Norah,
I meant to ask you this on the first post but you two are going to replace the
diff. fluid (front and rear), right? It sure looked like some pretty deep
water and unless you got the evap. tube up on the roof, I can't see how you
didn't suck some water into 'em...
Anyway, a lsd will certainly be better than an open diff. in almost any
situation but as Jon was saying it can be defeated in extreme conditions. The
way it works is just like it's name in that it seeks to limit the slip of a
spinning wheel by providing some percentage of available power to the wheel
with traction. Typically, lsd's use clutch packs to accomplish this which, in
time, will wear out. While rolling (like in the water pit) an lsd would be
quite effective but from a stop on some extremely slick stuff the clutches can
be overridden and you're effectively back to an open diff...
If you're serious about making the '95 a really good off-roader but still be
streetable I would consider a locker for the rear. These gizmos effectively
"lock" the axle shafts together so all available power will be provided to both
wheels. The "ultimate" would be to have lockers front and rear which would
give you true 4WD but it would be pretty nasty on the street.
Price wise a lsd would be cheaper and I'm told Auburn gear makes some of the
best out there. I don't have exact prices for 'em but I'm sure they are
considerably cheaper than the $400 (USD) I paid for my Powertrax No-Slip
locker. I never installed a lsd before so I can't comment but the install on
the locker was a breeze... No special tools required and it doesn't take very
long at all (assuming you can get the tires off --long story).
Either way you go, you will definitely be making a more competent 4-wheeler but
both systems do have their drawbacks.
Good luck.
Tom
P.S. I got a good laugh out of your comments on the pathfinder dude... When I
saw the pix I kind of figured he was a few fries short of a happy meal! :-)
______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: DML: RE: Swift Rapids
Author: <dakota-truck@buffnet.net> at smtpout
Date: 5/9/00 5:08 PM
As for the pathfinder... I still have no idea what his whole day was about.
We pulled him out of a stuck once, but he kept trying strange things. We
all had a hard time figuring out what he was trying to do. It seems he had
some kind of a "Nissan Pathfinder" attitude. His truck was completely stock
and using street radials, yet he believed he could do anything. Even last
year with the stock tires, I knew our limits. At least I think I did :) He
couldn't get through this one hole, so he backed up and tried putting one
side on the bank for traction. He eventually made it out, but not without
one long fight.
Unfortunately we don't have the limited slip on the '95. Jason has been
wishing for this for quite some time. I've got it on mine. I don't know much
about the LSD and what the benefits would be off road. Can you tell me if it
would make our adventures on the trail easier? If so, how much do these cost
to buy and install?
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 20 2003 - 11:51:15 EDT