98 l/s question

[expobronc]

Lately my 98 v8 has been acting more like it has a spool in it rather than a limited slip, barking around corners etc. its actualey been bad enough that it will stop all forward momentum when i pull into my driveway. so i put it up on stands to examine and i cant even turn the wheel by hand, isnt it normal even in a l/s that you can turn it somewhat freely? and with the pinion (locked) the opposite side wheel will simply spin the other direction? so anyways I'm a broke a$$ student right now and I need my truck so i simply took out the l/s guts... clutch packs and spring... am I gonna wreck anything doing this? the cogs seemed to fit in there tight enough, not too much play. i mean it'll be until this summer. i guess if i grenade it, that'll be a great excuse for a ected

 

[ericautopart]

No, you shouldn't be able to turn the wheel at all so that's normal. An L.S.D. won't typically stop the truck from moving..as it wears it'll just act as an open diff. You can't take the clutches, etc out..that'll destroy it. If you want a cheap fix I've got a loaded open carrier w/ about 7 miles on it for like 90 bucks or so.

 

[expobronc]

Well what else could it be? After it got warmed up (like 10 miles or so) it would get worse, but when i made turns, and the sharper the worse, it would make a grinding, metal on metal squeal , the tires would bark and the truck would have this kind of vibration. And like i said there was enough friction there that it would stop the truck like the brakes were on. no tires are rubbing, brakes spin freely, there's actualey no parking brake guts in the rear disc. etc

 

[ericautopart]

The spider inside the carrier are probably bad but I don't think it's the clutches or any of the limited slip mechanisms that are fowling you up. For a cheap fix just change it over to an open. HOPEFULLY yours ring and pinion are still ok.

 

[expobronc]

well heres the deal i had already pulled the clutch parts and buttoned it back up when i posted (havent filled with oil or driven) and the wheels spin really freely now... now that i looked at the design instead of just assuming i see how with the clutches in there it would be locked and the wheels would not turn, i assumed there had to be a torque input on the pinion for it to lock. the spider cogs looked fine, spider shaft was fine, axles looked fine, bearings looked like they had 160k miles on them i guess thats coming up... also I ASSUME again that the transfer case on the awd also works like a l/s cause even in neutral i can barely turn the driveshaft by hand. what if i put the clutch packs back in but left one or two of the extra steels out and maybe left off the s-spring ive heard that is acceptable it just wont have as much performance from the lack of pre-load

 

[Dan Whitaker]

You do know that on AWD models (don't know on V6 models if it is the same) that the front diff is what is used for park. It could be something in the front diff or the T-Case.

 

[expobronc]

i thought about that but it really sounds like its the rear end... how would i check the t-case and front diff pull the front shaft? i could do that and avoid parking on hills at all costs (see previous no p-brake)

 

[Dan Whitaker]

Get yourself two sets of jack stands. this way you can get all four wheels off the ground and rotate the drive line.

It's possible the CV in the front drive shaft is bad. It will make a hell of a noise when it goes out and can bind up.

 

[ericautopart]

His symptoms really don't point to the prop shaft..