Drivetrain Will a broken s spring affect traction?

The S-spring is there for preload in low-traction situations. Think having one tire on pure ice and the other three in sand. Without the s-spring, and very little load, you would likely not engage the clutch disks and one 1wheel peel. The s-spring provides that preload to drag the disks and prevent that from occurring.

Normal driving on dry road, it’s not an issue because if you spin up a wheel, the gears will want to seperate under load and this engages the clutches.

So unless you plan on driving in the snow, you really don’t need the s-spring. Guys do eliminate it.

With that said, if yours is cracked I would remove it. Last thing you want if for it to come apart and jam in your diff while you are doing 60mph.