snow driving....

[taylor6632]

Seeing as some snow is falling quite heavy outside my house, is it best to stick it in 4H when out on it? Or shall i just tighten my bowels and leave it in 2H......hahaha

[Drift]

Keep it in 2wd until you need the 4wd as driving on unslippy surfaces will cause wind up.
Some good reading here
http://www.fronteraowners.co.uk/wiki/in ... _FAQ/Guide

[taylor6632]

ok, but say we get it as bad as we did last year (the snow) still leave it in rear wheel drive yea? unless i get stuck...

[Drift]

No dont get stuck, if you cant see the tarmac thats a good indicator for using 4wd

[bl4kmist]

As Drift says, 4x4 on Tarmac isn't a good idea and you will Wind your Diff's up, so its a simple case of going by feeling, if your loosing grip in rear wheel drive then STOP, and select 4x4, but if you think you will have grip again go back to rear wheel drive

[taylor6632]

ok, thought that may be the case. wouldn't use 4wd on grippy surfaces

[Frenchfarmer]

Drive in a higher gear and use the engine to brake.
If you can find an empty car park you could try a few slides so you get used to how the vehicle handles and how slippy it is as not all snow is the same.
I prefer to drive on the fresh stuff rather than where it has been compacted by other vehicles.

[meooo]

Engage 4wd, then change to 2wd leaving the hubs locked, then you can shuffle between 4/2 as required

[paul01]

All this snow and I'm stuck with 2wd

[snapper]

What meoo said, plus go give it a spin around an empty snow covered car park to get used to handling the truck in the snow. Dont forget it will handle differently when in 4wd. Oh and don't forget.....

Just because you have a 4x4, and have stuck it in 4x4 mode it DOES NOT mean that it won't slip n slide like a ducks arrse on ice... so don't go driving like a demented teenager or you will end up in a ditch!

[stigg101]

I didnt think leaving the hubs locked did it any good if you take out of four wheel drive ,as your ment to reverse to unlock? my auto hubs stick a bit and if they dont disengage i get a strange growning noise like a wheel bearing has gone! , then need to stop and reverse to make it stop , is that normal!

[Wilberforce]

Auto hubs only unlock on changes of direction...
When you engage 4WD, the axle moves in relation to the hub, so it locks. When you change direction in 4WD, the hub will unlock briefly, then relock as the axle starts to go the other way. If you deselct 4WD and then go in reverse, the hub is then moving while the axle isn't, so they unlock - That's the "go backwards for a bit in 2WD to unlock the hubs" thing.

There is however absolutely nothing wrong with coming out of 4WD and just carrying on going in the same direction, especially if you think you'll need it again soon. All this means is that the front hubs and axle are locked together and will turn as the car moves, but as you're in 2WD mode, there's no link then between the front axle and the gearbox, so no damage should occur. If you're getting funny noises then Id suggest trying to work out what's causing it, as that is definitely *not* normal.

Post in axles though, to keep this on topic.

Cheers,