Help for a "gear noobie"!?

[83k5inthefort]

Help for a \"gear noobie\"!?

Hey, everyone,
I'm pretty new to the gearing segment of truck building. I know you guys can help me out on some basic questions.

How can one tell if there are lockers in a differential? If there are, do they only lock while in 4 wheel, or, for example, if there was a locker in the rear diff, would that axle be locked all the time? The reason I'm asking- on slick stuff like ice/snow, if I'm in 2 wheel drive, pretty much just one tire will spin. When I put it in 4 wheel drive, all tires grip very well.
I know that if the front axle is locked up, you can definately tell when turning a corner. Does the same apply for the rear diff (any bounciness, etc.)?

Thanks in advance!

 

[bowtiebstrd]

Re: Help for a \"gear noobie\"!?

what do you mean by "How can one tell if there are lockers in a differential?" if you jack up the rig, grab a tire and spin. if the other tire spins the same way, it's locked. the opposite way, no locker.

as far as driveability, automatic lockers (e.g. detroits) they will, for the most part, stay "unlocked" while coasting through turns. if you have a spool or are welded, the wheels spin the same 100% of the time, so when you're going around a turn, the rear will chirp a little bit. HTH

 

[SUBFAN]

Re: Help for a \"gear noobie\"!?

BEST WAY....Pull the cover, the fluid needs changed anyways.

Most likely with what you described, both ends are 'open'.

 

[83k5inthefort]

Re: Help for a \"gear noobie\"!?

Thanks for the helpful words, guys.

 

[R72K5]

Re: Help for a \"gear noobie\"!?

pull cover, the only real way, turning a tire one direction doesnt always work and doing a burnout test risks blowing up the axle, so..

pull the cover and then youll find out everything, ratio and if posi or open

good luck