Discovery Basics!

Hello everyone. Entirely new to Land Rovers and off-roading, I have an embarrassingly basic question: How and where do I use that other gear stick? (I think it says Diff Lock on it? It's old and worn!)

I understand that 'proper' 4x4s have these different gearings for off-road use. My brief ownership of a Ford Explorer (bought as an investment, never properly off-roaded) taught me that. That was an automatic and I never really understood it even in that.

So in this manual 1990 Discovery, it seems to need to be in the back position. That's where it was when I bought it and putting it in neutral position when I tried meant it didn't go anywhere. Is the forward position for very slow off-roading? With the Explorer, it said in the driver's handbook to use the other ranges also for things like pulling big boat trailers out of the water and stuff. It didn't go into much detail, especially considering that it was from the US and they felt the need to tell people the most obvious things, like not to drive when your head has fallen off or something. (Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear... err, yes, thanks for telling me. Next you'll be telling me they're behind me)

As my excuse for buying this (the missus needed a bit of persuading) was large building projects, there is a likelihood that heavy trailers up the slope in our garden might be involved, would that give better traction or something?

Thanks!

Steve

This explains it quite well http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f12/diff-lock-21960.html
In basic terms the car has 2 gear boxes, hig range(normal road driving) & low range(towing & off road-max torque) hence the two levers.If either are in N thats neutral and it wont move, unless you roll down a hill. Heavy trailers up a slope is exactly what this gearlever and difflock set up is for.

forgot to say the car is perminant 4 wheel drive, theres tons of people on here that say "oh ive taken it out of 4wd"-you CANT!(unless you take a prop off....)

Thanks goonarmy. That's kind of what I thought they were for.

So is there just three positions: low, neutral and high? I understand the diff lock concept on a lorry, but that's on one axle. Also familiar with gearbox ranges, again on an older lorry with high and low ranges of the same gears, a bit like on a mountain bike with two cogs. Is this similar, or am I miles off?

I read the link you suggested, now wiser but still a bit baffled as to why it says Diff Lock on the lever, and not Range or whatever. Does the diff lock automatically engage in low gear range? And it locks both axles together? Don't forget this is an old Disco, probably not as advanced as the 2004 one in the other thread!

I appreciate I could just try things out, but I have been warned that you can damage things if you leave it in the wrong range or something, that's why I don't want to just yank things about and see.

Thanks again!

Finland Calling said:

Thanks goonarmy. That's kind of what I thought they were for.

So is there just three positions: low, neutral and high? I understand the diff lock concept on a lorry, but that's on one axle. Also familiar with gearbox ranges, again on an older lorry with high and low ranges of the same gears, a bit like on a mountain bike with two cogs. Is this similar, or am I miles off?

I read the link you suggested, now wiser but still a bit baffled as to why it says Diff Lock on the lever, and not Range or whatever. Does the diff lock automatically engage in low gear range? And it locks both axles together? Don't forget this is an old Disco, probably not as advanced as the 2004 one in the other thread!

I appreciate I could just try things out, but I have been warned that you can damage things if you leave it in the wrong range or something, that's why I don't want to just yank things about and see.

Thanks again!

Click to expand...

When you push the lever forward you select the low neutral and high positions. If you push the lever to the left you select difflock. It locks the front and rear propshafts together. If you move the lever to the right it unlocks the 2 propshafts. Never drive around with the difflock engaged when traction is available. It may cause diff wind up. Never engage difflock while your wheels are spinning due to lost traction.(It can be engaged on the move)

The lever has 5 positions, like a 'H'. Anwhere on the middle (horizontal) is neutral. Anywhere on the left the center diff is locked. High is back and Low is forward.

If the center diff is NOT locked, you could loose traction on any one wheel and not go anywhere.

If the center diff IS locked, you must loose traction on one front AND one rear wheel to get stuck.

If you find it get's stuck with the diff lock light on (but the lever went back OK), then reverse in a straight line for a short while to make it go away.

HTH

So in essence if your towing your heavy load up your garden and its possibly slippy, put it in low box with the diff locked.Hope fully you'll make it up your slope,once your sure of traction disengage diff lock, and if your on level or gently sloping road (ie normal driving conditions) back into high n away you go.....

think of it this way...

Look at the surface that you are travelling on:

If you say to yourself "I could drive this in a normal bog standard car" - then use the high range and dont engage your diff lock.

If you say to yourself, "Mmm... this must be what a land rover was made for" - then low range is most probably the way to go!

If the surface looks slippy, very rocky, boggy, deep water or so undulating that your gonna give the suspension a full blown workout, knock your shifter over to the left to engage the diff lock, then knock it back over when the going gets better again.

Dont be scared to knock it over to diff lock, you wont wear it out or break it, and it's better to engage it and pass the obsticle first time around with the momentum of the car, than to get stuck through lack of traction and not be able to get started again.