Rear Differential Question

[DGamelin]

I have seen them on ebay, have'nt seen one in person. I have installed that type in the old GM corporate 14 bolt. They did work good as long you were'nt running real tall tires.

 

[BILLVO]

Why do you all say they don't work well in snow?

Do they not lock up or what seems to happen or not happen? It has to be better than an open diff. I just found a used one for 250 bucks that I am going to installin my rig.

 

[steved]

It doesn't engage in slippery conditions.

 

[cerberusiam]

It doesn't engage in slippery conditions.

Some do, some don't. Not sure what the problems are with the ones that don't work right but they have them.



Mine has always and still des work great. One wheel on ice and one on dry ground and you might get a half a revolution out of traction challenged tire before your rolling.



It will blow traction at 60 mph on a rain slick road with very little drift. You try that with an open diff and its easy to use up 2 lanes to correct the drift. :-laf

 

[WCounts]

Why do you all say they don't work well in snow?

Do they not lock up or what seems to happen or not happen? It has to be better than an open diff. I just found a used one for 250 bucks that I am going to installin my rig.

The TracRite needs some resistance to work and doesn't lock up like the clutch type. If one wheel is spinning free applying a little brake will get the other one pulling. I have found the right wheel will usually be the one spinning. It's much better than open. On pavement or dirt mine will always spin both. "As far as you want to":-laf

Billy

 

[BILLVO]

Well When mine shows up I will have to open her up and see what makes it tick or not and see if theres any "Improvements" to be made.

 

[AHill100]

Wcounts, good tip. My right rear was in the snow on the shoulder, left rear on dry, and it would just spin. Had to put it in 4x4 to get out. I will try your brake tip next time.

 

[DGamelin]

When you are driving on snow or ice an open rear end is much harder to lose control of the truck because you can only spin one side. Having a posi makes it much easier to bring the rear end around. And having the stout suspension doesn't help feed back or control. I read that this posi was suppose to behave like this for driver safety, it was intentional. I don't like it! I was stuck twice this winter with a gooseneck and a tractor on it in about 6-10" of snow. With that much weight on the truck it still wouldn't spin both tires. The first time with the old posi and then the new one with less then 6k on it. When I change it, it won't be with a stock one.

 

[BHaden]

The TracRite needs some resistance to work and doesn't lock up like the clutch type. If one wheel is spinning free applying a little brake will get the other one pulling. I have found the right wheel will usually be the one spinning. It's much better than open. On pavement or dirt mine will always spin both. "As far as you want to":-laf

Billy

YEP. I was in Flagstaff, AZ last Christmas in pretty heavy snow and ice conditions with my 06 dually. Got stuck 3 times in 2 days. ZERO LS action on slippery surfaces. I hang with sports car types for a hobby and the pavement racer version of this style diff does the same thing. If you have the car set up so it lifts an inside wheel off the ground in the middle of a corner that tire will spin just like an open diff. I believe there is a "preloaded" version out there that keeps internal tension on the worm gears so they get fooled into thinking the tires have some resistance. The drag-the-brake trick didn't work for me; I had to rely on the neighbors to pull me out.

When it's available I'm going to get a clutchpack style or an Auburn cone clutch type if they ever make one. I got this mainly because I'm going to soon be living in Flagstaff and it was a waste of money.

 

[WCounts]

YEP. I was in Flagstaff, AZ last Christmas in pretty heavy snow and ice conditions with my 06 dually. Got stuck 3 times in 2 days. ZERO LS action on slippery surfaces. I hang with sports car types for a hobby and the pavement racer version of this style diff does the same thing. If you have the car set up so it lifts an inside wheel off the ground in the middle of a corner that tire will spin just like an open diff. I believe there is a "preloaded" version out there that keeps internal tension on the worm gears so they get fooled into thinking the tires have some resistance. The drag-the-brake trick didn't work for me; I had to rely on the neighbors to pull me out.

When it's available I'm going to get a clutchpack style or an Auburn cone clutch type if they ever make one. I got this mainly because I'm going to soon be living in Flagstaff and it was a waste of money.

Well I haven't had the chance to try it in snow. We don't get any snow arround here but we do have plenty of slick red clay.

Billy

 

[steved]

Mine is pretty much useless unless I have equal traction under each tire, and its not slippery (like snow/ice)... only works on wet or dry roads, snow is like an open differential.

My power-loc was 100 times better than this AAM... and it could be rebuilt when the clutches did wear out.

 

[Tinman]

Is there an ARB locker for these axles? I was thinking of putting on on the front, but maybe the rear is a better choice.

 

[steved]

ARB is available for the front, but nothing is available for the 11. 50 rear.



They have been "releasing" both an ARB and detroit for the past several years, but nothing yet.