What to do about a useless limited slip rear end?

My 2001 ¾ ton Dodge has a limited slip rear end and is about useless ever since I got in in 2005. It now has 77,000 miles on it and works great, except for traction and A/C.

I get stuck pulling the wife’s TT to the street from side yard and I don’t get stuck in the same spot in our short Class C Majestic with a Ford. The Dodge has a “dana” stamped on diff cover. Don’t know what diff the class C has. The class C also has to more rear wheels in contact with ground if that matters. I get stuck maneuvering the TT out of its parking spot. The parking spot is level, but getting to it is not. Side to side and on a slope going up and down. When hooked up to TT, where I get stuck the left side is 38 ½ inches ground to bottom of wheel well and right side is 37 ¼ inches. To me, where I’m getting stuck shouldn’t be that big of deal. Tongue weight around 1,100. I did not get stuck in the same place with our older 9,000 pound 5th wheel.

I called a rear end shop that was recommended to me twice by different people and talked with them. The rear end shop recommended having them look at it and do a service of the rear end and if anything is wrong probably around $900-1,200 to re-build the diff. (And something must be wrong or I would be getting stuck).

I’m a getting set up for a killing? After they fix it I have spent $1,200 and would still have a limited slip. I was thinking about some type of locker rear end would serve me better and skip the $1,200 on a limited slip.

I’m not even sure how limited slips are supposed to work. I’ve heard there is a spring that activates something and have heard there is something like “hockey” pucks that tell one side that the other side slipping and puts on more pressure.

To see if my limited slip is even working should I find a level dirt place and floor it to see if both tires are kicking in? Or maybe where I’m getting stuck at is so steep (both up and down and side to side) a limited slip won’t make any difference anyways?

By know you can probably tell I don’t know much about rear ends.

Please help!

What would you do?

Anybody else have problems with theirs and how did you solve it.

(just edited...2 wheel drive, plenty of tread on new tires and diff oil was changed about 5,000 miles ago)

Tow Vehicles

39 Replies

msmith1_wa
Explorer
May 18, 2015
Sometimes you get stuck no matter how many tires are driven. The way your soil is can play a big part. I back my truck and trailer onto my grass to turn around most of the time because it is better than backing down my 700 ft driveway. The last time I did this my 4x4 with mud tires was spinning all four and would not move the trailer. Granted it is I slight slope but the main reason is the grass and soil was wet. The soil in my yard turns to slime when it is wet. To get it it out I got on my tractor and had my wife drive the truck. Because of the angle of the pull the truck slid sideways which freaked out my wife.

Now that the soul is dry it is like concrete.
brulaz
Explorer
May 18, 2015
Perrysburg Dodgeboy wrote:
My 2004 Ram with LS 4X2 CTD would get stuck all the time UNTIL I bought some better tires. Before you go dropping coin on rebuilding or replacing your rear end buy a set of mud and snow tires for the rear and see if that doesn't work.

Don

Tires are definitely important.

But most all the 4x2s are sold with All-Seasons.
And most all the 4x4s are sold with All-Terrains.

Sometimes I think it should be the other way around.:)
Perrysburg_Dodg
Explorer
May 18, 2015
My 2004 Ram with LS 4X2 CTD would get stuck all the time UNTIL I bought some better tires. Before you go dropping coin on rebuilding or replacing your rear end buy a set of mud and snow tires for the rear and see if that doesn't work.

Don
AH64ID
Explorer
May 18, 2015
FWIW the front end being heavy does not make the rear end light. The PSD simply makes more power at idle than the gas equivlant and that effects traction. It doesn't matter if the front weighs 3000 or 10000, if there is 4000 on the rear end it is 4000lbs.

Your average diesel also weighs more than 450lbs more than its gas counterpart...thou you did not specidy what year you are talking about.
Bamaman11
Explorer
May 18, 2015
The deal with limited slip is that when one wheel spins, it takes that power and applies it to the other wheel. And if you hit it from a dead stop and you're going straight, you should get equal power going to both wheels.

Many of the off roaders use air locking axles. They have a compressor that blows air into the differential and the axles lock up 100%. You don't ever want to run them on the street, as locking axles don't work well on pavement.

Now as far as 3/4 tons not doing well in the dirt. My PowerStroke diesel weighs 450 lbs. more on the front end than if it had a gas engine. It makes the rear end relatively light, which makes the rear wheels spin easier.

