Front diff

bob002500 · June 22, 2004

i have a 00 chevy 2500 4x4 it has the g80 option so i know the rear is locked but what about the front i had to pull a friend out of the mud and all 4 wheels spun every time and one front was on solid and one was in mud and it stil pulled. is it possible the front is limited slip

seadoons · June 22, 2004

Welcome to the boards! I have the G80 limited slip in the rear, so that means that both wheels will spin together in the mud. I believe that the front axle, while in 4H, is totally locked together. I might be wrong, but I think this is right because when you try to drive on the concrete with the the truck in 4WD you can't turn because the front end is locked together.

Mort · June 22, 2004

bob002500 - The front diff is open and is not a locker or a limited slip unless it has been changed out for an aftermarket diff. It would be very unusual to have a locking or limited front diff because it would make steering very difficult and be very hard on parts. So maybe an electrically operated locker for the really tough stuff. Traction must have been limited to both front wheels so they both spun.

Seadoons - The reason the front binds in corners is because it is locked to the rear through the transfer case and is travelling at a different speed (longer distance) than the rear. This causes binding in the drivetrain and is very hard on drive components both front and rear.

bigdogs · June 22, 2004

I had a power-lok in the front of my Dana 60 on my Blazer and if you had it in 4WD and the hubs locked it was definitely "fun" to steer. Even with a locker on both ends you can still get stuck (did it more than a few times with my Polaris this winter)

cbrxx · June 22, 2004

The front diff. is probably not a locker or limited slip, but may be locked to the rear diff., via the transfer case and driveshafts, so that you have one front wheel trying to turn at the same speed as the rear wheel, which is what causes it to grab on dry pavement.

My Jeep Cherokee worked that way. It had open diff. front and rear, but a part time transfer case that locked the driveshafts together. In 4wd it made it steer funny in snow, and you could really feel it grab even on wet roads.

Steve