Dumb wheel direction question

This may sound silly but on a 1994 Dodge Caravan with the 3.0 engine and the automatic transmission are the drivers and passangers tires suppose to turn opposite directions when the vehicle is in Park? For example if the front of the vehicle was up on jack-stands and it was in Park and you turned the drivers wheel forwards is it normal that the passengers wheel would be turning backwards?

Reply to
Sara Brown
Loading thread data ...

Front wheel drive or rear wheel drive,, it is normal for one of the wheels to turn/rotate in opposite direction from the opposite wheel.It is suppose to, that is because of the gears in the differential. cuhulin

Reply to
cuhulin

Sara Brown wrote in news:cf8d5239-b062-464f-96cf- snipped-for-privacy@a18g2000yqc.googlegroups.com:

Yep; perfectly normal.

If your vehicle has an "open" differential and both driven wheels are off the ground, then they will turn in different directions when one is spun by hand.

However, if your vehicle has a "limited slip" differential, both wheels will turn the SAME direction when one is spun by hand.

This is long, and at first seems off-topic, but watch it ALL the way through.

More...

Reply to
Tegger

Yes perfectly normal...

I also recall somewhere some cars wheels will move in the same direction when turned. This signifies if the vehicle has a limited slip differential or not as well.

Reply to
m6onz5a

Yes, that is the result of the differential gears that allow the two wheels to turn at different rates when going around a corner. The sum of the rotational speeds of the two wheels has to equal the input shaft speed (times a constant which is the gear ratio of the differential itself). When on jackstands, the input shaft speed is zero so if you rotate one wheel forward at 2 rpm, the other wheel has to rotate at "-2" rpm to sum to zero.

Reply to
Steve

I had forgot about limited slip.In that case, both wheels should turn in the same direction.

1957 BMW Isetta car I bought in 1963 from an Air Force Officer at Scott Air Force Base,Illinois when I was in the Army.That little car had an enclosed chain drive, both rear wheels were close together to each other.That way, no differential was needed. cuhulin
Reply to
cuhulin

It depends on the sort of limited slip. The type used by Ford and others, depends on the differential being under load to activate the clutch packs. When the differential is lightly loaded, the clutch packs may not engage, and the differential may act like a normal open differential.

Also if the limited slip function was engaged, and the car was in park, you wouldn't be able to turn either wheels at all. In park (or with a manual transmission in gear and the engine off ) the input shaft of the differential would be prevented from rotating. If the limited slip constrains the two output shafts to turn together, then they would not be able to turn at all, if the input shaft couldn't rotate.

Ed

Reply to
C. E. White

YOU had a Steve Urkel car?!?!

Reply to
Hachiroku $B%O%A%m%/(B

BMW car = Beemer

BMW motorcycle = Bimmer

BMW Issetta = Blooper

Reply to
dsi1

No, no, no...

car = Bimmer

motorcycle = Beemer (Beamer?)

Reply to
M.M.

Well, that's the way I learned it. I will concede that yours is probably the more common usage. No matter, the damage has been done and I just can't change my evil ways. That's the breaks. :-)

Reply to
dsi1

When I found out I was going to Vietnam, I sold my Isetta to an Army Officer at Scott AFB.Before that though, there was a woman who worked for the USO at Scott AFB.She had asked me a couple of times if I would sell my car to her.By the time I had went to look her up, she had transfered to some place else.I probally could have sold my car to her for more money.I still have the big thick owners/owners operators/maintnance manual book that was in the car when I bought it.The original owner of the car was a woman in Germany. cuhulin

Reply to
cuhulin

I have been doing computer work for a while now. One of my customers was a place that remanufactures cutting tools for milling machines. They usually had me go to the 'boiler room' where they had their telemarketers cold-calling for new customers and recalling (oops, bad word...) old customers for new business.

One day they called me, and I went to the usual place and the guy said, No we're going to connect a PC to one of the mills. I hooked it up and while they were testing I went out back for a cig, and passed an Isetta in pieces. Then I noticed the completely restored one in a corner. There was an older guy working on them, and it turned out he owned the company, and had a collection of them, 4 of the usual model and 2 'limousines', because they had an extended back seat and...and...a DOOR (ONE door) on the passenger's side of the car.

My daughter was 12 then and we watched the show every Friday, and I was telling my wife and she asked for a ride. I had to go back the next day, and I brought her up Saturday. I was going to ask to drive one but didn't. They sure looked like fun!

Reply to
Hachiroku $B%O%A%m%/(B

I just call them Big Mangled Wrecks. ;)

Reply to
Hachiroku $B%O%A%m%/(B

Sitting inside of the Isetta I used to own, with the engine running and reving it up and driving, the sound/noise was LOUD! The little 9 horsepower air cooled engine (I think it was 9 horsepower) behind the seat and practicaly no insulation to speak of. Driving across the old Eads Bridge at Saint Louis in rainy weather was SPOOKY! That little car would try to skate around on the wet iron open/see through grating on that old bridge.I was glad I got rid of that death trap. cuhulin

Reply to
cuhulin

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.