Mud driving and Diff locks
This weekend I got nicely stuck in knee deep mud. The general concensus was that I should have used both my diff locks before attempting. But I'm not to sure about that. Won't that just help me to dig in quicker and deeper?With mud you need momentum and keep your wheels in a straight line.
Thanks
Johann
With mud you need momentum and keep your wheels in a straight line.
Yes you do need to keep momentum and thats why you need to lock your diffs before tough mud runs. That way you have an equal amount of power to keep you going in a straightish line.
Won't that just help me to dig in quicker and deeper?
Nope, If you have all your diffs locked you have a much better chance of keeping momentum and passing through the difficult stuff with ease. This is what your cross country car was designed for and use those Diff locks!
Contrary to popular opinion, very chunky mud tyres are not that expensive. I paid £235 for 4 Greenway Chaco's (205x16) which are very very knobbly. I keep the speed under 50 on the road and try to avoid distances on dry roads (wear). Off road you don't crawl with them if you've got a steep muddy climb - you gun it through in low ratio 2nd gear with only the rear difflocks in.
Beautiful, mud absolutely everywhere. The speed flings the mud out of the tread and as long as you can maintain the momentum there's no stopping you (not counting unseen obstacles such as deep ditches hiding in long grass). :twisted:
on friday night ifound myself and my g up to the middles of the wheels in mud, i had engaged both difflocks and low range but still got stuck! my mates 110 got just as far but he used speed to get through. my question is am i ok to put my foot down in low range with diff locks on if its really muddy i was worried about damaging the transmission by reving it to much
Johann,
You answer your own question, keep her straight for the best chance, so the difflocks can only help.
Scc28
No, you will not cause damage by "gunning" her through the mud, but you want to minimise your wheelspin, this ASSUMING your difflocks are already engaged, and ASSUMING you do not suddenly find something very "grippy" to catch a tyre, which is very unlikely in mud.
And ESPECIALLY if you are driving a humble 88bhp diesel, with about 8 foot lbs of torque, ( and I dont imagine that a 230 is much different ) you will do no harm.
But pros and cons, if you are on your own, and require to self recover, you might want to keep your diff locks in reserve.
On the other hand mabey with the difflocks engaged you will be able to maintain headway and therefore not get stuck, and once you are stuck mabey the difflocks wont get you out.
How long is a piece of string anyway
Re steering it has virtually no effect in mud / ruts anyway so lock the front diff up as well, if you need to, that is what it is there for.
PS
There was a link to a video posted recently, an Ex Swiss army 230 having its nuts revved off, apparently without mishap, but I was cringing throughout.
Marcus
I can tell you from experience that it's ok to rev your 230. The transmision don't mind and the engine has a rev limiter, I hope, otherwise I have had a severe case of valve bounce on a few ocations.
Simon there isn't much you can do to wreck that car of yours, exept hang it in a tree.
now i am sure i am right in saying if theres no traction diff locks will bog you down more,muddy conditions require the right tyre first as all the diff locks in the world aint gonna help,infact it could be your main reason for defeat!equal traction to all four wheels churning away with no firm base......just picture it!The mighty diff lock,our biggest advantage(when used properly)is best used when cross axled or going up steep gradients that have bad or rocky surface.
Now an example of a situation where you could get stuck and unstuck is this;
imagine parking two wheels on the road and two on the pavement thats actually wet grass with a trailer or caravan etc.go to pull off no diff locks and chances are the rear wheel on the grass is spinning and your STUCK! pull the rear difflock and that single rear wheel on the asphalt is pulling you out of a simple incident that would embaras many a shogun or l/r.
Cheers Huss and Leeu, leeu i may have to come round to your estate and you can teach me some off road skills as im sadly lacking that way?
cheers simon
dont be afraid to rev, I red lined my 230 in the early years of off road challenges to get to the top of a hill with all lockers in. I even beat a 560 g pickup to the top. the disadvantage of g's, as we all know is there weight, so go for wider tyres to distribute the weight better, although this can cause a build up effect at the front of the tyre which does drain the power of a 230 or diesel, so just get a longer run up. You will do no damage to the diff lock or the transmission, trust me.
Got to agree with Ian ,
I use the same momenum and big foot style in my 300GD offroad sometimes makes up for the lack of power in older Gs .
good tyres also help ...
Twodogs
someone please mention to johann not to turn the steering wheel when the front difflock is engaged or it will cost him a fortune.!!
someone once told me that if you lock the rear diff and fully lock the steering wheel on loose ground the G turns literally on the spot,is that true guys?
