Discovery 1 axle lockers and fording

bmp42 said:

whats wrong with the old way of locking axles - lightly press brake pedal and the wheel without grip locks and fools the diff into working , costs fook all and works every time

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I use this method for getting my works truck over boggy ground. If the ground is really bad I just apply more braking and then drive through the brakes. I don't get stuck very often.

ratty said:

I use this method for getting my works truck over boggy ground. If the ground is really bad I just apply more braking and then drive through the brakes. I don't get stuck very often.

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yer try and tell the youth of today the methods that we have used for ages without getting stuck an they dunt believe yer!!!!!!

I dont get stuck either(i mean in the mud)....my problem is the drifting on slippery/muddy ground.....i've observed that when the TC kicks in the steering becomes quite useless. I need a trick to keep the car running as straight as possible cos i have to come through rice paddies and the acces is very strait with deep gullies both sides. That's why i use quite narrow M/T's to avoid drifting into the gully .....untill now i didnt succeed very well .....to my shame and the big joy of tractor drivers ......but.....the more beer i pay them to pull me out the more experienced i become

also to my shame..... i didnt know the left foot braking trick untill now...it sounds good and efficient to me....this is the next improvement for my "adventures"

bmp42 said:

yer try and tell the youth of today the methods that we have used for ages without getting stuck an they dunt believe yer!!!!!!

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Sometimes the old uns take some persuading too. I went out to assist one of our more senior members after he had got his truck stuck on a grass verge. He was sat on the spot with his wheels spinning and it didn't matter what gear he was in it still wouldn't shift to even get a rocking motion going. I told him to pull the handbrake half on and try again in second. The look on his face when it pulled away with no wheel spinning was priceless.

Crazy method, I'm impressed!

Looking forward to amazing myself on sunday!

Also, good knowledge for when you're out in a normal car etc and stuck in nudie snow. Could help this winter!!

Mr Noisy said:

Crazy method, I'm impressed!

Looking forward to amazing myself on sunday!

Also, good knowledge for when you're out in a normal car etc and stuck in nudie snow. Could help this winter!!

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The handbrake will work only on rear wheel drive vehicles (unless you have summit like a xantia with front wheel drive and front wheel handbrake). Heel and toe driving on the brake pedal and accelerator will work too but can take some mastering.

I'm a beast at heel and toe, I have come to landys from a civic track car.

Need snow NOW

bmp42 said:

whats wrong with the old way of locking axles - lightly press brake pedal and the wheel without grip locks and fools the diff into working , costs fook all and works every time

Click to expand...

Oh jeez, how did I get to my time of life and not come across this technique before? Fantastic, need snow to practice

Any good experience tips for auto's I have missed? 4x4's new to me, but loving learning, thanks to all

It (left foot braking while power is applied) works but is very marginal. You might need only a tiny bit more traction to get you through something though.

The whole point of locked diffs is it gives you a much better chance of having traction, therefore you don't need traction control if you have them, because traction control counters the loss of traction due to one wheel spinning when the other has grip.

In this sophisticated world we live in though, its not perfect becuase its action of locking the wheels up means the car tends to want to go straight ahead. Which is ideal if you want to go straight....and not so much if you want to turn a corner.

For this reason, tractors have individual wheel brakes in addition to a diff lock. So you can get traction when you need it in a straight line without needing any brakes (using the diff lock) and when you want to turn, you use the brakes to slow the wheel on the inside of the corner. Best of both worlds.

As Mr Noisy found out at Silverdale.....diff locks are great at getting you a bit further before you're well and truly stuck!

V8_Disco said:

depending where you live 'climate' and engine you have, an example is the 200tdi in this country some people remove the viscous unit completely and the engine runs fine
most other people opt to fit an electric fan which can be turned off for wading

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i removed my viscous and fitted an electric fan, i dropped the in hose electric fan switch in a cup of water the other day as ive never heard fan come in and was worried it didnt work. just shows how well they are cooled as standard that it doesnt overheat or need the fan as such. (may be a different story if we get a hot summer)

The work colleauge that I showed the old trick of pulling the handbrake on when on wet grass told me the other day that he had been using it when on snow and ice too. Funnily enough he had not been stuck since. He had his son with him on one occasion when he had to get up a steep icy hill. His son couldn't believe it when he got up it in one hit with very little spinning.

paul_c said:

As Mr Noisy found out at Silverdale.....diff locks are great at getting you a bit further before you're well and truly stuck!

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This is very true. I have found that locked diffs are priceless in an axle twist situation, and also do help avoid that 'failed hill climb' because often i dont lose forward motion in the first place.

However, they are not faultless, as paul says steering is reduced with the rear locked and nearly non existent with the front locked, and if it decides it wants to push on with the front locked then you have truly zero steering. which is something you have to watch out for on that steep hill climb, especially if the axle twist instead of stopping you just sends you to the side.

also, in some situations where your gonna get stuck, youre gonna get stuck with diffs too, just you risk breaking a shaft whilst doing it!

generally speaking, the lockers are a great mod and its good that you can switch air lockers, wouldnt like having detroits tbh, knowing how much turning you lose on slippy ground...

cheers

Aye, they're great for hill climbs, thats the one thing I miss about my old truck.

Tallbiker said:

Oh jeez, how did I get to my time of life and not come across this technique before? Fantastic, need snow to practice

Any good experience tips for auto's I have missed? 4x4's new to me, but loving learning, thanks to all

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If it's a D2 auto, select low ratio, then select the manual button, then you have a completely manual, low ratio gearbox. Select 3 or D and you'll have good traction and good engine braking too.

With TC on D2's you need to apply steady throttle, to allow the TC to operate, not blipping throttle.

Dave

thebiglad said:

If it's a D2 auto, select low ratio, then select the manual button, then you have a completely manual, low ratio gearbox. Select 3 or D and you'll have good traction and good engine braking too.

With TC on D2's you need to apply steady throttle, to allow the TC to operate, not blipping throttle.

Dave

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No I have a D1 1998 300TDI Auto, so no TC, she's just bootiful
What ever happened to limited slip diffs? Surely these give the best of both worlds, allowing traction to move to the wheel with the most grip, without locking up the diff completely and causing all the issues mentioned in the thread so far????