ðòéìä îøëæéú

[ôñèø]

îãåáø òì øéðâ' àáì æä àåúå ãáø
îä àúí îáéðéí? ìðòåì àå ìà
ìîøåú ùãåáø òì ëê àôéìå ôä îúìáèéí

USING THE CENTRE DIFF.
The most glaring problems with Stefan's comments lie in the second paragraph. My experience with Range Rover transfer boxes, and also Land Rover doctrine, dictate certain technique for their systems.
Stefan was quite correct in saying that it's unnecessary and undesirable to lock the centre diff on the road for the same reasons your wouldn't put your Series Land-Rover into four-wheel. Tire and drivetrain wear are accelerated on highly tractive surfaces and even a wet road qualifies as highly tractive. An icy or snowy road where you are spinning just one tire in an attempt to move is an exception, though driving icy roads with the centre diff locked can be treacherous; the same advice would apply to standard 4X4's in four wheel drive.

Stefan is also absolutely correct to warn against applying diff lock whilst you've got lots of wellie applied. You either want to be in diff lock before you get to the wildly spinning tire stuff (not the best way to drive, anyway) or you want to: 1) back off the throttle, 2) engage the diff lock lever, 3) wait 'til the light come on (the sure indicator that it's actually engaged, since the light reads off a sensor in the t-box) and 4) get back on the fuel feed. You don't have to push in the clutch to engage diff lock (you couldn't anyway with the auto tranny) but being gentle doesn't hurt if you have the option.

Here is where Stefan and I part ways: If you are in terrain that's more than the family sedan can handle - engage the diff lock! Why? Once you start getting into low traction situations, you start that centre diff to working hard. It's actually very small and not as robust as the diffs in your axles. Gears a-spinnin', its starts to get hot, especially if "Joe's Genuine Recycled Gear Oil" that you put in can't keep up with the lubrication needs. Shimmed with brass behind the diff gears, once they loose lubrication, from heat generally, they melt down and/or get spit out in chunks. The gears then walk around, get cockeyed and break. Sometimes the broken chunks will lock the unit into one piece and you will find the vehicle in truly permanent four-wheel drive. If it doesn't lock up, you stop.

With the centre diff locked, power is transferred through the much stronger centre diff housing instead of the gears. In diff lock, the unit is stronger than unlocked and no more vulnerable to breakage than any other 4X4, V-8 engine, first gear, wide open throttle and blocked wheels notwithstanding.

[àøæ]

áâãåì àðé ðåòì ãéô' îøëæé áëì éøéãä ìùèç, æàú àåîøú áëì îöá áå éù àôùøåú ìàéáåã àçéæä(åæä àåîø âí ùáéìéí îäéøéí)

[ôñèø]

ìôé îä ùîùúîò ðñéòä øöåôä âåøîú ìäúçîîåú äùîï áãéô' äîøëæé åæä ìà áøéà òã îöá ÷éöåðé ùì ú÷éòä ùì ëì äîòøëú

[ùçó110]

áøééðâ äãéô' äîøëæé äåà åéñ÷åæé áãéôðãø/ãéñ÷å æä ìà ëëä.