for the truck in sig. its a 3.55 OPEN diff ! (who the hell though of putting an open diff in a 1 ton truck..)

ideally 4x4 conversion would be best but i dont have the money/space/time.
did the 10.25s comewith 3.55s with a limited slip diff?

swap in a new diff or just put a whole new rear end under there?
what am i looking at price range for this?
I could get my dakota m/ts siped for a bit extra, but its still 1 wheel peel all day id bet.

 

For traction in the snow/ice an open diff is better anyways, for mud not so much. The best thing you can do it put better tire on it. If you have all season road radials they are ok for snow/ice and ok for mud, but they aren't going to excel for either. If it's snow/ice traction you need get a good pair of skinny snow tires, if it's mud you need then wider more aggressive tires are in order.

 

shes got brand new dakota m+s. i know not the best for snow but its what I got.
I dont understand how having 1 wheel spin vs two is better for the snow?

siz eis 267/75/16, so not the best for snow vs a 215.


need. 4. by. 4. grrr

 

Cheapest traction... put some weight in the back, it's free.

 

In the snow you will actually spin in a circle if both wheels spin. I know it doesn't sound right but I've seen it happen way too many times. The best thing for your situation is add some weight. Get about 6 bags of play sand and place them directly over the rear axle. That will add ~300lbs, you can always add more if you feel the need.

 

hmm, i had about 250 lb tool box placed longitudinaly over the rear axle as well as 2-300 lbs of wet snow in the bed, and i almost got stuck in 20 cm of snow...tired pulling my buddy out and almost got stuck as well..

ill get some sand bags though. and if i do get stuck, sprinkle some sand by the tires!!
i knew i shoulda went to the beach 1 last time before it snowed..

 

Tire chains work well but PITA.

 

when plowing i had a big chunk of I-Beam that I.... had found.

 

I'll take a truck with limited slip any day over a one-wheel-peeler. I have driven both versions in many different vehicles and driving conditions. The OP's truck is already nose-heavy with that diesel engine up front. More rear weight will help but the other large contributor to his traction problem is the wide tires. All three add up to a common problem, the truck will get stuck on a level road with only a few inches of snow or ice.

 

I throw a quarter rick of wood in the back . Works fine for me.

 

fill the bed with snow. works for me

 

you went with a 10 and half inch wide tire and you've got a 2wd diesel.
she's going to be worthless in the winter.don't ever expect it to be anything more,sorry lol.
to help,try and find some skinny used 16's on Craigslist for the winter and set a a thousand or two lbs in the bed.
p.s.don't ever trying pulling someone out with a 2wd again.im sure you wont now lol,but avoid the temptation or you'll just end up stuck too.
keep your eyes peeled for a set of chains.

 

You can sipe the tires yourself for the price of a box cutter. Other then that there I would do what everyone else is suggesting, throw as much weight in the bed as possible and keep an eye out for some pizza cutters.

 

Yeah me too, I've had plenty of both and in the snow an LS wins every time.. you got to pay attention and use the throttle judiciously to keep the truck going straight ahead, but that's better than not going anywhere which is what happens with an open diff.

 

I understand the theory being an open rear in the snow ice, the one wheel will stabilize you so you don't fishtail... I'll take the LS as you can still fishtail very easily with an open rear. If you don't believe me just ask the guardrail I taco'd today with my 87 plow truck.

I'll suspect that the 400lb plow + 351w makes me more nose heavy than the OP's truck but with just a little too much speed through an icy corner and even in 4wd she swung that tail wide... Ford truck 1, Guard Rail 0...

As someone who's DD was a 93 mustang for 5 years with no other means of transportation and a need to go rain, shine and snow I can tell you that the best thing you can invest in is a narrow set of snow tires on a second set of rims. I delivered pizza in that car in a blizzard where we got 12+ inches of snow and with the exception of it pushing in the turns and turning into a poorly designed plow at around 5" of snow it was unstoppable. 245/45-17's up front and 205/70-15's in the rear IIRC. I know they were 205's. Dug right down to the pavement and grabbed the road. It's better than the 235's I have on my 05 GT but they work well.

I used to think that a M+S tire was all I needed and there was little difference between that and a snow tire but I can tell you with first hand experience from my 93 that a set of BFG KDWS vs the Firestone Winterforce snows were night and day. Sure the BFG's would get you home if you took your time and knew what you were doing. With the snows you actually had to work to get the rear to break loose.

So my vote is a set of dedicated snow tires that you run when conditions threaten. As goofy as the 93 looked with the narrow snows I used to carry a jack and the two tires in the back all the time. As soon as the flakes started to fall the snows when on. As soon as the roads were clear the regular tires were back. I had it down to about 8 minutes to make the swap. After 5 winters they were still new looking. Even the snows for my 05 are like new and they're 7 years old now. They go on in December and off in March.

I would do that before a LS but I would make my second upgrade an LS rear...