[QUOTE]Originally posted by buford
[B So have you or anyone else actually gotten one of these new axles, that Dodge sells as "anti-spin", out in a muddy field/road? Seems fiddleing with the parking break while trying to drive out of a muddy/slick area is asking for trouble.

Yep. We went to a family reunion where everyone had to park in a grassy field that was on a slope. Unfortunately a heavy rainstorm came along. To make a short story long, it took 9 guys and 2 2x10 planks to get the front of my truck out of the hole it dug. While the front tire was tossing mud *****, I looked back at the rear tire and it was just sitting there waiting for a ride. No amount of coaxing could make the LSD engage.
A lot of comments are made about using the emergency brake to activate the LSD. That trick is as old as the open differential itself. Anyone old enough to remember the days of the big 'ol rear wheel drive road-commodes might remember seeing that procedure specified in the owners manual. By preloading both wheels with brake drag, one can't out-run the other, so you end up a cheap 'posi' rear. Heck, by doing this with the AM LSD axle, I wonder if the unit even tries to engage. Ya pay $$ for an LSD and are told that in order to make it work, just do what you've done to fool the open differential all these years. And no, tapping the brake didn't work for me either.

 

Elmo, that's just great news. So my little diesel dually best stay out of Pa. fields apparently. This 6' deep Texas black clay should not be any problem at all. Just kidding, I have a 4 wheel drive tractor that I could get stuck in this muck occassionally. No off roading for me sounds like except in August.

I tried something today that sort of confused me in this discussion of AAM differentials. I drove out into a meadow of ankle deep thick green wet pasture grass, cut the wheels hard left and pretty much floored it enough to get the truck to go in a circle, all four back tires were spinning like crazy, I stopped then cut the wheel hard right and did the same thing. Then stopped and straightened up and nailed it again and same result, both back tires slinging grass like crazy. I have had positrak type rear ends in all my Fords and Chevys for so long I may have forgotten but I thought an open dif when put in those situations would have just spun one tire. I think I will call AAM Monday and just see what they say about this axle. Planetcat called them last year, but he did not say what the engineer said. Can’t believe I now have a diesel truck with basically an open differential and may now have to spend major bucks to get something that works!

 

I've also read that the AAM LS does not function at all in reverse. IF you are backing, it's an open differential.