Auto ,low box im confused ?

Can anybody give me some advice regarding my discovery ,only had it 7 weeks so not had chance or reason as yet to use the low ratio box ,so here goes its a 1997 tdi 300 2.5 diesel auto as seen in my profile pics ,now then on the low box it has a sign that says something like 5 to 8 mph ? so do i put the auto box in D 3 2 OR 1 ? when i use low box ? im a bit confused sorry for my ignorance but avnt anybody out my way with a l,r that i can ask so over to the experts ,Ady

you have to be travelling no faster than 8mph when you change to low range. You put the auto box in what ever is appropriate e.g. going down a very steep slope 1st would be good, but D does the job most of the time

All it means is you shouldn't put it into low range above that speed, to put into low ratio you need to put the main selector into N then select low range. Once in low range use 1 2 3 or D depending on the terrain you are on, i.e for a steep downhill section where you would need maximum engine braking put it into the 1 position to stop the gearbox changing up through the gears so it will control your descent better instead of having to use the brakes and loose traction. If it does start to skid it is better to blip the throttle slightly to regain traction rather than braking to try stopping the slide. I hope this helps, i'm sure somebody else will be able to give you a better explanation than i have on it's use.

Thanks richard ,am i right in thinking if im in D doing say 5mph i can go straight into low box ,or do i av to go into neutral first ?

adymanchester said:

Thanks richard ,am i right in thinking if im in D doing say 5mph i can go straight into low box ,or do i av to go into neutral first ?

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See Smarty's reply...I forgot a vital part!

adymanchester said:

Thanks richard ,am i right in thinking if im in D doing say 5mph i can go straight into low box ,or do i av to go into neutral first ?

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Always select neutral when you are changing to low ratio, you can change it as your coasting but no more than 5mph

do you have to be moving to change into low box i e if you are in a tight spot and not able to get up to speed to change into low box.

graham
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98 d1 300tdi g.s. auto.

cornish rattler said:

do you have to be moving to change into low box i e if you are in a tight spot and not able to get up to speed to change into low box.

graham
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98 d1 300tdi g.s. auto.

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no you can be at a full stop and select low ratio

V8Jay said:

no you can be at a full stop and select low ratio

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thanks v8jay

graham
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98 d1 300tdi g.s. auto.

gave it a try in the multi story car park today and it all worked fine.

graham
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98 d1 300tdi g.s. auto.

cornish rattler said:

gave it a try in the multi story car park today and it all worked fine.

graham
___________________
98 d1 300tdi g.s. auto.

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Now you need to try difflock, by moving the lever to the left. A light on the dash should come on when it is engaged.
Some nice wet mud or grass would be a good place to try it, you can engage diff lock at any speed, but if it has never been used before, don't be surprised if the mechanism is stuck solid

Richard Martin said:

Now you need to try difflock, by moving the lever to the left. A light on the dash should come on when it is engaged.
Some nice wet mud or grass would be a good place to try it, you can engage diff lock at any speed, but if it has never been used before, don't be surprised if the mechanism is stuck solid

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yeh i did try that and it was stuck solid but i was stationery, do i need to be moving to engage diff lock.

graham
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98 d1 300tdi g.s. auto.

no you dont need to be moving but sometimes it will take a little movement before the diff lock engages

bobbler said:

no you dont need to be moving but sometimes it will take a little movement before the diff lock engages

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Just to be clear, you should be able to move the lever even if the car isn't moving, but you may need to move the car a bit for the difflock to engage after you have moved the lever

Diff lock ?? not sure about this ,do you mean on the low ratio gearbox ? mine just says H , neutral and L at the far rear ,is this the same thing or is there something iv missed ? av tried it this morning in D and low on low box and you can feel it lock up ,can only do 25mph ish is this correct ?

diff lock is when you push the transfer lever to the left from any of the three positions (H,N,L). it will lock your centre diff so that one wheel at the front and one at the rear will always have power.

not advisable to use on the roads though, usually accompanied by a loud bang if you do

no it moves into hi / lo easily but is solid when trying to go into dif lock.

graham
____________________
98 d1 300tdi g.s. auto.

cornish rattler said:

no it moves into hi / lo easily but is solid when trying to go into dif lock.

graham
____________________
98 d1 300tdi g.s. auto.

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then you need to read this

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f8/freeing-up-your-discovery-1-difflock-linkage-59819.html

mine took a bit of effort but now works freely

bobbler said:

diff lock is when you push the transfer lever to the left from any of the three positions (H,N,L). it will lock your centre diff so that one wheel at the front and one at the rear will always have power.

not advisable to use on the roads though, usually accompanied by a loud bang if you do

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"always have power" I'm . com.

If you have a wheel spinning on each axle you will be going no where diff lock or no difflock.

The idear of diff lock is, if a wheel has lost traction therefore disabling drive on that axle with diff lock engaged the axle that has lost dirve won't directly affect the other axle as it would if difflock was not engaged and hopfully the other axle still has traction ie. two wheel drive.

My diff lock was stuck solid. I removed the center consol and took it all apart and gave it a proper sort out on the bench. Took about an hour and it is so smooth now well worth sorting out properly.