Hmm I get that the VCU and the spider gears in the centre diff will cause some loss between front and rear but it should be impossible to make the front wheel gain even a fraction of a turn relative to the rear. With the correct ratio transfer the rear ratio is about 0.02% higher.
I'll see how it goes. If I gain nothing I'll pull the transfer and inspect. The grey sealant doesn't necessarily mean its in great condition.
I can pretty much rule out the rear diff as being broken because I had it apart when I pulled the AWS/ installed evo LSD. Ring gear and pinion both look undamaged/unworn, the oil that came out of it had no metal particles. Rear backlash is reasonable although even if it was sloppy it surely wouldn't stress the centre diff - just itself, right?
But it must be something attached to the centre diff causing more stress. Transfer wrong, rear diff ratio wrong. I can't see that a wrong rear diff ratio would not have a centre diff exploding for over 6000km, even a 4 spider...
EDIT:
Hey so.. why don't I just get all 4 wheels off the ground, put a chalk mark on each tyre, pull the plugs out and rotate the engine? If there's no resistance all the wheels should rotate equal amounts, right?
Also I've been googling americans swapping manuals into auto 3kgts and not swapping the diffs and driving for miles without blowing the centre diff. So, guess I can't rule out the rear diff being the wrong ratio.