'85 4wd differential question

So I had the 1985 4wd up on jackstands this weekend, redo-ing the hard brake lines and doing a rust assessment on the suspension components.

Just for kicks, I put it into gear and ran the car.
Strangely enough, the passenger side front wheel rotated, but not the driver's side.
My fwd protege doesn't do this.

After some research, I'm still confused to why there would be preference for one wheel when the drive shafts are spinning unloaded.

Maybe the wheel bearing or drive shafts on the driver's side is in worse condition than the passenger side?
Maybe the MT fluid has never been changed and the differential is living in muck? (I wouldn't doubt it.)


btw - I believe this is what the 85's differential would look like, minus the limited slip.
425.jpg


Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Comments

  • I've seen that before. Like you suggested, there's just enough drag on one side and the other is free as a bird (maybe worn out, no grease, etc...), so all the output goes to the one wheel. I'm sure if you could put some drag on the wheel that rotates, the other would spin up quite nicely.
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