Replacement diff options

[MichaelG]

Have bought a vk 5.0l and the diff centre had been welded up.Pulled diff apart only to find out it has an 8 bolt disc brake rear end instead of the 10 bolt salbury. Have looked around and these and vl V8 diffs seem to be very hard to get.
Are there any other options to fit car like the vn onwards. I know these are 40mm wider but is it just a case of shortening it. Is this difficult to do? Are the mounting points the same on these diffs?

[leigh 7005]

vl borgwarner diff

[DANNY8]

Or a vk borg warner diff, which is narrower then the VL diff. But yeah the VK, VL and VN borg warner diffs will all bolt up fine. It's just they might scrub depending on how low ur car is.

[jakbob]

Yes you will run into scrubbing issues with a vn diff if your car is lowered or you want big wheels or both.

[MichaelG]

Thanks for the replies. talked to some local wreckers and have not found anything suitable. Have been quoted $250 for a vn diff complete and $450 for lsd version when they have got them.
Main advantage I think is that parts are easy to find. Has anyone tried to shorten a diff themselves?

[jakbob]

I think shortening a diff is a pretty big deal. I like to do as many things myself as i can on my car but beyond changing the oil and welding them up, diffs are something probably best left to the pros. If you're really keen you can pull diff gears and stuff but putting them back together without the special tools would be a challenge.
To shorten the diff I think you would have to cut and shut the axle tubes, then shorten and respline the axles. Another option is to get a standard vk or vl borg warner diff and put an lsd centre plus shortened axles from a vn - vs diff in it. Would still cost a bit to shorten the axles but it would have to be cheaper then shortening the whole diff.

[MichaelG]

Thanks for all the advice. Will let you know how I go and how I get around it