W124 AMG E36 - Limited Slip Diff... wha?
 

Hi all,

Now this is me probably being *really* stupid, but can anyone describe to me how I check for the operation (or how to "feel") the operation of the Limited Slip Diff which is installed as a factory option on my E36 T-series?

I also have an orange triangle in the centre of the speedo which illuminates and estinguishes properly when the car is started. I have only ever seen this lit up on other MB cars when you're losing traction. Needless to say my car doesn't have "traction control" (and it was fun to explore that experiment!)...

any thoughts welcome!

all best...

You have what car? a w123 with a AMG 3.6 engine?

Sorry edited my title - I have a W124 Factory AMG E36, 1995 wagon. 3.6L, yes! (UK)

The speedo orange triangle is on cars equipped with ASD or ASR or 4Matic. You don't have ASD because the E320 is not a diesel, you say you don't have ASR, so you must have 4Matic, right?

Hmm, no I don't have 4 matic no. There is a further orange light in the binnacle marked "ASD" which also goes on & off when I start the car.

Found this on wikipedia...

Hi Bob - thanks for this, interesting! Well I have to say from my experience, the triangle has *never* illuminated, even given seirously spirited attempts to spin inside wheels from standing starts etc. At no point do I even get a flicker.

How can I check to see if this is working ok?

Try "split mu" (technical term for different traction surfaces) test. One wheel on the pavement, other wheel on the grass, or one wheel on dry pavement the other on wet.

Don't be abusive when testing this setup - with split mu, it should be relatively easy to get the system to engage. You'll know if it doesn't work, because the wheel with lower traction will just spin.

Hiya - thanks for this, and I'm guessing that if the system is working the orange triangle should light up? I'll give this a go. One of the main reasons for my post was that I have before spun an inside wheel from a standing start, and nothing lights up anywhere ..

I'll give the stright line, gentler "split mu" approach a go ... :)