Tires screeching while turning at 5 mph: Differential problem or just shitty tires?

[Deadly BlaZe]

Ok everytime I turn the steering wheel sharply to the left or to the right while only going 5 mph in first gear and feathering the gas, you can hear the tires want to start pealing; If i mash the gas more, the tires will start peeling and screeching. Is there something wrong with my rear differential or is this just a case of shitty tires.

Also, when I bought the car, the differential and axles were out of the car, so i had to hook them up myself. I'm thinking the problem could be related to the lsd (I have no idea if it's a seperate piece from the pic below or if it's inside it). This is all that is currently inside the rear differential case:

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[Deadly BlaZe]

Exactly what I was thinking. You never know what the prior owner's done with the car and the welded center diff mod is a common mod for keeping the center diff together for drag racing.

If the center diff was unmodified but broken, you'd feel binding/releasing on low speed sharp turns due to the the broken spider gears. When this happened to me (twice) that was the tell-tale, not screecing tires

Ok I think I understand what's going on now. Just to make sure, is the center differential the picture in the first post? Also, if I keep the diff the way it is, is it dangerous to drive around with it?

 

[Wildeclipse2000]

Ok I think I understand what's going on now. Just to make sure, is the center differential the picture in the first post? Also, if I keep the diff the way it is, is it dangerous to drive around with it?

The diff pictured in your first post is the rear diff. The center diff is in the tranny.

No it is not safe to drive it the way it is. If the diff decides to come unglued then you will have pieces all through the tranny. This can lodge large chunks of metal in places they should not be and lock up the trans.

 

[Deadly BlaZe]

The diff pictured in your first post is the rear diff. The center diff is in the tranny.

No it is not safe to drive it the way it is. If the diff decides to come unglued then you will have pieces all through the tranny. This can lodge large chunks of metal in places they should not be and lock up the trans.

Wow I had it all wrong then. I thought it was the rear diff that was the problem. The center diff sounds much more complicated to sort out. I guess i'll drain the tranny fluid and see if there's metal chunks in there to make sure that it's the problem. Also, when i'm turning and the tires are dragging, i can hear a clank clank clank sound, and sounds like it's from the rear rather than the front where the tranny is.

 

[Deadly BlaZe]

Another thing that I don't understand is, why does it only happen when you turn, and not when going in a straight line?

 

[DSM90AWD]

Another thing that I don't understand is, why does it only happen when you turn, and not when going in a straight line?

The center diff allows for a constant tork to be applied front/rear while allowing the front/back wheels to turn at different speeds. For instance, during a tight turn, the front wheels will travel a shorter distance than the rears, so side spiders of the center diff will begin to rotate to allow for the change. If going in a straight line (e.g. normal tork split), the side spiders will not move, hence why the car would feel normal even if it was broken.

Welding the center diff in effect "locks" the front/rear wheels so can no longer turn at a different speed, which is why on slow tight turns the rear wheels (which have a longer distance to travel) will "drag".

You may also not see any debris in the drained oil (I didnt') as the gears (hardened steel) are contained with the center housing. A nice VFAQ to show you what we're talking about

 

[95talon_in_ma]

Not trying to steal a thread but I had a similar question that proibably doesn't warrant its own thread.
I have a fwd that I bought and been driving for months. Unsure of what the previous ownder did to the 5spd. I dropped my motor from my Auto Talon in and something that happens on this one that didn't on the other was squealing tires at low speeds while turning. It has Michelin Pilots with about 10,000 miles on them and they are all properly inflated. They loose traction very easily when taking turns. I kept thinking it was the air pressure, but it's always good. Even though I never tried to rip em up to see if it leaves a dual strip, when I take off fast, it sounds like both are losing traction.
Is there any way to tell if someone added an LSD or maybe the slow boy pieces added without opening it up? I know with my 12 bolt in my camaro both tires spin in the same direction when you jack it up, does Fwd locked work the same way?
Thanx, Duane

 

[Deadly BlaZe]

The center diff allows for a constant tork to be applied front/rear while allowing the front/back wheels to turn at different speeds. For instance, during a tight turn, the front wheels will travel a shorter distance than the rears, so side spiders of the center diff will begin to rotate to allow for the change. If going in a straight line (e.g. normal tork split), the side spiders will not move, hence why the car would feel normal even if it was broken.

So basically you're saying the side spider gears are what's broken? How would you explain the clanking noise i hear when i turn? It sounds like it's coming from the rear, not the front where the tranny is.

And i'm assuming it's dangerous to drive like this in the rain since the rear tires won't spin in synch or anything.

 

[Defiant]

Do you have a complete set of tires? Are they the same make, model and size front-to-rear?

 

[DSM90AWD]

So basically you're saying the side spider gears are what's broken? How would you explain the clanking noise i hear when i turn? It sounds like it's coming from the rear, not the front where the tranny is.

And i'm assuming it's dangerous to drive like this in the rain since the rear tires won't spin in synch or anything.

Same principle applied to the rear differential, it allows the wheels to spin at a different speed with the same tork applied. So if you hear definitive "clankign from the rear", it may very well be the rear diff, a broken axle, a bad wheel bearing or other

 

[Deadly BlaZe]

Do you have a complete set of tires? Are they the same make, model and size front-to-rear?

same sizes, different make/model. I don't think that would matter though.

 

[Defiant]

same sizes, different make/model. I don't think that would matter though.

I'd put that on the suspect list.

 

[Deadly BlaZe]

I'd put that on the suspect list.

Yeah. I guess i'll check if there's any metal flakes in the tranny fluid, check tire pressure, and balance the tires before I take a look at the center diff. Thanks for the help guys.

 

[98EclipseGST06]

Honestly you just probably need some new tires. I had a GST and I could never get traction in 1st gear. I bought some BFgoodrich gforce sports for the front and they are amazing for the street launches. Even the they are a sport tire and not an All season they handle great in the rain too. The only difference is that I have 18" wheels and my diameter is 235.

 

[Deadly BlaZe]

Honestly you just probably need some new tires. I had a GST and I could never get traction in 1st gear. I bought some BFgoodrich gforce sports for the front and they are amazing for the street launches. Even the they are a sport tire and not an All season they handle great in the rain too. The only difference is that I have 18" wheels and my diameter is 235.

My problem isn't with launching or traction going in a straight line. If I wanted to, I could launch at 5k and not spin the tires. My problem is with my rear tires dragging when doing tight, low speed, parking lot turns.

 

[Deadly BlaZe]

Ok everyone I found and fixed the problem. Everyone assumed it was the differential, so I opened the thing up and checked what was broken. Absolutely nothing. You could imagine how confused I was at this point. The clanking from the front and tires dragging was still going on. The problems were actually with the front axles and drive shaft output bearing. As soon as I changed the axles and bearing, voila, the dragging and clanking was gone.

 

[1990talon]

Cool I am glad you got the problem fixed.