thanks, eric.  i need new tires any way.  and with 80,000 miles it can't hurt
to replace the differential fluid. also, the fear is that its the viscous
coupling, not the diferential.  if all else fails, i'll try the drive shaft
removal test, though.

perhaps a follow up question is, if i determine that the VC is on its way
out,  would driving around without the drive shaft provide a temporary cure
until i find a used one or lots of $ along the road....or is the difference in
relative rotations between the left and right front wheels alone sufficient to
cause the VC to engage, and hence to cause a failing VC to prematurely
engage...and to what effect?

Eric Zeno wrote:

>     Save your money. REmove the drive shaft. This will tell you if
>      the problem is in the front diff. If so then proceed as you
>      stated. The drive shaft is easy to take out. drive it for
>      a few days that way and see.
>
>             Eric                   86-VW4x4
>             vw4x4@fyi.net          72-240z
>             Pittsburgh, PA USA     1936-Chrysler
>
>
> On Sat, 11 Oct 1997, Steven X. Schwenk wrote:
>
> > thanks for all the replys
> >
> > the binding is not normal...it is different than the normal binding on a
> > tight turn....it kicks in sooner and seems tighter ... and first
> > appeared after driving at highway speeds for long distance when it was
> > hot out
> >
> > i think Jim Davis offers me the best hope because he seems to know what
> > i am talking about and his cure makes sense....i'm going to replcae the
> > tires and change the differential fluid to slippery synthetic....and
> > i'll report back in about a month....
> >
> > thanks again
> >