Sorry to say I have used my G with both lockers in crossing water , down hill , up hill , in mud , & when turning with out any problems.
The transmission can handle it on loose ground as any wind up spins off .
thats what I have experenced in a 460 300GD anyway.
( I await other veiws )
Twodogs
I prefer the gentle approach, more like an off road ballet dancer :lol: :lol:
errr, i better get my coat :lol:
someone please mention to johann not to turn the steering wheel when the front difflock is engaged or it will cost him a fortune.!!
someone once told me that if you lock the rear diff and fully lock the steering wheel on loose ground the G turns literally on the spot,is that true guys?
What happens if you steer with the locks engaged?
Here's my two pence worth!
If I think theres any chance of getting stuck due to loss of traction I lock all lockers before I try the obstacle and then drive it like I stole it!!
You would have to try really hard to break shafts and diffs as a result of lockers being locked when off road, your more likely to break things spinning wheels without lockers!!
i have smashed my front diff(whats the part behind the front hub called with the chrome bearings held in place by what looks like a clasp ian?)
i was descending a steap verge that just stopped and i had no choice but to bounce the front wheels down and the wheels were not straight,i thought it was ok until i got on the tarmac and heard jingley noise and thought s**t dads gonna kill me!)
is there a link to anywhere that describes best use of the diff locks?
I had all diff locks engaged today whilst driving some very slippy / water logged fields on the edge of the moorland in teh Yorkshire Dales
you lucky sod!there was a thread on the pointed three forum by i think diehardg on the issue about breaking the part i mentioned and repairing it.
diehardg snapped the cage holding the balls in the cv, but he was on rock, the front lifted, then landed with pedal to the metal, with a 5.0ltr, something is gunner give.
I've got out for a bit of testing again today on this topic. I had a tractor ready, but didn't need it. I managed to get out of the mud by USING THE LOCKS! I tried the same track with locks from the start, 2nd high range, 4000 revs and the car didn't even slow down for the same mud. I say when in doubt pull the levers. That is on soft surfaces remember. rocks is a altogether different story.
I have to date driven the s*#t out of this 230 with locks and without, it will one day break I know, but it hasn't so far. I do however maintain my car as if it is a brand new £125000 G55.
I have had Gs for the more than 10 years now and love taking them off road. As soon as the going gets muddy, I switch the centre and rear diff on -hell that's why I drive a GWagen, if I wanted to prove myself I'd buy a bloody Land Rover -or nameless as the GWagen fraternity calles them over here-
I have very rarely used the front diff and always on soft ground and with the streering straight. At the end of the day, the steering becomes redundant as soon as you switch the front diff on.
I love my G and so does my wife. I have to fight with her so that I get to use it.
hi jesus,i knew i was talking some sense about the front diff lock being used and keeping the steering wheel straight.in 1988 i met some guys that also moved back to cyprus and set up a company in construction.they ran a fleet of landies and swore they could beat the G off road!wellwe had a bet one day and set off side by side up a near vertical rocky hill.A third of the way up they spun to a halt and i swear, i just carried on all the way to the topdiffs locked second gear in GA.I even had a witness watching us( a local shepherd)who i see every year when i go back to the village and he always brings up the subject of that event!As for the guys with the landies,they went bust and moved back to the uk!!
I do steer efectively with the front lock on. On one ocation I tried to get around a bend on a very muddy slope. All locks on didn't do it, the car wanted to go in a straight line, no locks= just spinning, rear lock on and the car wanted to go straight again. Just front locked got me out. After that I use front locks a lot more, but only on very slippery surfaces.
exactly christo!loose and slippery surface only,its best to be wise if unsure.
Is this chance? After a bit off mud driving last night. (We went out to look at a group of young deer) My front lock engaged on the road on our way back. It happened on a bendy hedge road at about 40. This is a scary thing, believe me!!!
What do you mean christo,the diff lock cannot engage without pulling the front button up.maybe the light came on.
I am telling you Huss, the front lock came on by itself, both levers were in and I have been driving for at least 2 miles before it came on. I'll give a more detailed discription later tonight, a bit busy at work. This is potentialy lethal!
I can see myself pulling out a Disco III after all then...;)
This happened to me, although under different circumstances and only the once. I’m still not absolutely sure of the reason but eventually put it down to the following. Diff lock was not fully disengaging after I bent the linkage along side the gearbox AND a combination of a very hot day with the engine running at idle or travelling at low speed. This I think was enough to heat the hydraulic fluid enough to cause expansion and eventually cause the lock to engage.
Russ
spooky!!!!
Anyway I hope the last two pages have answered Johanns original question :shock: ???
Twodogs
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