Re: Gleason center behavior ???, sans spiders

[Luis Marques <marques@rtis.ray.com>]

If this car indeed has a tors*n center differential, it is doing exactly what it
is supposed to do - nothing.  Tors*ns will only redistribute the torque up to
about a 80%-20% limit.  That means that the front wheels will get about four
times the torque that is being delivered to the rear wheels.  In this case,
since the rear wheels are up in the air, the fronts are getting four times the
friction on the drivetrain, or practically nothing - not enough to pull the car
from the jackstands.  Remember four times zero is still zero ;)

Mechanical locking differentials can actually redistribute torque up to 100%-0%
and are better than tors*ns in very slippery situations (like going up a frozen
driveway).  If you try this test in a 4kq with a locked center, it _will_ move
forward and fall off the jack stands.  Unfortunately, these mechanical lockers
cease being differentials when you lock them since all wheels are forced to move
at the same speed and so tors*ns are the better compromise for on-road driving
on adverse conditions.  If you do get stuck in the snow/mud, the locker has the
advantage.

-Luis Marques
 '87 4kcsq

From: James Marriott <marriott@micron.net>
> The questions:
> With the rear on a jack, and letting the clutch out in first, why
> won't the car try to move? It twitches a little, unlike the
> open-center 4kq, but it sure doesn't move. Aren't t*rs*ns supposed to
> work in this situation? That is, shouldn't it have tried to drive off
> the jack? What's the PN or whatever of an open-center 5kq diff, and of
> the t*rs*n-center 200q, and what's the physical location of same?