Thread: When to lock CDL

Cant be bothered reading all replys so ill keep it simple;

Soon as your of the tarmac lock the centre diff!

See, easy

May not be in the majority with this but have been around a bit, and a lot of travel on gravel/sand. My answer is only when needed to proceed. Never over 40Km/h never on good surfaces, would never consider it on corrugations. Have had 1 Disco and 2 Defenders with over 800,000K combined and never had a problem with CDL’s.
Dennis

Age old question.......

I religiously engage mine....was doing it way before I was made awear of the physics around it.

Other don’t

Each to there own......

regardless of your driving style(or lack thereof hey Rick!)
you should engage CDL regularly if only to ensure you CAN...

remember, if you dont use it...

Originally Posted by Pedro_The_Swift

regardless of your driving style(or lack thereof hey Rick!)
you should engage CDL regularly if only to ensure you CAN...

remember, if you dont use it...

The CDL on my 20 year old Tdi is sweet because I’ve used it a lot. It’s slips in smooth nd positive on the fly and only ever needs a short reverse unwind to disengage if there have been a lot of slow tight twisty turns. I’ve always locked it on fast dirt up 80km/hr unless it’s compacted smooth like a highway.

The CDL on my 4 year old Puma is still tight, not as positive to shift and always requires a short reverse or two to unwind. I lock it st every opportunity but ..I definitely need to use it more! But circumstances have changed lately and I’m not living out bush at the moment so ...I need to get out more and lock the CDL in the too shiny newer beast!

Originally Posted by Pedro_The_Swift

regardless of your driving style(or lack thereof hey Rick!)
you should engage CDL regularly if only to ensure you CAN...

remember, if you dont use it...

And the same goes for low range for mostly highway drivers.

Engaging the cdl as soon as your off tarmac will not damage the drive train. The extra wear is so minimal that it is negligible. However if you dont engage it and loose traction to the point where you spin a wheel for a few seconds you risk damaging the centre diff and it potentially locking up permanently...in which case you just broke it!
Engage the dam thing and she'll be right. The other thibg to consider is that off tarmac the vehicle is much safer with the cdl engaged. Increases traction through drive going to the front and the back. Especially safe on fast gravel or dirt

Wow I did open up a can of worms !!
I can now confirm that my CDL engagement is consistent with everyone here.
I do lock it soon as am off bitumen but there are occasions where the track is solid and smooth and no chance of slipping unless it is wet of course, all other times is locked in Hi or Lo.
On some occasions I need to reverse slightly to release light.
Cheers everyone