Richmond 4.10 fail

[edneyens]

Originally Posted by POWERFREAK

haven't heard that...if that were true, you would think they'd list that on a special instruction sheet w/ the gears.




sounds like BS.

My installer is a differential specialist - what he does for a living, I respect what he has to say. What do you base your "sounds like BS" comment on - do you have more inside information about Richmond you can share? Maybe the gears provided in blue boxes which say Richmond are gray market products from China?

[POWERFREAK]

Originally Posted by edneyens

My installer is a differential specialist - what he does for a living, I respect what he has to say. What do you base your "sounds like BS" comment on - do you have more inside information about Richmond you can share? Maybe the gears provided in blue boxes which say Richmond are gray market products from China?

Just sounds like bs to me (or at least inaccurate)...sorry to get your panties all bunched up Charlie Brown. Never heard of richmond selling a cheaper gearset in a different colored box. I'll believe it if someone says "Oh crap, mine came in a blue box and they broke".

Maybe the blue box version says "Rickmond" and IS made in china...I dunno. That said...I'm glad mine cam in a black box.

[edneyens]

Originally Posted by POWERFREAK

Just sounds like bs to me...sorry to get your panties all bunched up Charlie Brown. Never heard of richmond selling a cheaper gearset in a different colored box. I'll believe it if someone says "Oh crap, mine came in a blue box and they broke".

Maybe the blue box version says "Rickmond" and IS made in china...I dunno.

Powerfreak, np I thought maybe you had more info to share. It really would be a shame if someone is marketing Richmond rip offs and causing failures...

[POWERFREAK]

Originally Posted by edneyens

Powerfreak, np I thought maybe you had more info to share. It really would be a shame if someone is marketing Richmond rip offs and causing failures...

you never know.

[AG454]

So has anyone contacted Richmond about this? It does not seem like there is a rash of breakage, but maybe there is some input they could give us on thier gears.

[Scourage]

When I questioned Richmond about the recommendation of 2 qts instead of 1.1 and jrhaus76's failure, here was their reply;

"this lube issue has gotten blown out of proportion. When we saw that GM had designed this diff to only hold 1.1 quarts of lube, we questioned if this was enough. We talked about maybe recommending more gear lube if we started seeing any heating issues and 2 quarts would put the lube level up to what we normally see in other diffs. We have not seen any overheating issues at the 1.1 quart lube level. So the lube level from GM is correct. As for the gear set that broke, all i will say is after all checks were completed, we found no defects with the gear set. This gear set did not break due to a manufacturing issue. We have not had any problems with these gear sets except for the one you are inquiring about and again it was not a manufacturing issue that caused the failure."

Now we know that there have been more than one failure since then.

I ran 2 qts of RP during break-in per the recommendations at the time from my installer and Richmond, I now have 1.1 qts and I'm about 1200 miles since install. No time at the strip yet, but I've been doing a lot of 'practice launches'

I hope she holds together for awhile.

[Roger Ramjet]

Originally Posted by Scourage

............ I ran 2 qts of RP during break-in per the recommendations at the time from my installer and Richmond .................

My gears came with NO instructions what-so-ever! I did do a couple 12 to 15 mile easy rides followed by a full cool down for the break-in. Had about 100 miles before geting into the power. I did use 85W/140 syn gear lube instead of the 75W/85 recommended by GM. About 1000 miles good miles now - all is well.

I wonder if people may be using too much LSD friction modifier and thereby diluting the lube quality.

[streetrace]

Originally Posted by AG383

So has anyone contacted Richmond about this? It does not seem like there is a rash of breakage, but maybe there is some input they could give us on thier gears.

when I contacted Richmond they gave me a case number and asked me to send the gears to them, so we shall see what they say

[IROCanSS]

Originally Posted by camaro1

heard a rumor from several people that richmond was telling people to put 2 qts of gear lube in the rear diff (capacity is 1.1 qt) they said to fill it through the vent tube and make the total 2 qts??

anyone else here this??

They said this then took it back/

Originally Posted by POWERFREAK

haven't heard that...if that were true, you would think they'd list that on a special instruction sheet w/ the gears.

There was a bullitin for abotu a day on the internet I guess, then they said it wasnt the problem. Honestly, I dont think they know why they are failing.

