I got a real dumb question, I parked my truck on a very slight incline and got of the truck and walked towards my garage when I looked back my truck was rolling into my neighbors yard. which scared the hell out of me because of the kids in the neighbor hood always playing around in road. It is winter and I watched my trucks passenger side tires rolling not skidding. Now the dumb question the Drivers side tires front and back where on a little bit of ice which was run off from the warm day which turned to ice. I have an open differential and was wondering even if the passenger side tires where on dry tar would they roll if the drivers side where sliding? this scared the heck out of me, and when I got to my truck and got in the truck was securely in the park postion and I could not move it out. I had to start my truck and then depress the brake and move the shifter to drive to move it out. Does anyone have any idead what happend. This truck has been nothing but problems since I bought it, leaking oil seals to ball joints being junk after 4000 miles. And never mind bad idle and shifting. I am at my wits end with this truck , I asked the service tech who is my friend what to do and he said get rid of it. But then I have to trade it in and take a 10k hit. I am really starting to hate this truck. It now has 8k on it and its probably run correctly for a about 2 weeks since I got it,

 

I should add this to my post, I bought two 2004 Diesel trucks and the first one is running fine with a little over 14k but this second one I bought has been in the shop pretty much ever since I bought it.

 

Your open diff probably allowed the tire on the slick side to spin backwards while the dry side just rolled forward. It really a pretty simple mechanical understanding. Its really not the trucks fault. It the operators fault.. I hear that alot haha I am an operator. Read your owners manual.. Whenever you park on a slope you are supposed to use your parking brake. (engages both wheels together theoreticly speaking) Maybe your tires were warm and started to melt the ice while you walked away. This would cause it to be slicker and let it take off like that. geez...

 

Ohh yea.. Dont be afraid to use that little pedal to the left you know.. The "PARKING brake".

 

So let me understand what you are saying, my passenger side tires rolled forwardwards and my drivers tires rolled backwards. How could that happen if I watched the tires on the passenger side roll in the direction it was going. And I understand I should have been using the emergency brake, but if you would have seen the incline I am talking about you would kind of laugh. its not much at all. I was thinking maybe the tires slid on the drivers side and rolled on the passenger side, is this possible.

 

NO, On a axle with an open differential when you place the truck in park it locks the pinion gear from turning. But if you were to jack the back of the truck up you would see that you can still turn the tires. One will turn forward and one backward. That is the basic operation of the spider gears inside the axle. Therefore if the passenger side was rolling forward, the drivers side would be sliding on the ice and spinning backwards. Ya with me?

 

thanks Boggin, I wasnt trying to be insulting I am just asking a dumb question I guess. thanks for explaining it to me.

 

No dumb questions it IS how we all leaarn.....