On or around Sat, 29 Jan 2005 23:07:25 -0000, "Huw"
<hedydd[nospam]@tiscali.co.uk> enlightened us thusly:
>I find the rear diff lock useful only for slow rock crawling. Useless in mud
>because the traction limit for one wheels is so near the traction limit of
>the other. I've never found them to take me more than a few inches further
>than with an open axle diff.
the particularly useful one is the centre diff, for when you're on steep
slopes, but a corss-axle one in the rear, especially, will reduce the loss
of traction caused by uneven ground and cross-axling, notably when climbing
too. On a steep climb, the front wheels have little weight on 'em and
therefore little grip, so front axle locker is of limited value as you say.
In deep (relatively level) mud, then yer difflocks are going to make a
marginal difference as you say. Observing some of the guys trying a tricky
ascent at Pontardawe, what was causing them to fail was holes in the ground
making one back wheel lose traction just about at the critical point where
momentum has to change to grip.
The sierra, with it's viscous diffs rear and centre, is very much more
capable than it appears as though it should be on slippery stuff, mind.
Once, following a FWD escort van up an icy hill - van came to a stop, with
wheelspin. Van-bloke then left it in 1st, engine idling, and got out to
push (nice, these diesel engines). I thought this merited my helping him -
so I stopped mine, put the handbrake on, went to get out and realised that
with the back wheels only locked by the handbrake, it was sliding backwards.
Put one back wheel on the grass verge, and it stopped. Went and helped push
van-man, van started to move again and in he jumped and off he went. Got
back in mine, and it pulled off up the hill with nary a murmur.
--
Austin Shackles.
www.ddol-las.fsnet.co.uk my opinions are just that
"The great masses of the people ... will more easily fall victims to
a great lie than to a small one" Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
from Mein Kampf, Ch 10
