Limited slip for W124 300D?

LSD is not really necessary. My diesel doesn't have it either. I prefer not to have it... Parking is much much much easier without LSD. Turning radius is also much much much smaller without LSD.

If tire slipping on slipper road is your issue, then get good tires... nothing else will solve the problem.

I guess I'm a bit confused. How does an LSD affect steering geometry? I've never noticed the difference in any other LSD equipped car I've ever owned. I have Hakkapelitas on my car now so I don't think the tires are the issue.

JD

Tiger wrote:

Limited slip... as oppose to open differential... Limited slip will lock both wheel to a certain extent so one wheel cannot stay still while the other wheel spins... therefore both wheels has to keep moving and therefore the steering wheel turning radius is magnified.

I have BMW with limited slip... I hate parking this car... hard to get in and hard to get out... especially with narrow parking lot.

If you are having one wheel lock up during parking manoeuvres, and you are not trying to spin your wheels or park at 80 mph, then I'd have to suggest your limited slip differential is just not working correctly.

You have something wrong with your car.

Really? My friend with a Caddilac that has Limited Slip does the same thing. I'll research into this more.

Good info here

I know how it works, I'm just trying to find a purely mechanical (no MB ASD or ASR) aftermarket LSD that will fit my '92 300D.

JD

Tiger wrote:

So am I for '91 300 SEL (W140)

Yeah... mine is also a plain vanilla... no traction control whatsoever. I kinda like this as it gives me full flexibility.

Don't get me wrong... having traction control would help alot for everyone... even me. The tradeoff is that drivers become complacent in 'traction' department. They don't care about road condition... bitch and moan when tires are slipping... blame the car on the accident and blame everything else but themselves.

With all crazy drivers out there... no wonder we are paying high premiums in insurance... because of this 'traction' stupidity.

Fully agree. Driver's capabilities should not be forgotten.

But with a heavy W140 starting at a traffic light and barely coming across in time due to slipping wheels and with a tail of impatient other cars isn't the best way of coming in good mood in the morning traffic.

Yes, good winter tires makes a world in difference. Still in a wet icy conditions, W140 is slower than the rest. A LSD would make another world in difference.

Your point about limited narrow turning capabilities is noted.

A poor workman blames his tools!

I've just bought a Chev Uplander van, which has electronic traction control, and we just had 8 inches of snow here. I thought at first it might be a bit gimmicky and kinda useless, but it has proven to work perfectly, and I'm glad I have it.

It works by pumping the brake a zillion times a second on the slipping wheel - no screwing around with the differential - and flashes a message on the computer display to tell me what's making that odd noise.

If it screws up the bad drivers, tough s*it! They'd find some other reason to have their crash anyway, so don't go blaming the traction control mechanism just because your vehicle supplier couldn't get the engineering right.

Full flexibility?? I noticed no difference in my '72 Datsun 510 when put a NISMO LSD in it. It turns just as tight and backs up with no drama. Road conditions here are so slippery that even the best tires (Hakkapelittas on my Merc) slip at a start. Having one wheel spin tends to lead to a bit of sideways slippage as well. If all I really needed was for both wheels to spin for a couple of weeks in the winter I'd put up an LSD for the rest of the year anyway.

JD

Which Hakka do you have?

Put some sandbags in the trunk... 100 pound is enough in most case.

Winter road maintenance is an arcane science as yet unknown to most Puget Sound municipalities. The city of Bellingham sold all their snow removal equipment thinking that we don't get enough snow up here to justify keeping them. Of course the idiots who came up with this bright idea are out of office now and revenues aren't sufficient to replace them. The best tires in the world on all 4 corners and 200 pounds of weight in the trunk don't make a difference when only one wheel is delivering on a slick surface. Really, if I hadn't tried all the tricks for driving in snow I wouldn't be looking spend the money on an aftermarket LSD. In a perfect world I'd be able to go to my junkyard and pick up a factory unit that will bolt right in. Why Mercedes decided that a simple mechanical LSD shouldn't be a standard feature eludes me.

JD

Ahh... yeah like Virginia in Norfolks area... they don't even plow the residential streets... only major roads.

It seems to me that in your case... it might be cheaper just to have a used MB 4 matic or SUV for extra vehicle than to find an LSD...

The problem with this website is that it doesn't tell you if it is LSD or not and you need to search all E W124... gas and diesel and match the rear end ratio. A part number would be awesome.

I have LSD in my Toyota Corolla. It will turn on a dime. Just pop the clutch and spin the steering wheel and the rear end of the car snaps around in a buttonhook. My 1982 300 TDT won't do that because it only spins one wheel at a time.

There was no factory option for LSD on my model of Benz.

I don't have to break the rear end loose to turn tight in my 510 although with a 5.13 rear end and an FJ20 it will do so with little provocation. The point is that it doesn't have any less turning radius with the LSD than it did without.

JD

It was. You could order anything from the factroy. For example any

There are 124 LSD's out there. Youd have to find the part # (hard) then find one in a wreckers (harder). But not impossible.

Talk to Dave Meimann. He'd know this stuff.