Originally Posted by AG383

So has anyone contacted Richmond about this? It does not seem like there is a rash of breakage, but maybe there is some input they could give us on thier gears.

Everyone that has had a failure has contacted them...

Originally Posted by streetrace

when I contacted Richmond they gave me a case number and asked me to send the gears to them, so we shall see what they say

streetrace... dont give up on it. Eventually they will give you your money back.

OK Maybe I should expalin a little more. My set was the first that broke, like I said, also the first asctually in a car, on the road. My case it the one that opened Richmond'e eyes to the whole 1.1 qt thing. They were very surprised when they heard this. My installed worked with Richmond during the install, on the phone several times about proper backlash and shimming. Since this was the first install, Richmond was very eager to have my car on the road and to know how the install was going. If you care to search, i wrote a long write up on my first impression. Anyhow... once they broke, at first Richmond was not very willing to refund my money... blamed my installer, blamed my driving, blamed GM for 1.1 qts... Well, I sent my gears back to them. A few weeks later, after contacting them myself, I was told nothing was wrong with my gears and that it was not their fault. So... I requested my gears be returned to me so I could have them tested myself and since they technically belonged to me, they had to either refund me or return my gears... they refunded me. Was there an issue they didnt want to fess up to ... in the end, i got my money so I dropped it and never bad mouthed Richmond. I do miss the 4.10s but noow that we have more failures, not sure I trust their product.

My gears:










In Richmonds defense, I personally know of several high (over 500) horsepower camaros that have Richomond 4.10s with ZERO problems.

[AC]

now i am a little worried about the 4.10s. that was one of the first mods i was going to do besides the tune, cai and headers. maybe i will wait to see what happens in the near furture or just stick with 3.73.

[Apex Paul]

Originally Posted by edneyens

Maybe the gears provided in blue boxes which say Richmond are gray market products from China?

There have been counterfeit gears out there for some time, in many brands like Richmond, Motive, you name it. Just be sure you know what you are buying and buy from someone who is a reputable reseller.

As for blue box/black box, i don't know how they are packaged. I would think counterfeiters could get the box color faked just as well as anything else.

[GQ4Life]

Originally Posted by Apex Paul

There have been counterfeit gears out there for some time, in many brands like Richmond, Motive, you name it. Just be sure you know what you are buying and buy from someone who is a reputable reseller.

As for blue box/black box, i don't know how they are packaged. I would think counterfeiters could get the box color faked just as well as anything else.

yea you got to be carefull about counterfieters. Like if you buy on ebay or some site that has a price too good to be true.

I could see 4.10 breaking with slick launch at track after awhile but street tires on street a lil weird.
I havent heard any problems with their 3.73s though..

[VADER SS L99]

IMO gears are way too expensive for the parts and install just to break with street tires on this car. They really should hold up to alot of racing abuse including slicks and DR's. It is a racing part to go faster in races. You shouldnt be worried if your $1,000 gears are going to break at any time. That is just no fun and will limit the fun you have with your car. I just cant see myself throwing 1k into gears for them to be weaker then the factory ones. This is 1 mod that I probably will never do. I will just have to look at other ways to get this heavy thing moving better, like a PD supercharger.

[wbt]

Originally Posted by VADER SS L99

IMO gears are way too expensive for the parts and install just to break with street tires on this car. They really should hold up to alot of racing abuse including slicks and DR's. It is a racing part to go faster in races. You shouldnt be worried if your $1,000 gears are going to break at any time. That is just no fun and will limit the fun you have with your car. I just cant see myself throwing 1k into gears for them to be weaker then the factory ones. This is 1 mod that I probably will never do. I will just have to look at other ways to get this heavy thing moving better, like a PD supercharger.

Agreed on the durability. Disagree on declining to do. One disadvantage the Camaro has is it's gearing. I have always said the LS3 needs a 4.30. I would not hesitate to stick a 4.10 in an auto either.

It is a shame that folks are paying a lot of hard earned money to do the right thing and wind up getting screwed. Hopefully Richmond will find another supplier in China that can produce something of better quality. If not, I could see a class action suit following. If I were a victim, I would expect a full refund or replacement including the labor to install. Nothing less.