open diff?

someone please correct me if im wrong. is 4 wheel drive considered open differential?
see i only have 4 wheel drive. i got stuck the other day, front end just sunk basically, left wheel was in water, and rt wheel was in mud. so ,, the left just spun like crazy and i got no where. would rear limited slip have gotten me out of this or what ? i dont want to go the 800 dollar arb air locker route if i dont have to. why does everyone want limited slip on rear when the front end of these trucks are soo heavy???

 

Damn that was a quick reply. And a very nice explanation.

 

yea rt anyways, ok so what is the difference in open diff and 4wheel drive? wow that link is some deep shit.lol
so i take it that 4 wheel drive means that both front wheels are spinning at same speed regardless? and open diff, the one that has less tourque slows down and the other one gets more power? if this is the case, then what good is open diff to anyone anywhere anytime?

 

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/differential3.htm
This explains why we want LSD.

 

or that we never came down..lol

 

jtaco I am not certain about all of our trucks but I would assume that most of the 4x4 come with the LSD rears, however I don't know about the front diff most likely open. I make that assumption because alot of people talk about getting the air lockers. However I may be wrong.

 

yea i just dont want to have to go that mad money route on those arb air lockers.. God this shit gets to be expensive.
see i found a place that will sell me the whole limited slip diffs with switch and wireing and all for my tacoma for 700 even. then i gotta find someone to install . but is this what i need?

 

What are your plans for your vehicle? Serious offroading? Mainly road but some trails?
If you still have a few questions check this out. question about 4x4 and locking differential
all post are good but I like 16 it gives a good explanation.

 

The rear limited slip would have helped but hard to say if it would have gotten you out, It may have prevented you from going slow enough to get stuck. The momentum may have carried you through.

 

see i went through it fine first time, but comin back it was to steep. then front end just sunk the more i tried to go through it, it would not back out either and the rear tires where on land, well, damp land and higher then front end. i just go offroading to fish and stuff. i dont go around lookin for mud holes or anything.
see i was told by terry at allpro that 4 wheel drive means u only have 2 wheels really spinning. like say if 2 wheels are off the ground , then those are the only ones going to spin and u are stuck .but that sounds crazy to me.. the link u posted just takes me to homepg here. but me getting stuck , i put it in low 4, and the left front spun like crazy and the rt did not budge. i dunno if its because rt was too deep in the mud or what is going on here?was terry rt? why wouldnt the rear pull me out back? would lockers on front helped?

 

I have a basic 4x4 and my rear is always posi. I have never had just one tire spin no matter what I have done to her. However I haven't done any thing to the front and assume that it is open. I purchased my truck new and it didn't mention anything about an LSD or locking diff. I would think that for what you do having an LSD rear would be fine just pick good lines and drive smart. It is a lot of money to get the Air locker installed if you will hardly ever need it.

 

yea around 800 then a compressor and whatever else i need to make it work , then labor for someone then that someone that knows what they are doing or is honest when they claim they know what they are doing. so u think our trucks are open in front until switched to 4 wheel drive?well that explains why left spun like crazy then and rt did nothing. that sux cause i had it in low4. what a jipp. i dont understand why everyone wants limited slip on the rear when these trucks are so heavy up front. so u think my best bet would've been to have limited slip in rear , that comes on the trd models? or lockers up front or limited slip up front?

 

To be honest I am still have questions about that. Here is what I think. When our trucks are in 2wd the front is turning but has no tq applied to it. When we engage 4wd the front end gets 50% of the avaliable power. This is when the front wheels start to pull but is open.

 

well i do know this, if in 4 wheel drive, and i take a sharp turn , the wheel locks up almost and jerks. if it were open it wouldnt do that. but then im confused as to why my trucks rt did not get any power. maybe it was just too stuck. then i've been told by everyone i see, that if u have a 4 wheel drive then something is always turning in there even when 4w4 not engaged.or something like that . and trust me , i picked the best route , any other one and no one else could've had a chance at savin me. shit where i was, i had to get a huge tow truck come as far as he could in the woods, then let out his whole winch then daisy chain a few chain links to reach me.

 

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I know what you mean about the front end pulling but being open would still do that. Its jerking because the rear wheels are pushing forward and the front is pulling hard to the right of left and trying not to slide. If you turn hard in the rocks your rear tires will push you forward and you will barley be able to turn.

 

i gotta go now, i will tom , thanks for the insights, i gotta think about this, and see what would be best for me to get. i just cant tell rt now. lockers, limited slip? rear , front or both or what?

 

lol I know the feeling take it easy man and good luck. I hate making those kinda decisions.

 

You worded that so much better than I could. Thanks Chris.