I've had to load a bunch of kids in my 2x4 pickup bed a couple of times to get it off a grassy hillside. But I figure I could pay for a wrecker to tow me 75 times and I'd be at a break even for the initial cost of 4wd in a 3/4 ton truck.
brulaz
Explorer
May 16, 2015
OP's problem sounds like me last fall trying to get the trailer out of the yard for the trip to Florida.

4x2 with limited slip. Heavy trailer (8000#) lots of tongue weight (1200#) and All-Season tires.

Wet grass, saturated soil.

When both wheels start spinning, the limited slip isn't going to help much. All I could do was turn off traction control and rock it out, slowly, with several stops for throwing sand/gravel under the tires. Perhaps wrapping rope around the tires would have helped.

Since then I've put a load of gravel down. But still, the next truck will be a 4x4 with All-Terrains. Then I can really get her stuck!:B
JIMNLIN
Explorer III
May 16, 2015
As mentioned, applying the brake a bit might get it to drive both tires. Mine seems to work fine, but I don't really test it much. I use the 4WD if its slippery. Sounds like you could use a locker.

Using the emergency brake on the '03 and up Trac-rite is recommendation in my Dodge truck owners manual.
As was mentioned the wheels on Trac-rite has to be rolling a bit. I've been stuck more than once with one wheel with traction and the other on ice/mud/green grass and no forward motion. I know when the new 3rd gen '03 Dodges first hit the street I was a member of three Dodge/Cummins forums and boy the first year lots of off road members were cussing the new AAM Trac-Rites.......however its great for leaving two long black marks on the dry pavement.
coolbreeze01
Explorer
May 15, 2015
As mentioned, applying the brake a bit might get it to drive both tires. Mine seems to work fine, but I don't really test it much. I use the 4WD if its slippery. Sounds like you could use a locker.
AH64ID
Explorer
May 15, 2015
In terms of traction 65 psi is probably little different than 80 unless you have 6-7K on the rear axle. Try down around 30-35 psi to improve traction.

In the fall for hunting I run 40/30 once I get back in the woods and wont go above 20mph for 10 days. It makes a HUGE difference even over 50/40.

Depending on how off camber you are when hooking up the sway-bar may or may not make a difference. In terms of the ride I think my truck rides much better with my aftermarket sway bar, but the 3rd gen suspension is different than the 2nd gen. The handling when towing on slow roads was the biggest improvement.

ScottG wrote:
Lockers aren't that bad and they work pretty good. All third gen and newer HD Rams have had them since 03.
Mine works great and isn't obnoxious though it does sometimes chirp a bit around tight corners. Doesn't bother me though.

Dodge doesn't use a locker, at least in the true sense of the term locker. You would feel a true locker (not like the GM G80) on every single corner. I have ran ARB's in the past and you know the instant you try to turn that it is locked, even on gravel.

The 03+ Dodge/Ram trucks, with the anti-spin option, have the Trac Rite GT which is a helical gear limited slip similar to the Detroit Tru-trac. IMHO it is the best OEM LSD out there, aside maybe from the Power Wagon one that is the same helical setup with a locking option. The only drawback is they need movement of both wheels to properly transfer traction, so they don't work as well from as stop but once moving they have great lateral traction.

http://www.demandaam.com/technical-support/aam-diferrentials/tracrite-gt-helical-gear-limited-slip-differential

The AAM in the GM products gets the G80, which they can have based on my experiance with them.

Most LSD's, to include Dodge up thru 2002, are the clutch pack style which are a waste IME. They only work when you don't want them to (ice) and don't work when they should.

For a pickup the helical gear LSD is near impossible to beat, and personally I would take an open diff anyday over a clutch style LSD. At least open is predictible.

I would really like to add either the AAM e-locker or a detroit TT to the front axle of my 05 but I haven't been able to justify the funds yet.
path1
Explorer
May 15, 2015
Bedlam wrote:
Have you consider adding pavers to the down slope or laying plywood down when pulling out the trailer? Yes, I know all about NW mud and moss.

We thought we would have a RV barn up and completely level by now.

Construction worker neighbor has equipment to do it. And all of his equipment was on a job only about 5 miles from us. The plan was he would level it on a weekend. That was when we were in AZ last winter. But city couldn't tell us if we needed a permit or not. Depends on if we pave it or not.

Decided we would wait till we got home to mess with the city, by that time the neighbor got a pretty big job north of us. Neighbor's equipment is now on that job, which is a long ways away. Latest plans are, he will level it out when his equipment gets closer to us. That could be next month or next year or maybe never the way things are gong.

Lately, every time I get stuck I fill up the holes I make with 5/8 minus gravel. And doesn't seem to be helping much.