Limited Slip Question

[tugboatphil]

Pastor Bob covered filling a rebuilt axle, and adding the friction modifier in a recent post. I just got off the road and am too tired to look it up.



The shop that fixed my axle got it back together yesterday. The truck had not run in 3 weeks. There is a steep grade to the driveway leading to the road. When they first started it in the bay, it did not want to back up. Tried forward and didn't want to do that either. They let it warm up and it did go in reverse.



When they tried going up the hill, it was very slow in doing so. They were thinking that the transmission wasn't putting out enough pressure.



Could it be that the clutches on the axle are slipping? I don't know if they replaced them or not. If I didn't explain this good enough, it's because I've been up for 29 hours and drove most of them.



I'll be up around 9 or 10 to check. Maybe they'll have figured it out by then. Oh yeah. I had not had any kind of transmission problems prior to the axle fiasco.



Thanks.

 

[Greenleaf]

This won't help any.....

I replaced a 15" clutch on an OTR truck once 'cause I thought it was shot. When in reality, it was a broken cross in the diff. It would move only with some coaxing.



If everything other than the diff worked when you drove it there, thats probably still the trouble

I have had vehicles set a spell and come to find out that the alternator no longer functions and water pump leaks. Some weird stuff like that can and does occur.



-S

 

[1stgen4evr]

No go

Seriously doubt any interaction in the axle. The clutches in the differential only hold the torque balance between the left and right side. If they slip, you get the same result as a differential without a limited slip. Most likly the transmission drained out all oil from the converter and needs to run in neutral for a few minutes. Mine does this. Let it run and shift back and forth from forward to reverse. Continue this till the shift is solid and feels as if the truck will pull off. Don't try to make the truck move much till the shift feels solid.



A simple test is to look at the drive shaft. If it is turning and the truck doesn't move, it is in the axle, if the drive shaft isn't turning, it is the transmission.



Converter drain back is a long standing problem with the borg warner family of trannys.



Generally, if you are getting around two hundred k miles, you can expect to see reduced performance with the automatic. I have run the mileage on up to near three hundred k on mine. The converter is getting very sluggish. I have a 95 transmission that I hope to use the later model parts to beef up the 93.



Good luck with whatever it is. I know about the marathon driving. You might want to ease off on those hours in the saddle. Make an old man out of you. Motel Six has the light on for you.



1stgen4evr

James

 

[MRickard]

Check the fluid level w/ the engine running and in neutral. Sounds like low fluid level. And no, the LSD clutches only keep the torque applied to both tires, if they are shot, you simply have an open rear.

 

[tugboatphil]

Well, I'm awake now. I think James probably had it when he said they should have warmed it up in neutral. It was parked on a slope with the sump dawnhill, plus the axle was off so the rear was lower than usual.



Thanks for the input. It was gnawing on me out on the highway when I couldn't see what was going on.

 

[Greenleaf]

That sounds kinda strange to me... ... ... ...

My truck sat in the paint shop for over seven weeks. It drove right on out.



My truck sat at my place for who only knows how many months. Drove away with it.



Tug. Your truck was only down for what..... three weeks? Sounds kinda fishy to me. I suppose stranger things have happened.



-S

 

[MFalkinham]

Converter drain back is a long standing problem with the borg warner family of trannys.

I have to agree with James on this one. After my truck sits overnight, once started it needs to idle in neutral for 15 seconds or so before it will move in forward or reverse. Once the TC has been reprimed, everything is fine for the rest of the day.



- Mike

 

[tugboatphil]

Do you suppose I should upgrade the converter? It's never going to be a tire smoker or tow twice the recommended GVW, so what should I look for, and what might it cost???

 

[cerberusiam]

Upgrading the converter will make a difference in how the truck moves and transfers power but that in itself won't cure the drain back or no circulation in park. The VB needs to be modified to address drain back and circulation.



There are as many choices for converters as there are for transmissions. All the vendors can get you a better converter so it will be a personal choice issue. . Costs will run from $500 to $1100 depending on what you want. Your best bet is to call each of them and discuss your requirements and use and see what they recommend for item and cost.

 

[Paychk]

From what I understand about converter drain back. This issue is addressed by most quality shift kits on the market these days.

 

[1stgen4evr]

so what should I look for?

Nothing. Just let the truck run in neutral a till it feels good and then go ahead. As you use it the better it will PROBABLY get. The sitting was the problem. Note that I have run the automatic 92 model at least a 150k miles since the problem showed up. (I called that truck a 93 in the earlier post, it is a late 92). If the converter is strong when you pull off, forget it. Keep on trucking.



At this point, the 92 is in need of some upgrades (282K miles) and the later model converter along with better planet carriers is a start on what I want to do. Right now I am not using that truck very much. The computer is bad and it affects so much overall that I don't like to drive it far from the house.



I have been looking at the various recomendations and I am just about like a kid in a candy store with all that is available, no way to make up my mind. I know that I want to wind up with a strong low end and medium shift. Would like to have lock up at OD if that is possible with our trucks. I will install a cooler to help with heat disapation and see about the water wetter that was mentioned a few post back.



Tugboat, give your truck a day or two to settle down and then revisit the question.



On the early motor home. I showed that to a friend of mine that grew up in Alabama. He said that his uncle took a truck like that and put a cover over the back body and all the cousins went to the beach for a week in the summer. He copied the picture and sent it to the other cousins yesterday. Being as they were from Ala and that was in the late forties, they could not afford such a fancy structure as that. It litterally brought tears to his eyes recalling the good times. I think there must have been some girls there too.



1stgen4evr

James

 

[dpuckett]

"... . the LSD clutches only keep the torque applied to both tires, if they are shot, you simply have an open rear. "



I really HATE to split hairs here, but as the clutches wear, you get closer and closer to a spool, until the last of the clutch lining sheds up Big Thompson Canyon (Estes Park to Loveland- 20mi of curves) and the axles pop around every corner greater than 20deg.



It sounds to me like a transmission issue. It could just be the 3 weeks sitting. If I let mine sit for 3 DAYS, something seems to break. And it has been all of them. I once let my W250 sit for a week while I got a new driveshaft built, and the brakes were mushy as fresh oatmeal when I got in it to drive it again. Good luck.



Daniel