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#1
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88 Silverado one front and one rear wheel drive while in 4 Hi range? Why???
I have an old 88 with 160000 mi and it has a strange behavior lately.
I got it stuck and found that only the drivers front and pax rear wheels are driving. I had the offending front axle just replaced and it did it before that so it sort of eliminates that possibility. The fluids seem to be ok as well. I put it in LO range and it seemd to drive right out of the rut I was caught in, does that make any sense? Any ideas what to look for here? |
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#2
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Sounds like perfectly normal operation for a "4x4" with "open"
differentials. The "open" differentials are doing what they are designed to do and letting one wheel turn faster than the other. With a part time 4 wheel drive vehicle and "open" differentials in 2WD you really have one wheel drive (the one with the least traction) on the rear axle and no power to the front axle. When you put it in 4WD you really get two wheel drive, the wheel with the least traction in front and the wheel with the least traction in the rear. When you went to 4WD-Lo it didn't do anything to the differentials, but the much lower gearing probably helped to keep the wheels from breaking traction so you were able to move. This is why they make limited slip and locker type differentials for both front and rear axles. If you have a limited slip differential in the rear you get something closer to 2WD in 2WD and 3WD when in 4WD. If you have one in front as well you actually get 4WD in 4WD. Of course there are tradeoffs with limited slips and lockers. Rear lockers can be rather harsh on sharp turns when conditions are not slippery. Rear limited slips are a bit milder. A limited slip or locker in the front can be rather dangerous if you are not well aware of it's characteristics. A front LS or locker will significantly affect steering on turns and the sharper the turn the worse it can be. This is one of the reasons they make selectable lockers which operate just like a normal "open" differential until you specifically engage them. Pete C. Drizler wrote: > > I have an old 88 with 160000 mi and it has a strange behavior lately. > I got it stuck and found that only the drivers front and pax rear > wheels are driving. I had the offending front axle just replaced and > it did it before that so it sort of eliminates that possibility. The > fluids seem to be ok as well. I put it in LO range and it seemd to > drive right out of the rut I was caught in, does that make any sense? > Any ideas what to look for here? |
#3
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Sounds like perfectly normal operation for a "4x4" with "open"
differentials. The "open" differentials are doing what they are designed to do and letting one wheel turn faster than the other. With a part time 4 wheel drive vehicle and "open" differentials in 2WD you really have one wheel drive (the one with the least traction) on the rear axle and no power to the front axle. When you put it in 4WD you really get two wheel drive, the wheel with the least traction in front and the wheel with the least traction in the rear. When you went to 4WD-Lo it didn't do anything to the differentials, but the much lower gearing probably helped to keep the wheels from breaking traction so you were able to move. This is why they make limited slip and locker type differentials for both front and rear axles. If you have a limited slip differential in the rear you get something closer to 2WD in 2WD and 3WD when in 4WD. If you have one in front as well you actually get 4WD in 4WD. Of course there are tradeoffs with limited slips and lockers. Rear lockers can be rather harsh on sharp turns when conditions are not slippery. Rear limited slips are a bit milder. A limited slip or locker in the front can be rather dangerous if you are not well aware of it's characteristics. A front LS or locker will significantly affect steering on turns and the sharper the turn the worse it can be. This is one of the reasons they make selectable lockers which operate just like a normal "open" differential until you specifically engage them. Pete C. Drizler wrote: > > I have an old 88 with 160000 mi and it has a strange behavior lately. > I got it stuck and found that only the drivers front and pax rear > wheels are driving. I had the offending front axle just replaced and > it did it before that so it sort of eliminates that possibility. The > fluids seem to be ok as well. I put it in LO range and it seemd to > drive right out of the rut I was caught in, does that make any sense? > Any ideas what to look for here? |
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