent-port-issue as you do. This wasn't even track speeds, just residential streets with a few corners. I was thinking of running a tube off the vent, but in light of its lack of effectiveness for Chrisingermany above, I will instead plug the hole and move the vent to the center section. I paid extra for the aluminum filler cap, so I can just drill and tap that for the vent, then use a matching bolt and some sealant to plug the old hole. I will probably put some baffles or something to keep the fluid whipping off the gearset from hitting the vent, but I have yet to figure that design out. Maybe some kind of fine mesh to block the liquid?
I took my car for a spin around the block finally, just to do a short shakedown run before taking it to the engine tuner, and I officially have the same leaking-from-the-vent-port-issue as you do. This wasn't even track speeds, just residential streets with a few corners. I was thinking of running a tube off the vent, but in light of its lack of effectiveness for Chrisingermany above, I will instead plug the hole and move the vent to the center section. I paid extra for the aluminum filler cap, so I can just drill and tap that for the vent, then use a matching bolt and some sealant to plug the old hole. I will probably put some baffles or something to keep the fluid whipping off the gearset from hitting the vent, but I have yet to figure that design out. Maybe some kind of fine mesh to block the liquid?
interesting spot choice for the vent. keep my posted
I will instead plug the hole and move the vent to the center section. I paid extra for the aluminum filler cap, so I can just drill and tap that for the vent, then use a matching bolt and some sealant to plug the old hole.
Yeah, I want to hear a follow up on this as well. Should be an easy test with the fill cap like you have. Something simple that maybe MWC can address on future builds possibly. But to do it after everything is assembled and in vehicle makes a simple job a little more of a pain.
When I actually attempt this depends how bad the spray is from the breather. I already have to open up the diff due to the leak they left when they built it, but the great thing about this mod is that the cap is large and totally removable. So I can drill and tap it away from the diff without worrying about any shavings falling into the gears/oil. Even if it is an epic failure, I just move the plug from the old breather hole over to the cap, and the breather can go back into the axle tube--or I can buy a new cap if I don't want to do that. The splash shield is the part I need to sort out so that only air gets in or out. Maybe half of a small tea strainer ball JB Welded to the underside of the cap. I could even 3D print something if I knew what shape to make it.
Thanks. That is a useful video, and displays about what I expected to see inside the center section. What gives me hope that this will work with proper baffling, is that the factory 10-bolt places the vent on the center section. I still have my 10-bolt sitting off to the side, so I should open the cover again and take a look at what GM did in terms of routing before it reaches the external vent. The difference between the two locations, is that the center section has to deal with splashing and currents, but this is not what causes the vent to leak from the axle tube with the 9". In that location, it is subject to centrifugal force, which fills the entire axle tube with lube all the way up to the vent until it escapes under the pressure once it gets to the level of the vent. There is very little pressure in the center section, only the gradual expansion of heated air in the axle--precisely what the vent is designed for. You might be right. My test may fail miserably. But as stated, the risk is negligible and the modifications are entirely reversible, so I am willing to be the guinea pig. I just ordered a brass plug and a 1/8" NPT tap for about $8 on eBay. I will try to get to it in a few weeks.
Yeah, seen that video a while ago and was surprised at how much oil gets slung around. I think with the way the MWC housing is fabbed with a more straight style back and not s curved, oil is probably going everywhere. With the correct baffle I think it will be better than on the axle tube though.
On another note, I think I have found the fix for my ABS issue. I checked both tone rings and found that they were far from true and very crooked (see video below). Sonintrued them up and so far with speeds up to like 85ish they seem to be fine.
09-12-2018, 03:32 PM
