 | Home > Puma (Tdci) > Driving dirt roads with the centre diff locked |
 
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| Dinnu Member Since: 24 Dec 2019 Location: Lija Posts: 3209   
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There is no speed limit while using the center diff.
On dirt road, the traction is limited, so there will be no harm using the diff lock. But if it is needed or not, it really depends on the condition of the dirt road. What is for sure is that the center diff does not like wheel spin. This is because the center diff is working at 3.54 times the speed of the wheels, so a bit of wheel spin means that there is a lot of spinning in the center diff, and will wear it down and destroy it very fast. 1988 90 Hard Top, 19J Diesel Turbo, Shire Blue - Restoration ongoing 2012 90 CSW, 2.2TDCI, Santorini Black |
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31st Oct 2021 6:59am |
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| Bluest Member Since: 23 Apr 2016 Location: Lancashire Posts: 3997  
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I do always lock the centre as soon as leaving the tarmac. My belief is that as well as increasing traction and protecting the diff, it stabilises the car, although you do have to be mindful of the potential for under steer, especiallly at speed. 2007 110 TDCi Station Wagon XS
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31st Oct 2021 8:54am |
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| Naks Member Since: 27 Jan 2009 Location: Stellenbosch, ZA Posts: 2591  
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Yes, you should always lock the CDL when going off tar. I've driven in CDL in Namibia for 4 weeks, no issues. Generally speaking, you shouldn't exceed 80kmh on gravel road anyway, so no issues with the CDL at those speeds. -- 2010 Defender Puma 90 + BAS remap + Alive IC + Slickshift + Ashcroft ATB rear 2015 Range Rover Sport V8 Supercharged 
Defender Puma Workshop Manual: https://bit.ly/2zZ1en9 Discovery 4 Workshop Manual: https://bit.ly/2zXrtKO Range Rover/Sport L320/L322/L494 Workshop Manual: https://bit.ly/2zc58JQ |
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31st Oct 2021 10:31am |
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| Mossberg Member Since: 29 Feb 2020 Location: Lancs Posts: 552 
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Well I never would have expected to use difflock on a gravel road as I would not expect a great deal of loss of traction. I only would have expected to use it if I considered I may experience a situation where I was likely to get stuck, so certainly not anything at speed. I would be more inclined to engage it a few times on a gravel road so it gets some use rather than seising up through lack of use!
I think that shows my lack of off road experience, so it's good to see this sort of information. I think a Tom Shepard book may be on my Christmas list! |
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31st Oct 2021 11:17am |
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| Naks Member Since: 27 Jan 2009 Location: Stellenbosch, ZA Posts: 2591
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The rule is simple: as soon as you step off tarred roads, engage the CDL.
On a 90, especially, the CDL makes it a lot more stable on gravel roads.  --
2010 Defender Puma 90 + BAS remap + Alive IC + Slickshift + Ashcroft ATB rear 2015 Range Rover Sport V8 Supercharged
Defender Puma Workshop Manual: https://bit.ly/2zZ1en9 Discovery 4 Workshop Manual: https://bit.ly/2zXrtKO Range Rover/Sport L320/L322/L494 Workshop Manual: https://bit.ly/2zc58JQ |
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31st Oct 2021 11:32am |
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| macfrank Member Since: 05 Nov 2015 Location: somewhere in the north Posts: 993  
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I'm not so sure about that simple rule. Just because there's no tar doesn't mean there's little (enough) traction. Also, if you have TC/DSC you can do quite a lot without diff lock. Once I drove up a steep soft-sandy hill without diff lock because I forgot to engage it - no problem at all, TC kicked in.
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31st Oct 2021 3:04pm |
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| camelman Member Since: 27 Feb 2013 Location: Peak District Posts: 3322
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I regularly drove 4000km a week for 2 years on Namibian dirt roads without the diff lock.....
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31st Oct 2021 3:39pm |
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| jst Member Since: 14 Jan 2008 Location: Taunton Posts: 7687 
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if there is a chance of loosing traction you should engage CDL.
CDL is preventative not reactive. possible loss of traction could be a gravel road it could be a very high traction surface but with vehicle weight not evening distributed. There is no engineering reason why CDL cant be used at speeds LRs can do. (despite what the sticker says, its more of a wng that you shouldn't be going fast with CDL engaged rather than an eng reason) Cheers James 110 XS Utility 130 Puma Station wagon/camper (in the making) 90 Puma Hardtop |
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1st Nov 2021 10:11pm |
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| blackwolf Member Since: 03 Nov 2009 Location: South West England Posts: 16879 
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When the LT230 was introduced the advice from LR was that you should engage the CDL whenever in the old days you'd press the yellow knob. That was at a time when LR still understood off-road vehicles and engineering and was sound advice due to the fragility of the thrust washers in the centre diff.
I guess the problem now is that many owners won't have a clue what the yellow knob was! I stripped the old LT230 I removed from my 205k mile Disco2 last week in order to rebuild it and was surprised to discover that there was absolutely no trace whatsoever of the four differential gear thrust washers, not even a hint of a fragment. This is a high-mileage box which I've owned from new and has never been abused. |
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2nd Nov 2021 12:28am |
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