I was thumbing through my '94 100CSq owner's manual the other day, and a question popped into my head. The center diff is obviously a Torsen differential, and the rear diff is manually lockable. However, what of the front diff? It doesn't say in the manual whether or not it's a Torsen, a limited-slip, or just a conventional differential. I assume that since it doesn't say otherwise, that the front diff is of the normal "transfer the torque to the slipping wheeel" type, without any torque management capability. Am I wrong? And continuing along the same thread, when the rear diff is unlocked, does it have any torque-management capability, or is it of the same crummy-in-the-snow type as the front? I'd love some clarification!

(Okay, I know there's someone out there who's thought of this too. . . has anybody thought about/attempted to/failed to/succeeded to convert their front differential into a manually lockable one, like the rear? Outside of ground clearance, you'd have an Audi that could go like a Unimog.)

It would be VERY hard to convert the front diff to lockable since it's housed in the transmission.

Even if you did "lock it" you would be a LONG way from a Unimog. The Torsen differential has limitations, and one of the big ones is that it's not made for "mudding". For a better "mudding" vehicle you would be further ahead replacing the Torsen differential with a lockable center (a la the first generation of quattro).

On the 80/90 forum I gave a long explaination of Torsen. For those who are interested see link....<ul><li><a href="http://forums.audiworld.com/9080/msgs/13080.phtml">http://forums.audiworld.com/9080/msgs/13080.phtml</a</li></ul>