(Home) 2/4 wheel drive

Hi
So that I don't make a complete balls up please put me right here. I'm shortly getting a switchable 2/4 wheel drive 87D Royal Lounge 2 litre TD. I intend to drive off and keep it in 2 wheel drive initially. Red faced for asking but should the front hubs be free as I imagine or locked. How is this achieved?
Thanks from a nervous relative newbie
Graham

- (#12807) Graham, 16 Aug 04 06:44

They should be free. You can turn the locks with your fingers. They are clearly marked. You would only lock them if there was a liklihood of using 4WD, which would not be on a grippy surface.

Having 4wd de-selected on the dash, and the green 4WD warning light out to indicate that the servo has responded and disengaged it, will also ensure that you are in 2WD irrespective of the hub locks.

- (#12807) Dave Mason (Sussex), 16 Aug 04 07:18

Most of the time you should keep them unlocked, however there is some benefit in locking them in once in a while to get the front diff moving and keep it all lubricated. (I have been told everywhere from once a week to once a month!)
There is no problem with driving with the hubs locked in. I notice a little bit more noise at highway speeds, and supposedly you use a little bit more fuel, not that I've ever noticed that!

Never of course engage 4X4 on the road with the hubs locked.

- (#12807) DaveW, 16 Aug 04 08:17

hi, I am a new owner of a master ace surf ,Love it to bits ,can you advise how to engage 4wd as there is no hand book and I dont want to risk it by just guessing,thanks ...john.

- (#12807) john, 23 Aug 04 03:43

1. Turn hubs to lock (ie arrows match) by hand.
2. Press 4WD button on dash (when doing less than 40mph with vehicle in a straight line). A diagram of the vehicle should show up in green on the dash and you should hear the drive click.

Only do this on a slippy surface and switch off 4WD when back on a hard surface.

- (#12807) Ian Dunse (Derbs), 23 Aug 04 07:11

... and it hasn't disengaged until the green indicator goes out. This can be a problem if by then you are on less slippy surface.

It happened to me on holiday a month ago. Helped push one car out of a pebbly car park area on to the road, then proudly engaged 4WD and drove myself out. I hit the button to disengage 4WD at the right stage but by then a traffic queue had built up behind me and I found myself doing the wrong thing - continuing along the road with the green 4WD light on. We could feel the car bucking around, fortunately there were pebbly areas on the road which let the tyres slip. In the confusion (clouds of smoke were pouring out the back but that a completely different story) instinctively I jabbed at the 4WD button again, wrongly, and had to pull off the road again to sort things out.

First I checked the 4WD switch was sticking out, not pushed in. Then I engaged drive and then reverse alternatively to jolt the transmission a bit and get the green light to go out but it took some doing. I unlocked the front hubs at that point too which would have made things safe anyway.

So be warned, engaging 4WD is only half the story.

- (#12807) Dave Mason (Sussex), 23 Aug 04 07:50

Hey I was providing the text book version, I wasn't out to scare John with horror stories! :-)

Yeah had the same problem myself. Alternating between reverse and drive soon clears it. Admittedly not the thing to do in traffic as it would no doubt scare the shit out of the guy behind you.

- (#12807) Ian Dunse (Derbs), 23 Aug 04 12:58

The guy behind couldn't see me anyway thanks to my smoke screen accessory.

- (#12807) Dave Mason (Sussex), 24 Aug 04 01:15