http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4JhruinbWc

Before I watched this video, I knew what a differential did but didn't really understand how it did it. Now I know.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Nice, now I know.

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1979 Black on Black, 300CD (sold), 1990 Black 300SE, Silver 1989 Volvo 780, 1988 300CE (vanished by the hands of a girlfriend), 1992 300CE (Rescue).

that model/mockup of a cars rear end (tires, shafts, basic bearings and tinker-toy 'differential' is awesome.

Too bad that the simply mechanical elegance is being replaced by viscous couplings (that have many more failure points)

-John

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2009 Kia Sedona
2009 Honda Odyssey EX-L
12006 Jetta Pumpe Duse
(insert Mercedes here)

Husband, Father, sometimes friend =)

That is the best visual explaination for how a differential works that I've ever seen. I like the trick riding in the begining, though I have no idea what that has to do with differentials.

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Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

That was brilliant. Thanks for posting it!

simple breakdown of how FWD works along with differentials http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlQ6KRqUepg

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hum.....
1987 300TD 311,000M Stolen. Presumed destroyed

That is good. I first saw the principle of planetary gears in action with my old Saab 96. They had a weak clutch/tranny setup and I had the engine/transaxle out about 9 times over 6 years IIRC. A smarter man probably would have gotten rid of it.

I forget how exactly but when the tranny was opened up you could see the FWD differential. Cute as could be, all those well machined gears working so smoothly. A little bit of playing around with it and I could see how it worked and why vehicles w/o posi-traction or LSD can get stuck in the mud with the wheel with the least traction spinning.

I think with rear wheel drive cars, there's less opportunity to see the inner workings of the differential as it is rarely taken apart and repaired by the average guy.

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

When I played with Lego Technic models, that taught me how differentials worked (model 8880 was a Supercar that had 3 differentials, 4WD, 4-speed manual transmission and 4-wheel steering. That was a fun car to build.

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http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7271/7...144c3fc1dc.jpg

Outstanding. The use of a rod to push both sides at the same time leads directly to the understanding of more spokes, and finally, gears doing the job.

Thanks for posting that!

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1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags

Its no wonder kids were smarter/more science oriented back then, the emphasis on learning stuff like that was much higher.

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-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

Parents and educators thought less of the poor little dears' self image, and more one "hard" science, and truth. Truths like--the race goes to the swift. Not everyone wins; not everyone excels.

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1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags

I think it has less to do with time and place and more to do with a sharp person who understood differntials and knew how to communicate that knowledge effectively in a very simple manner. I think that a pretty high percentage of people who knew exactly how and why differentials worked couldn't have come up with that simple model to explain it to the ignorant.
I've looked at a number of differentials in my day, saw what was happening but didn't understand it.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Now they just need to make one of those for an inline injection pump.

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1983 240D 3.0T 4-speed manual, now sold

1989 Subaru GL Wagon 5-speed Touring Edition

Differentials have been in use since the earliest days of the automobile, so I am guessing that the operation was pretty obvious to those pioneers.

The genius is the guy who first thought of the idea. I wonder what was the original problem that was the impetus for someone to create this solution. I bet it predates the need to have one wheel of a driven axle go faster than the other on a curve.

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1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags

Another favorite canard of the right.

. . . thought less of the poor little dears' self image . . .

People can get damaged for life by overbearing, cruel people. Why are some people filled with self-confidence and courage while others are afraid to take risks? A bit of attention to this subject strikes me as a worthy task.

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K