Limited Slip Turning Tires By Hand

[wthif]

I though even with a limited slip if you turned one tire by hand the other would turn the opposite direction. Is this true or am I confused?

Just curious and both tires turn same direction on my truck when turned by hand.

[DmaxMaverick]

If you have LS, the tires should try to turn the same direction. Depending on the condition of the clutch(es), you could have an open diff, and the LS is just wore out. The tranny/transfer case must be out of gear, or the diff will do what it's designed to do, share torque (or rotation), and act like an open diff. If in gear (engine off, in park or manual gear), you should feel some resistance, and a "breaking loose" before the wheels turn in opposite directions. If the "feeling" is very weak, you could just have a clutch pack that's worn out. A healthy LS will have significant resistance.

If you have a Gov-Loc (later GM trucks), it will act like an open diff until the differential wheel speed reaches the preset governed speed. Could it be someone has replaced the OEM with a later version??? BTW, both RPO's will be G80, regardless of which you have, LS or locker.

[Robyn]

Depending on which LS is in the rig it can react differently.
Some must reach a cerain speed to lock and others simply have a preset clutch pack that offers resistance to the differential so as to provide some extra power to the wheel that is not slipping.
Most LS units are a joke and really are not worth much.
The air lockers and detroit lockers and other mechanically locked units are the real deal.

However, they can be a tad brutal on tires and some can be a bit abrupt when they unlock giving a serious case of Butt pucker to the unexpecting driver.
One of the finest units ever made was called The Hi Torque (Not sure on the spelling) they were a double acting sprague clutch that allowed for the differential action but if things slipped you had all wheels turning. Under normal driving they were sweet with no jerking or clunking and no clutches to wear out or need for special oil

[wthif]

Nothings wrong just couldn't remember. I actually ended up talking to the mechanic who rebuilt it less than 20K mikes ago about something else and asked the same question. He happened to be rebuild a rear-end while I was talking to him and he gave me a brief explanation of how the limited slip he installed works.

I was spinning my tires by hand today to find another problem/noise and just couldn't remember how the LS was supposed to work. Hopefully found the problem and will be fixed with a little oil.