So the other day i took some friends up in the mountains and was wheelin through some snow and managed to get myself stuck... now my question is on my 4x4 differential type... i have no idea what my rig has... all i know is when i got stuck the passenger wheels would spin but the drivers side wouldn't... i figured that i had locked differentials but now im not sure... if anyone could help me with this that would be great... and if anyone has any suggestions on how i could get front and rear locked diff.

Thanks

 

The easiest way to figure this out is jack up the entire vehicle and put it on jack stands and turn the wheels by hand. If the other side wheel turns the opposite direction, you have an open differential and if it turns the same way you have a locker or LSD.

To install a locker I'd recommend you know what you're doing because you can really screw something up if you don't know what you're doing. There are many lockers available and one of the most popular of them is the Detroit locker.

 

when i jack it up do i put it in to 4hi first?

 

Yes, make sure it's locked into 4HI and not 4LO before you leave the ground, because that can cause issues with binding possibly.

 

the front differentials are always open diffs from the factory, the rear could be open OR limited slip, no need to have it in 4wd to check it, just jack it up and spin the tire by hand on one side, if it doesnt spin, or the other side spins the same direction you have a limited slip (if it doesnt spin put the trans in nuetral and try it again, the opposite tire should spin the same direction, the limited slip will not let it spin w/ the trans in park, been there done that) and an open diff will spin the tire on the opposite side in the opposite direction.

 

ok... ill test this this weekend.. so if they both are open diff's is it possible on a 98 to put locked or limited slip differentials on both rear and front?

 

in the rear, yes, i have never heard of anything for the front tho

 

For wheeling, especially in mud in snow I'd certainly recommend LS or lockers at least on the rear, considering the weight of the D if you get stuck...well you're stuck. If you do some serious offroading I'd stay away from the factory LS altogether because it doesn't hold up to much. As for lockers in the front diff. I personally wouldn't do it, but you can get away with have LS up front maybe, because there's a lot of front end parts that won't hold up to the stress from both wheels locked unless you strictly do it only in mud and snow, you mught just better off just installing a solid axel upfront and calling it a day.

 

so put a locker in the rear... what about a limited slip in the front? is that even possible to purchase something for the front? like an aussie locker? or something similar?

 

You can certainly get lockers for the front, but If I recall correctly they are using an aluminum diff. housing up there and that's not good at all for high stress situtations. If you absolutly wanted to put lockers in the front, I'd get a a stronger front diff so it doesn't explode and deffinetly upgrade the cv half shafts and tie rods to handle all the stress.
If you wanted something up front with keeping everything stock, I wouldn't go anymore than just LS. As for the rear lockers are much more low maintaince and you don't have to worry about anything binding for snapping back there (except the locker installed), it will just skid a tire no problem.