is it possible to find out if my car has limited slip differential from the V.I.N. numbers. Or any other way.

 

easier to find out if it has it by model and year...

 

or you could just look at the rear end. the factory LSD cars have a yellow sticker saying something to that effect. It's quite possible that its still on there. My rear end still has teh sticker on it.

 

why dont you revit up to 5 grand and dump the clutch. if you have 2 equal length burn marks its Lsd, if not its not.

Or you could jack up the rear end of the car, turn 1 wheel and if the other turns in the same direction its LSD, if it turns the oppisite direction than it isnt.

 

Weren't all LSD's on the 1st gens disc brakes also?

 

Yep, if it has rear discs, it has an LSD. The S/GS were drum/open rear. Now, if the LSD still works, that's a diff story.

 

You can do two wheel burnouts with an open diff. Done 'em all the time. All you need is equal traction at the rear wheels.

All 1st-gens with rear discs came from the factory with a limited slip, and vice-versa, standard equipment on the GSL(-SE) models and not available on S or GS models.

However the car is now 20 or so years old. Many things could have happened in that time. People love swapping the rear disc/LSD rears into GS and S models. When the cars were new, many people complained about rearend chatter in their new GSL's. The dealer fix was to change the centersection. LSD centersections were not always available so sometimes open diffs were installed in GSLs by the dealerships. (It's also a surefire way to eliminate chatter! )

So how do you check? This is the BEST WAY OF CHECKING. Chock the front wheels. Put the car in neutral, handbrake off. Jack up ONE rear wheel. Try to turn it. If it has a good LSD, it should be very hard to turn, and as you force it harder it should reach a point where it "breaks away" and turns easier albeit still requiring a good amount of effort. If it breaks away at a fairly low torque and then turns very easily, you have a worn out LSD. If it turns easily right from the get-go, you have an open diff OF an extremely worn out LSD.

Again, this is the only good method for telling what you have that doesn't require holding tools and shampooing in 90wt gear oil. Jacking up both wheels and turning the driveshaft will ALWAYS make both rear wheels turn, unless one of your brakes is dragging badly. Jacking up both rear wheels and turning one and seeing which way the other one turns is inconclusive, as it is possible for a car with an open diff to "appear" to have LSD by this method.