^^look at the title^^

 

Do a burnout and see if you leave 2 patches. It is also technically called limited slip. If you have a true posi you would have major wheel hop cornering.

 

Yeah but what is it?

Is that the only way you can tell?

 

The standard differential delivers maximum torque to the wheel with minimum traction. The limited-slip (posi) differential delivers maximum torque to the wheel with maximum traction. That's the technical explanation.

 

Typically, there will be a tag on the differential fill hole telling you to only use GM posi additive, or something along those lines. Also, if you don't wish to strain your car by doing burnouts, lift the rear wheels off the ground and put the car in neutral. Turn one wheel. If the other wheel moves the same way, it's posi. If it turns in opposite directions, it's not.

 

Burnout method is probably the easiest to find out, if you're experienced you can tell in the car when you do the burnout if both wheels are spining.

 

.This will not work if:

If you have a clutch type posi, and the clutch is wore

If it is a Torsen style, no clutches, the other wheel, alot of the times, spins the opposite way

(hence the above methods will not work and if tag is gone, rusted away, etc. ) is to take off the back cover and look

 

A non techincal reply would be if you have to ask that question.
Then you don't have a limited slip rear and you don't need one.

 

Screw the codes, the tag, the 2 patches, the turn the wheel thing. Those are all guesses. Go directly to reality.

Take off the cover and look. It's the only way to know for sure.

Here's a pic of a stock posi carrier out of one of these cars. Note the springs and plates inside of it. If you don't see that, but rather only the 4 small gears and the shaft, then you don't have posi.... no matter whether it lays 2 patches or not.

While you're there, count the teeth on the ring and pinion, so you can avoid cluttering the board with yet another senseless "what gears do I have" post. Again, screw the codes and the rotate the drive shaft and all that, go straight to the reality and bypass guessing.

 

i was wondering the same thing.....but i'm confused.
if there are two burnout marks, is it posi or not?

 

Don't bother with the marks. Lots of times you can leave 2 nice marks even without posi, depending on your tires and the pavement. It is not conclusive.

Take off the cover and look. It's the only way to be sure.

 

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/differential.htm

Not true. In a LSD the wheel with the least amount of traction will only get the amount of torque that it takes to overcome the clutches or whatever type of coupling method is used.