I really doubt that story

 

huh ?? Go with the LSD if you can get it.

 

The reason I really wanted LSD was I do take my vehicles off road for hunting and exploring and there are pretty deep washes and gullies I need to go through. I have been in vehicles when you drop down into these steep gullies, you turn the wheels of the truck at the bottom angle your truck so you don't catch your bumper and it is possible to get 2 wheels off the ground (1 front and 1 back) and with open diff's in the front and rear, the wheels in the air spin and the wheels on the ground don't do anything, and then straighten up to climb up the other side. Factory limited slip helps put some power to the wheel with traction, especially if you do the parking brake trick.

The best factory vehicle LSD I have owned was a late 80's ford that had factory LSD on the front and the rear diff's. Though the ford clutch packs wear out fairly quickly, it was a great set-up. This is when you had to manually lock the hubs. Wow I am getting old.................

Thanks for all your input, I talk to the sales manager on Friday when he gets back.

Dave

 

They want you to trade because they will move one more truck off the lot, and then sell yours as a used one which ALWAYS is more profitable to the dealer than selling new vehicles.
The stock LSD is crap, so I like your idea about getting an aftermarket and having them split the cost and install for free. Very fair deal IMO. But they will probably not warranty the unit. An Auburn or DTT will fit in your carrier with your existing gears with NO problem.

For an explanation of the differences between the two units:

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/3rd-gen...p-defined.html

 

Sounds like you need a Jeep. The Grand Cherokee (Quadra Drive) can move the vehicle with only one tire having traction. :-)

Rob

 

My only concern would be the quality of the install, from what I hear it's either hit or miss with the install done properly.

 

Please excuse my ignorance but what is the difference in using the parking brake vs letting ESP/ABS apply the brake to the free spinning wheel. A LSD is far from a mechanical locker and I've yet to see proof that it does better than the ESP system in these trucks. People praise them because they're scared of change. LSD is the old technology. Many of the same people would still run a carburetor if they could.

 

They can shove this ESP computer crap. As someone else said its fine for light poor traction conditions but for heavy snow or slippery conditions it renders the vehicle useless or worse dangerous.

I was turning onto a side street in about 5 inches of packed snow in an all wheel drive Toyota, the front end started to slide and I was heading straight for the sidewalk. Normally you give it a little gas to get the front tires moving in the direction of the turn and its no problemo, problem was the freaking ESP came on and cut power to the wheels, the freaking car was then out of control.

I got my Dodge 1500 4x4 (yeah I got the LSD 3.92) stuck in the snow, in 4WD, ESP kicked on every time I hit the gas, truck was going nowhere. Turned the ESP off and I tore off down the street no problem.

 

The ESP serves multiple purposes;

1) stability control/trailer sway
2) traction control
3) electronic "LSD"

Your truck was doing exactly what #2 implies, cutting power when it detects that all four wheels are not turning a the same speed. BUT when you turn it "off" #3 is still active and it limits #1 & #2.

When you say 'tore off down the street', how fast were you traveling? The ESP will come back on at any wheel speed over 30 or 40 mph if all four wheels are not reporting the same speed, and then cut power.

Your example is irrelevant because your LSD did nothing for you. You simply minimized the ESP which let you spin your tires enough to get free. My 3.55 open diff will and did do the same thing. I drove in foot deep snow with zero issues this winter. There were a few times where I turned "off" ESP to play around and guess what my truck would do every time I stomped on it?? It got sideways. If only one rear tire was spinning, it would have continued straight ahead spinning the one tire.

The only people that praise the LSD are those with it or those that don't understand how the ESP works. Like I said before, neither the LSD or ESP perform like a true locker, they both allow some wheel spin.

Does it hurt to have the LSD? No
Should it be a deal breaker? No
Would I trade in a truck that was exactly what I wanted only no LSD to get a truck that is similar to my current one but with an LSD? No

You'll end up paying enough taxes on the trade to fund a LSD install on your current truck.

 

Why if it their issue and they want to change the diff. why would it not be warrantied. I had an 85 GMC 2500 that one day i hear clunk look in passenger mirror and see the axle and wheel tire sticky out from back end a good foot. I stomp and now it won't move. So I pop it into 4x4 and drag the truck out of harmway with the front wheels. It took 2 weeks but they changed the complete unti. Weird thing is they built it, The got a new case hung it, then put the new guts in and axles then new brakes because they got soaked with diff fluid. No idea why it took 2 weeks other than they told me thew were waiting on an additive since I had a posi rear end they called it but was LSD. So everyday I would drive thru to see if it moved. One day driving thru I see 4 little bottles on the back of the bumper. So I go in and they said they were gonna call me after they added the fluid and the additive, they just got it 10 minutes before I came. So they said I can wait if I like and they even let me go on the test run to be sure I didn't hear anything different that before or whatever. Ran great, took it home that night. Full warranty with the truck.
Where is all this coming from and is it a US thing that if they replace a major part it is only warrantied a year????? BS my vehicle is warrantied for 1 year 20000Km bumper to bumper, 3 years 60000 km everything except bulbs brake linings, clutches stuff like that but with the extended some of that might be covered I would have to look. Then 5 years the drivetrain only is covered from 3 to 5 years or 100000kms. But then with the one year extended it includes a lot of stuff like the a/c and some stuff that is not covered after years . I am going to call and ask service a hypothetical question. If my motor blew what would be protocol, replace it or rebuild it? Then either one would the warranty change or still whatever is left is left of the complete drivetrain.