Thread: Diff Lock in or out on dirt

Er AFAIR there is a little plaque on the dash of LT95 rangies that says
"Do not engage centre diff lock until traction is lost"
IMHO that does not include normal dirt roads.
I cannot see how you would get wheelspin just cruising on a dirt road.
Perhaps Land Rover would know.
Regards Philip A

Originally Posted by Mudsloth

I use my cdl only when things get muddy or very loose, as far as wind up is concerned if it takes more than half a metre then its time for a service. I've driven long distances (60 to 80km at freeway speeds) at high speed with cdl on, once the transfer linkages were jammed the second i snapped the rear drive axle and both times i only had to reverse about a metre. as far as wear is concerned, better to wear out than rust out dude! If ur still worried, get diff locks man, ull never have to worry bout a cdl again aka YouTube - mudsloth's Channel

Until you kill your centre diff in about 2 secs in low range...

NEVER drive in low range without the centre diff locked, you WILL brake it.

Originally Posted by mcrover

Until you kill your centre diff in about 2 secs in low range...

NEVER drive in low range without the centre diff locked, you WILL brake it.

What about tarmac trailer backing, low speed manoeuvres etc?

Also not an option on some Disco2, but I agree. Low range and CDL go together.

Originally Posted by B92 8NW

What about tarmac trailer backing, low speed manoeuvres etc?

Exactly. I tow a caravan and always use unlocked low range to move it in and out of the yard and position it on site. I even used it for a couple of kms towing uphill on a steep bitumen road. It's nothing to do with traction; idling slowly along in low range without touching the accelerator makes reversing the van easier.

If traction was an issue I would lock the CDL.

Stephen.
'01 TD5 D2 Auto

Originally Posted by mcrover

Until you kill your centre diff in about 2 secs in low range...

NEVER drive in low range without the centre diff locked, you WILL brake it.

BS !
I've already done this this morning and the Centre diff has survived <edit> admittedly it was only a short section of about 10m that was pretty nasty and needed low range.
Maxed out the travel front and back too.

I never lock the CDL in on dirt, like Big Jon I reckon it steers better , particularly turn in without it engaged and I'd reckon I drive more dirt over a variety of surfaces in one week than most of you in a month.
Just before Chrissy I was racking up at least 60-80km of dirt a day which changed from crushed shale to black soil to sand to good road base to gravel. The only time I locked the CDL was when I hit the sand. This is just going to and from a customer.

As for what 100I said about rally cars, last time I checked an LT85, LT95 and LT230 were full time 4WD, so not sure what the 2WD analogy has to do with the price of fish, and AFAIK none of them have 100% locking of the centre diff ! (yeah, yeah, I know the original Audi Quattro had a CDL)

Originally Posted by mcrover

Until you kill your centre diff in about 2 secs in low range...

NEVER drive in low range without the centre diff locked, you WILL brake it.

interesting thread, BUT ?????

Please explain to me why - I don't understand - I have had to use CDL in low range for traction on occasions, but otherwise I generally leave it unlocked

How can driving in low range (CDL in or out) damage (brake? (or is it break?)) the CDL ??

Originally Posted by Mudsloth

...get front and rear diff locks and never worry about the cdl again aka YouTube - mudsloth's Channel

hey mudsloth....can you expand on this comment or maybe somebody else can, are you saying that diff locks protect the CDL or if you have diff locks you don't need a CDL

in answer to the first post i generally engage CDL on dirt roads, even better now that i discovered i didn't have to stop the car to engage....

i drove a couple of thousands km's on my simpson desert trip with CDL engaged, speeds ranged from 5km/hr to 100km/hr