Pulling out of the shop the other day, went to do a small drift. Instead, I spun the inside wheel (right side at the time). I THINK this is the second time this has happened. After a few minutes of driving, the diff drifts as normal.

Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this. I'm running LE607, and wondering if the cold weather caused the mechanism to stick because of the peanut-butter-like cold fluid

 

I would never use that stuff in the cold. I had it in my car for two days back when I first changed my diff fluid and when I took it out it was like jelly when it was cold out. I switched to Mobil1 and liked that a lot better. It may not protect/lubricate as well when up to temp, but there are no compromises in the cold either.

 

Well, I'm sure the ring and pinion protection is great. I may just swap it out with my spare before I head to the dragon. Or I may switch to Mobil-1 and see what changes.

I'd imagine it has over 1000 rolling clutch dumps on it.

 

How cold is cold?
Lower or close to the pour point of LE-607?
That's spec'd at -11F.

I don't have to tell you clutch dumps are hard on the Torsen too.
The side gears in the Torsen have to move sideways to "lock" and they have splines.
Maybe the splines are getting a bit worn making the sidegears stick just a little more on the output shafts when the oil is cold?
Maybe its just general Torsen wear?
If so, going to a thinner oil at operating temp may accelerate wear.

LE makes a whole bunch of gear oils.
Their 75W-140 gear (LE-9920) oil is full syn and without any VI improvers.
And it has a very low pour point of -49F.
Kinda expensive here though.
Maybe because of the MONOLEC additive.


Besides all this: IMO all mechanical parts need to be at operating temp before one starts to put any load on them.

 

Cold=25 degrees. This was a real light rolling clutch dump at like 3500 rpm on a wet road.

I know the workings of the diff...my car has never done this with the Mobil-1 in the 30k miles I ran it. I am pretty sure the fluid is playing a factor. Not that it's hurting anything....

 

25 F = -3 C!
Thats freezing!


I guess you have to ask yourself this question:
Do I want "cold-out-of-the-shop" performance at the cost of some operating temp protection?
(16 cst - vs - 20.9 cSt, well it IS a 30% thicker, LE-607 I mean)

Or..

Do I want protection at operating temp and take it easy when the car is cold?

I know my answer

Side note: "our" Torsen doesn't work with one wheel in the air.
Maybe.. just maybe, one wheel was on an icy patch of road and maybe it was that slippery, and the tires were cold too, to make that wheel act like it was airborn?
Just thinking out loud.

 

I noticed friday my left wheel spins a lot more in the snow than my right I'm running mobil 1 75w90