You'd be surprised how well you can get around with a 2 wheel drive, open diff truck in the winter...Just get good tires and don't stop moving.

Really? Hmm, I never really thought about it much. Just the thought of only being able to drive 2 wheels is a turn off for me. I like the power of all 4. But with tire chains and constant movement, I guess it wouldn't be too bad.

Driving two wheels? If only.....If you're in snow with an open diff, you're gonna be driving ONE wheel lol. Still, its all about conserving momentum and keeping an eye on where you put the rears.

(PS: Tire chains? Maybe if I lived in siberia lol. Honestly, a posi rear end and decent tires would be PLENTY for 99% of winters.)

mmmmm 3.4 DOHC...i love that motor

That thing was pretty ballsy till that one day it spit a chuck of it'* CAT out the tail pipe. It was all down hill from there.

Well, I'm not all that experienced when it comes to ballsy driving. Maybe I'd be comfortable with 2 wheel drive if I was. (Or one, if you say so haha). I always keep a set of chains around. Ya just never know.

What is an open differential and how is it different/better? How can I tell if I have one?

An open differential basically transfers power to whichever wheel resists it the least, IE, whichever wheel has LESS grip. So, if you have one wheel in snow and the other on pavement, the one in snow is going to spin all day and the one on pavement won't be receiving ANY power and thus sitting still. The only situation in which both wheels will get power is when they have an equal amount of grip.

Its the easiest, cheapest way to do a differential basically.

Fun fact: The 34 gallon fuel tank in this style of Chevy truck is located on the drivers side of the bed, right before the wheel, so, with the extra weight on the drivers side, the drivers side rear wheel has more grip. Therefore, when you do a burnout in these trucks (if you have an open differential) the passenger side rear wheel always has less grip and thus always is the one to spin.

yeah they had lifter issues alot..but they had alot of raw power

So is it that I don't want an open differential then?

That'* pretty much correct.