In an effort to change my rear brakes and change the rear diff fluid, I noticed that both wheels spin the same direction with no play to go opposite. Do we just call it a rear diff because the only other way to explain it would be rear gear box? The tires absolutely refuse to go opposite direction.
That's normal. The rear 4x4 atv diff's are 100% locked. That's why driving at low speeds, on pavement and so on, put's a LOT of stress on the shafts and diff. If you turn, the inner wheel makes less rotations then the outside wheel. But the locked diff just forces it to make the same rotaton. You can compare it with a straight axle on a sports atv.(like the raptor) It's just that, with a straight axle, you can't have independent suspension.
I understand how a differential works, I am not questioning that. I am questioning why we call it a differential. All things considered, I prefer it to be locked in the rear.
Yep, but we drive it on public roads all the time in europe. And that's a different matter. it EAT's tyres like crazy. Non pre-loaded limited slip diff's would be a GREAT solution. But expensiv.
That's the main reason i dropped out with yamaha.(grizzly's) destroying rear CV joints like hell.
I found out the hard way what the rear end can do to a nice lawn. Within the same week, my buddy bought 2 Outtys, and my Brother'nLaw and I bought 6. We lined up all 8 machines on my lawn for some photos. Well, after lining them all up and turning them all around to face the right way, my lawn looked like an SOS pad. Nice pictures-Mad Wife.
There is no differential in there. It is a spool, just a ring gear with splines thru the middle of it, bearings on each end. I don't know who started that "differential" stuff.