4WD really?

You have a PEG-Leg 4X4. A classic example of a 4X4 with an opened rear (and front too) axel this means that only the tire/axel with the least resistance/traction on each end will have power...

You actually have a 2 wheel drive, whichever tire is the least useful on each axel will get your power. read my posts about getting stuck over a ditch with a peg-leg (so called 4X4) in the Sport Trac Towing/Landing boat from Ramp thread.

Your truck has what are referred to as "open differentials." Open diffs are the easiest to make, and they operate more smoothly from the perspective of the vehicle operator. You have found the downside.

An open diff applies power equally to both rear tires (and front tires in

If the vehicle has limited slip differentials, then power ought to be applied to the tire that still has traction. And, a vehicle that is equipped with a locker will get equal power to both tires on the same axle without regard to the status of the traction under each tire.

As usual the blind leading the blind. All tires recieve the same amount of axle torque, no more or less because a open diferentail can do nothing else

If Nobody was anybody with some real knowledge he would not say this but he hides his ID and spreads crap. Again ALL wheel recieve equal torque, no more or less. A Posi can send more torque to one wheel than other. I have plowed snow for well over 20 year now and mostly with open diffs by choice because of better directional control (posi loves to fishtail on ice) and I have never been stuck for the lack of it and I have been in some nasty places in snow The few times I was hung up POSI would not have gotten me out because all thw wheels where spinning anyway.

----------------- TheSnoMan.com

Hey Sno Blower, Have you ever driven a high horsepower/torque (big block) open differential car on a nice newly asphalted road, with perfect even traction to both axels? When you stomp on it you only get one big long single black mark, never two. Because the open differential is never going to power both axels when you start applying torque and spinning...

Straddle an open ditch at an angle with an open differential peg-leg 4X4 and see why it is inferior to a limited slip, regardless of gear ratio, it will sit with one tire front and rear hanging over the ditch doing nothing, with no power to them, while the tires hanging (resistance free) in the air over the ditch get all or the power "torque", You go nowhere.

Get back to us when your measly little brain thaws out, you simple bastard...

That would be absurd. In the context of $WD, what you have is what they build.

If you want more, then spend a few dollars and install a limited slip unit in the differential, or install a locker for the ultimate in traction. Both limited slip and lockers have overhead and baggage that an open diff hasn't got, but they also offer significant enhancements to traction. Only you can determine if the baggage outweighs the benefits.

I have a Jeep CJ5 that has a locker installed in both axles, and I would not have it any other way, but there are many that would not want the set up that I have. My locker builds stress that can unload at any time, and when it does unload, it does it with lots of drama and noise. It can be very unnerving to have the locker unload, but the traction is huge, and I need traction when I am wheeling.

Sno you are correct in this instance in regards to torque (even a stopped clock is right twice a day) but if you had read Nobody's post, he didn't mention TORQUE, he said "TRACTION." The diff transmits the same amount of torque to both wheels, but if one wheel has no traction, it will slip with a small amount of torque, not enough to get the high-traction wheel moving.

One more time, and maybe it will sink in this time.

The open diff delivers equal torque to both tires on the same axle. Period.

When this changes, it's because one tire or the other LOSES traction, at which point it gets all of the available power. The actuallity is that the tire that retains traction still gets some power, this is why the high HP car will move forward as the spinning tire spews smoke and rubber. But, for all practical purposes, there is not enough power delivered to the tire with traction to get a stuck vehicle moving, and it is a reasonable statement that the traction challenged tire gets all of the available power.

We can debate the actual power distribution vis a vis the spinning tire and the tire that is on solid ground, but it biols down to the fact that for all of the power applied, the vehicle is not going anywhere.

When you stomp on it you only get one big long

While the result is true, the explanation is flawed. Torque and power are equal until one tire loses its footing (traction).

This is true. The reasons are a bit different than your 'Vette analogy, but it is true.

No the result of a cheapskate who bought it in 87.

Whitelightning

Maybe what will sink in?

Not so, only in some situations (not all) when traction is equal. PERIOD! The open differential is never going to power both axels when you start applying torque and spinning...

If that were actually true, then a car with a locking rear end would simply spin both tires and spew smoke and rubber, never moving forward. Anyone who has actually driven a high horsepower/torque (big block) car with a locking rear differential can attest, that is not true, hence the long double black marks caused by the tires spinning, spewing smoke and rubber, and still getting some traction, all at the same time.

In this case as in the open differential case, the cars forward movement is being done by the spinning tire(s)...

The ditch example (that you have acknowledged is true) PROVES my position and directly contradicts your assertion about the movement coming from the non-low-powered axel moving the vehicle.

Flawed? As I explained above, the open differential is never going to power both axels when you start applying torque and spinning...

When your torque exceeds your traction the open differentials so called "equal torque delivery" ends. PERIOD! On flat paved roads an open differential gets the job done 98% of the time, but if you are every "traction challenged", you will find that an open differential's "equal torque delivery" only lasts until you really need it.

Nobody has commented on the original posters comments about his 98 Jeep Cherokee churning ALL wheels in mud/snow.....

If your Jeep is factory stock (meaning you haven't added lockers), the best it has is some type of limited slip in the rear diff, giving you no more than an almost 3wd.

It may be better in the mud and snow, but I'd hazzard to guess it has more to do with weight distribution and conditions than the 4x4 system.

As has already been alluded to, most 4x4s out there have an open front diff and many have open rear diffs, meaning there aren't many true

Matt

Often 4x4 is superior, but not always, like I have already said, Straddle an open ditch at an angle with an open differential 4X4 and see why it is inferior to a limited slip, it will sit with one tire front and rear hanging over the ditch doing nothing, with no power to them, while the tires hanging (resistance free) in the air over the ditch get all or the power and you go nowhere.

A savy driver off road can get farther with a rear wheel only limited slip rear end truck than many peg-legged 4X4 drivers...

YEAH, What nobody said!

To get back to your question. It could be an open diff or it could be a limited slip that the clutches have gone out. When the go out, the rear acts just like an open diff. The best way to tell if your truck came with a limited slip or an open diff is to look at the axle code on the door plate. If it is 2 numbers, like 19, it is an open diff. If it is a letter and a number, like H9, it is limited slip.

Why not 4L ? >:|

You need a limited slip rear end to avoid this problem.

My 2000 Ranger 4x4 was like yours. My 2004 F-150 4x4 is limited slip and works as good in 2 wheel drive as my Ranger did in 4x4 mode when the snow piles up.

I have him filtered because he is such an idiot. It is rare to see one person post so much information that is pure nonsense.

or say "pin number" or "vin number" or "nic card"