I bought a 2005 4.3 Silverado "contractors special" 2 years ago with 10 miles as my new work truck after I changed careers. Owning a repair shop and turning wrenches professionally for almost 20 years gave me the opportunity to work on, own and build countless vehicles with all types of differentials. After installing a Powertrax diff in this truck at 40000 miles I have made several observations. It is not nearly as noisy as other cars I have driven with lockers. Common locker charistics are: the inside tire will chirp on turns with even the slightest throttle, quite a bit of understeer going around turns when giving it gas, more pronounced drivetrain backlash, occasional clunks and bangs and traction like no posi can give unless it is really tight. The Silverado had an open rear with 2wd so it was a huge difference in traction. I regularly back my Wave-Runner onto sandy boat ramps and this truck barely sneezes compared to the peg leg rear is had. You definatly have to always keep in mind that it is back there though. Not sure about snow operation but I have a good idea about how it will behave. I can see one in my GN someday. Easy install on the truck because of the single track. I would imagine a posi car would be only slightly more difficult.
Makes that terrible ratcheting noise during turns. Applying power in a turn locks up the diff and caught me off guard quite a few times.
