Thread: To lock or not

Originally Posted by Disco Muppet

I'm 21, so I still drive a bit stupid
Could always fit an ATB centre...
Consider though yesterday I nearly rolled my echo when the rear started trying to overtake me and I ended up in a drainage culvert.
Disco unlocked is superb on slippery gravel, CDL engaged made it better IMHO, although yes it does understeer a bit more.
But then I'm in a different boat with a shorter wheelbase and different engine.

Muppet, an ex-racer here.... ;-)

And yes, wheel base can make a huge difference to stability.
The longer the wheelbase, the slower the transitions.

Originally Posted by DBT

What is it that makes an -unlocked- LT230 (allegedly) so fragile?

Does the same apply to an LT95?

I've always been cautions about staying locked too long (eg. leaving soft stuff and forgetting to unlock) and sustaining damage due to wind-up.

...

Dave Ashcroft sums it up best in his FAQ (read the bit I have bolded):

I have checked the adjustment but it won't come out of diff lock. Why?This is often reported after recent off roading, the centre diff is there to allow the props to turn at different speeds when cornering to stop drivetrain wind up, the speed difference is quite small and the centre diff gears are only designed to cope with these low speeds. If you are off road on snow or ice and you get wheelspin from one front wheel, what will happen is the rear prop will not be moving, the front will thus be going double speed, this means the small centre diff gears will be spinning like fury and after a matter of only a few seconds the plant gears will friction weld to the cross pins and the gears will fail etc, the result of this is that the diff will then behave as if it is locked as it in jammed with gear debris. The can happen if the driver forgets to lock the centre diff on a low traction surface or due to incorrect linkage adjustment, Please note this failure is not covered under warranty as we deem this driver error, the diff will never fail for any other reason other than excessive spinning, in which case the diff should have been locked by the driver.

There are plenty of people who have done this, and not just on snow and ice. Yes the LT95 is the same.

On the contrary, you really don't need to worry about wind up. Like the series LR warnings say, use of 4x4 [read CDL] on road will lead to accelerated tyre wear...

Originally Posted by Toxic_Avenger

On the Puma, the label on the dash recommends Max 40 MPH (60km/h). ...

The people who write manuals these days really are idiots - or rather are forced to be by the legal departments of the companies they work for.