4WD on normal roads

[Shanemarsh1]

how far can you drive in 4wd in none slippy conditions before damaging it. i live above holmfirth in the yorkshire moors and in winter i need 4wd to get through the snow drifts which can be 4ft high but they may be 1/4 to 1/2 mile apart, so do i have to dissengage 4wd in between or can i drive a few miles on dry roads without transmition wind up

[Frenchfarmer]

You would have to stop and disengage 4wd.
Even fifty yards will cause trouble if you try to turn corners.
Shame they don't have a centre diff.

[Krusher]

There is no problem selecting between 2wd and 4wd on tarmac. If you drive from slippery conditions to non slippy you can change between 4wd and 2wd
as long as you leave your auto locking hubs locked. Then when you drive back onto slippery conditions you can just slip it into 4wd without having to engage
the lockers.

[adyclemo]

As long as the auto lockers are kept locked you can shift between 2h and 4h while moving just keep a slow speed, take it out of gear, move your 4wd shift lever and pop it back in gear jobs a good un. Done it many times in mine.

[FronteraGirl]

Sorry to hijack this thread, but I've read the phrase 'auto locking hubs' so often but don't know what they are! So what are they and do I have them on my B series 2.2diesel - oh, and can I drive mine in 4x4 mode on ordinary road without damaging anything?

[Drift]

Cuppa time

Check this out,
http://www.fronteraowners.co.uk/wiki/in ... _FAQ/Guide

[bobbinsjob]

Hi Fronteragirl. Autoloclikng hubs means that when on an "A" series you select 4wd, as the wheels first turn forwards the hubs engage giving 4wd in forward motion. If you then reverse, the hubs momentarily dissengage and then engage again in reverse motion. This can have a detremental effect if stuck in mud and you are rocking back and forth to free yourself as the constant engaging and dissengaging has a snatch effect and can damage the drive shafts and or the diff.

On your B series, you do have autolocking hubs but with the benefit that they do not dissengage on changing direction, they stay engaged until you press the 4wd button on the dash.

With regards to your last question, under no circumstances use the 4wd on solid ground, if one of the wheels cannot slip it will cause wind-up in the axles (due to the lack of a centre diff) and could cause catastrophic damage to the diff. (and a front diff on a dti is around £2000 ) This can happen in a very short distance, just a few yards. If you are travelling on a road that changes from dry road to snow covered and back again, just press the 4wd button when on snow then pres it agin as you get to dry road again, its so much easier with the Bseries.

Hope that explains it for you

[Road Hog]

As Ian above says but with the exception that The B series hubs are neither manual or auto but are permanantly bolted to the drive shafts,the offside is always in mesh with the diff where the nearside is in two sections & when you push the 4WD button it operates a sliding coulper on the driveshaft which locks the two halves together

[Retro Pedro]

Just me thinking on this one - I know the 'B' hubs involve vacuum pipes/pump, so my thinking is that compressed air is involved. If compressed air is required, and a form of compressor was fitted and piped in, could the 'A' be modified to utilise 'B' locking hubs?

[Road Hog]

[FronteraGirl]

Thanks guys, some really good info there and in the Wiki, love this site more every day!

[Frenchfarmer]

[FronteraGirl]

Just been thinking about this....when you talk about not using 4wd on solid ground, how solid is solid? Is it ok to drive in a field that isn't necessarily muddy, just kinda 'grassy' in 4wd? Or should it only really be used in wet slippy conditions of some sort? Our lane is potholey with puddles and mud and gravel, is it ok to run it up there in 4wd from time to time to keep all the things in working condition? Or is that the road to ruin?!

Confused from Scotland

[Rich]

you really only need four wheel drive on really slippy stuff IE deep mud,snow,ice and really wet grass on a normal grassy field you should be OK in two wheel drive

[Drift]

If the lane is heavily pot holed you should be fine as each time a wheel hits or skips over a pot hole it will dissipate and wind up, basically that one wheel will do a mini wheel spin to even the windup forces out.