Barry,
Remember the following? Could I get your permission to reprint it
in our club newsletter. We will. of course, give you credit (if you want
it!)
Regards, Adrian
> 1: When I rotate the rear Passenger side tire forward or reverse, the
> opposite tire goes in the opposite direction (i.e. one goes
> forward while the other goes into reverse).
> 2: There is complete free play with the tires, whether or not the
> transmission is engaged in gear.
> 3: When the tires are being turned, the driveshaft doesn't have any
> motion at all.
> 4: I can tell that the two propeller shafts that come out from the
> differential to the wheels are in deed rotating.
************************************************
Well I have news for you. You are the proud owner of a fully functional
standard type automotive differential. Seriously, what your describing is
exactly what a 'normal' or non-limited slip differential is supposed to do.
Put the tranny in neutral and rotate the DRIVE SHAFT. Hold one wheel
still, and the other will rotate. This is the differentiating function in
action. it simulates going around in a circle about that one wheel that is
not turning. Think about it for a moment. when the car is negotiating a
corner the outside wheel is traveling a much farther distance (more
revolutions) than the inside wheel (less revolutions) If it didn't and the
axle was solid all the way through, with the wheels connected together than
the inside wheel would start slipping (because the outside wheel having
more traction by way of weight transfer) and causing the inside wheel to
spin faster than the distance it's traveling. And in fact this is exactly
what happens when you weld up a diff when a 'cheapy' locking or torque
sensing diff is wanted for racing purposes and one can't afford the expense
of one of the aforementioned types of differentials. That's kind of a
simplistic explanation of what's happening.
Unless your diff is making noise then it sounds like you have nothing to
worry about - and have a fully functioning standard Spitfire differential!
Barry Schwartz (San Diego)
bschwart@pacbell.net
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