Thread: To lock or not

Originally Posted by Loubrey

Obviously everybody's welcome to his or her own opinion on when to lock or not lock the CDL...

Land Rover's official line at the LR Experience training centers (unfortunately not available in Australia) is that the CDL on a Defender is locked the moment there is any chance of loosing traction - that effectively includes just about all surfaces other than black top...

There is a reason the vehicle has high range diff lock and I've done more than 300,000 km in a 300Tdi 90 following that principle, so its safe to say that it certainly doesn't do the car any harm to lock up the moment you leave the black top.

60,000 on my Puma and not a trace of abnormal metal content in the transfer box or gearbox oil at the last service (both original and 48 month health check)...

Cheers,

Lou

So the 40 mph / 60 km sticker on the transfer case is a piece of cover my arse by L.R

Originally Posted by AndyG

So the 40 mph / 60 km sticker on the transfer case is a piece of cover my arse by L.R

In this day and age you're surprised that something's got a sticker on it which is there for arse covering purposes?

I'm surprised LR hasn't removed the centre diff lock from the Deefer for safety reasons - it's probably only a matter of time until cross axle diff locks will banned as unsafe as well..,

Hey all just timing in on this debate, I've just spent last week down south of wa and had my 90 in cdl for almost 4 days mainly on sand and dirt tracks and never had a drama. In regards to those saying don't drive above 40km with it engaged if you read through the owners manual it states the centre diff lock can be engaged up to 40mph or 60kph as long as the car is in a strait line with no wheel spin. And aslong as your on a loose ish surface you can dive as fast as you like with it engaged. I was driving 80kph up the beach and it performed fine. Maybe a few people need to check out and read the landrover information properly and get to understand it alittle better. By the way my 2014 90 out did all my mates patrols&landcruisers with cross axle diff locks. The centre diff lock is the real deal! Landrover must know what there doing otherwise it wouldn't be there
Cheers

Surely mine isn't the only Defender with the warning sticker on the firewall in front of the gearlever saying "The differential lock must only be engaged when traction is likely to be lost... bla bla bla as soon as the difficult surface has been crossed the differential lock must be released." I don't consider a dirt road a difficult surface.

Originally Posted by 2stroke

Surely mine isn't the only Defender with the warning sticker on the firewall in front of the gearlever saying "The differential lock must only be engaged when traction is likely to be lost... bla bla bla as soon as the difficult surface has been crossed the differential lock must be released." I don't consider a dirt road a difficult surface.

Because you drive a Defender!!!

Land Rover training doctrine considers any surface other than blacktop to have potential for losing traction...

The risk of differential speed damage running unlocked on loose gravelly dirt road remain significantly higher than running locked. Might never happen, but that's the official line.

Cheers,

Lou

Still find it amusing that the centre diff is in jeopardy as soon as the vehicle leaves bitumin but the 2 in the axles, especially that poor excuse for a diff in the front, isn't. I mean one front or rear wheel has to spin up, then HALF of that speed differential has to be absorbed in the centre diff, and that's only if the vehicle is sitting stationary with an incompetent moron driver at the wheel.

2stroke,

Don't disagree at all, just the way they teach it and Land Rover Experience is usually aimed at people new to the marque who might just fall into you're descriptive category...

I do however find that the moment I feel the 90 being skittish on a dirt track I will notice I forgot to lock the center diff. I'd imagine 110 and 130 would be much more stable and less likely to be as noticeable.

Cheers,

Lou

I've never driven a 90, in fact the shortest constant 4x4 I've driven was a 2door Rangie and it was much more stable than the 109 S2a it replaced. I reckon I could enjoy a 90 on many levels but I'd imagine the short wheelbase would have side effects. I have previously owned an 80" S1 and have been driving an LJ50 for years but neither CDL or speed are an issue on either of those.