Ah ha - Phantom Grip Failure and FIX

[Jeff_Jeske]

As you all know I was a beta tester of the Probe GT phantom grip unit.

www.jeffjeske.com/grip1.html

After a year or so my the phantom grip killed my tranny by wearing/stressing the differencial pin causing it to break and thus trashing both my tranny and my CM3 clutch.

After tearing down the tranny and determining the cause, I sent the damaged parts to Rivergate. Apparently I wasn't they only fella to have this costly problem!!! The makers of PG have since come out with an aftermarket pin.

www.phantomgrip.com

Here's the data:

Differential replacement shaft for stock OEM parts, and to compliment the Phantom Grip LSD Conversion Kit for more aggressive or serious drivers.

More precision fitment than stock pin. Maximize reliability. (Phantom Grip does not have any affiliation with any manufacturer. Phantom Grip does not claim to eliminate existing manufacturer's warranty issues. Purchasers affirm they are relying on their own skill and judgment to select and install Phantom Grip products. Phantom Grip will not warranty the Diff-Pin saver for any reason other than the replacement of the part due to manufacturer breakage of the part itself.)
Some kits will come with retaining end clips that help to keep your diff-pin from coming through the transmission.
This has been a problem for Saturn, Mini, and Neon owners, where the Diff-Pin's (Centering Shaft) dowel hole is not precise enough to hold it in place.

Increases spider gear lubrication to prevent binding & increase gear life. Possibly eliminates spider gear shaft separating from differential. Three patent pending designs.

Dowel pin hole is more precise to the manufacturers dowel pin.
Journal grooves provide more lubrication to prevent binding.
Side-end retaining clips help ensure pin stays in place.

So for all you PG users out there let this be a WARNING.
Change the pin NOW while you still have a good tranny and clutch or you are gonna end up doing it eventually anyway but you be shopping for parts at the same time.

Respectfully,
Jeff Jeske

[Rayman]

thats why we welded my pin in there

[PA_Probe]

good info Jeff.

do you plan on installing your PG unit again now that you know of the new pin?

[Jeff_Jeske]

Originally posted by PA_Probe
good info Jeff.
do you plan on installing your PG unit again now that you know of the new pin?

I would if I needed to do another tranny pull. Unfortunately I just put the motor and tranny back in the car. I really dont want to do that all over again.

Raymond....I hope that welding the pin in will save your box. My pin actually cracked about mid way down. Heavy wear was visible but that my have been from the pin slapping back and fourth. If my pin was welded in I probably wouldn't even had known it cracked. I only heard a slight plink and that was when the pin ripped through the case covering my clutch with gm sychromesh.

[Rayman]

jeff, mark (my mechanic) told me that it should be fine, he welded it on both sides, so it wont be able to go anywhere, unless it just breaks in there under stress, but its not moving or slabbing anywhere

[P1P]

good info

[Goatcrapp]

is this an issue with the tranny i have? (your old one) i HATE tranny work lol

[claudermilk]

Good info. I'm somehow not at all surprised to read this; it seemd to me right off this was going to be an issue (thus, my lack of PG). Glad to hear they're addressing it.

[Jeff_Jeske]

Originally posted by Goatcrapp
is this an issue with the tranny i have? (your old one) i HATE tranny work lol

Unfortunately yes. The PG clicks against that pin at every throttle change. It slowly weakens the pin until eventually it snaps.

My pin actually snapped when coming off throttle at a high RPM.

The pin fell out of the final drive and found its way to the case wedging itself between a final drive bolt and the case.....a nice six inch gash in the case was the result.

There is no way to tell how much time the pin has left. It could go at anytime.

[StreetThisMX6]

Great info!

I'd be interested in just getting the pin upgrage for my stock OEM tranny w/o LSD. My last tranny went when the pin broke causing the large sleve going through the tranny to break into 3 pieces.

[Jeff_Jeske]

Here's the catch though.....the PGT PG is actually a CRX PG.

I am not so sure that PG has a pin specifically for the probe.....all I am saying is that they finally are admitting there is a design problem when using stock parts.

[Goatcrapp]

oh swell my cm3 is giving up the ghost after a few passes under boost anyway now, so ill be doing a clutch job when it gets a bit warmer. ill do something about the pin then and hope it doesnt break in the meantime