Shudder from steering wheel when moving off - 02 Quigley V10

[daveb]

I had the same thing happen. If I took a turn on an highway on-ramp it really felt like something in the front end...even sounded like it. I took Heber from SMB for a drive and it baffled him. After he did a run through on the van, it was indeed the rear end. They had worked on the rear end and didn't put in (or not enough) some kind of additive needed for LSD's. I was told sooner or later the diff will have to be rebuilt...wasn't too happy to hear about that! Maybe time for a E-locker or similar. He told me the LSD might become a non-LSD at some point in time. That's also not good to hear in a stuck situation. So I guess I gotta hit the dirt and test it from time to time

[ANZAC]

Originally Posted by daveb

I had the same thing happen. If I took a turn on an highway on-ramp it really felt like something in the front end...even sounded like it. I took Heber from SMB for a drive and it baffled him. After he did a run through on the van, it was indeed the rear end. They had worked on the rear end and didn't put in (or not enough) some kind of additive needed for LSD's. I was told sooner or later the diff will have to be rebuilt...wasn't too happy to hear about that! Maybe time for a E-locker or similar. He told me the LSD might become a non-LSD at some point in time. That's also not good to hear in a stuck situation. So I guess I gotta hit the dirt and test it from time to time

Yeah, Ford has some green LSD additive they sell. My driveshaft place provides it free with new LSDs. The additives are friction modifiers.

e.g. http://www.summitracing.com/search/Bran ... toview=SKU

I haven't looked at what fluids are in each diff on my van.

Diff wear with plate/clutch type diffs is very real. The more the diff works, the more the plates wear. On all my cars with plate type LSDs, I replace the fluid pretty regularly.

[yvrr]

Originally Posted by daveb

I had the same thing happen. If I took a turn on an highway on-ramp it really felt like something in the front end...even sounded like it.

I had the same problem when we were somewhere around 45,000 miles. Turned out that the limited slip pack was bad and Ford replaced it under warranty (after a couple of weeks of hassle). Then, at 52,000 miles, we heard a thumbing coming from the rear, twice per tire rotation. I'm sure that Ford screwed something up when they were in the differential the first time since it seemed that something go loose but they would never admit it. They replaced the clutch pack again and I was charged the deductible on the extended warranty which was upsetting since I felt they had caused the problem.

I personally believe that the limited slip is a weak link in the system and would seriously consider a rear locker if we ever bought another SMB (don't expect to need to though)...

[ANZAC]

Well, they're not maintenance free. I am not sure what the Ford service interval is, but I am going to drain and refill my rear diff for sure, first chance I get.

Oh, on my Subaru that had a plate LSD, it had a magnetic drain plug which helped too. They just generate a lot of very fine metal residue from the plates.