4 Wheel Drive

[flyfishn]

I engaged my 4wd the other day. So the green indicator ( 4 wheels and drivetrain silouette) lit up green.

Then I drove forward and then the ("Wheel lock") light came on.

What do all those lights mean. ? On my Tracker the only thing that lit up was the 4x4 light.

Thanks
James

[jessef]

It means you are in 4wd mode.

Transfer case is locked and the front wheel auto hubs are locked.

[flyfishn]

What would we do in this Forum with out you?

Thanks.

[marsgal42]

As has been mentioned many times, while the L300 transfer case is shift-on-the-fly, the hubs are not.

The recommended procedure for locking the hubs is to stop, shift to 4H, then creep forward until the hubs go in. You may hear or feel them go in, and the light on the dash will come on. Once the hubs are locked you can shift between 2H and 4H as you need to.

For 4L you must stop and put the transmission in Neutral. The owner's manual says you can do this in Park as well. It's wrong.

When they get snow up in the mountains I like to drive up to the ski hills (usually Cypress) and practice some skids in the parking lot before I need it for real. Gumdrop doesn't powerslide very well, but she's no Monaro and I'm no Stig.

...laura

[flyfishn]

So the hubs are locked when it says "wheels locked".

I love the idea of back and forth between 2H and 4H.

To disengage you should still reverse 10 odd feet correct? Had manual hubs prior to this vehicle.

[marsgal42]

Yup: 2H, creep backwards, feel/hear the hubs unlock and see the light go out. It won't be more then a couple of meters.

...laura

[jessef]

Auto hubs you have to reverse to disengage them.

Once you've shifted from 2H to 4H and decide to shift back from 4H to 2H, the auto hubs will remain locked until you stop and reverse.

In the meantime, with the auto hubs locked, like Laura said, you can shift back and forth but I do not recommend doing it above 50-60km/hr.

I did it once at 65 and thought my transfer case would shoot out the back. Quite the bang. I blew out my driver's side auto hub. Literally. Exploded outwards. From that point onward, I put in the superwinch manual hubs (search if anyone needs info on it).

[Green1]

I have frequently shifted on the fly from 2-4 and from 4-2 at speeds well in excess of 80km/hr with no issues, no strange sounds at all, and the 4x4 system seems to continue to work perfectly.

My best guess is that your problem had nothing to do with the speed you were going, and more to do with a problem with your hubs that would have had problems at any speed (though possibly not so spectacularly)

[loki]

I found shifting the transfer case at speed no problem as long as I was going straight and not slipping any tires, if I was cornering or any tire was spinning in the slightest (even so little I didn't know it) the transfer case would make loud noises at me

[Adrock]

On long trips where you switch back and forth a lot (I recell driving to kimberley leaving at 10pm christmas eve as an example) don't forget when you pull off to let the dog pee or grab some gas and reverse, your hubs have unlocked. I guess I also don't have the wheel lock light, so everyone elses system is a little more fool resistant.

[jessef]

I have frequently shifted on the fly from 2-4 and from 4-2 at speeds well in excess of 80km/hr with no issues, no strange sounds at all, and the 4x4 system seems to continue to work perfectly.

My best guess is that your problem had nothing to do with the speed you were going, and more to do with a problem with your hubs that would have had problems at any speed (though possibly not so spectacularly)

You're right. I was silently hinting at my disappointment with auto hubs in general and putting it out there that they are far from bulletproof.

Since owning a Montero, Pajero and Delica's with auto hubs, I've blown them out two on different occasions. Both occasions left me dead in the water in remote areas without 4wd and had to get winched and towed out which cost me many limbs. I since have put on a set of manual hubs and carry a pair of flanges. I enjoy ranting about the auto hubs.

[Erebus]

I gotta nitpik, and point out that you can unlock the autohubs by going forwards too.

The pesky detail is that to unlock the hubs you have to drive in the opposite direction you were going when you shifted from 4h to 2h. So if you were backing up when you shifted, then they will unlock when you go forwards, not when going in reverse.

Yah, okay, so in normal use it is indeed backing up to unlock the hubs.

Now I have manual hubs and don't have to worry about accidental unlocking.

Also, everyone, keep in mind that the wheel lock light only indicates that the front drive train is turning -- it doesn't specify whether it is because the hubs are locked and the tranfer case is disconnected, or the hubs are unlocked and the transfer case is in 4wd, or hubs are locked AND transfer case is in 4wd. (The 4wd light tells you the status of the transfer case.)

[Green1]

I gotta nitpik, and point out that you can unlock the autohubs by going forwards too.

The pesky detail is that to unlock the hubs you have to drive in the opposite direction you were going when you shifted from 4h to 2h. So if you were backing up when you shifted, then they will unlock when you go forwards, not when going in reverse.

I have to disagree with you on this one, I have tried this very same maneouver on multiple occasions, the hubs will happilly lock while reversing, but if you then drive forwards a while and then switch to 2wd you still have to reverse to unlock. (I suspect they re-lock the other direction when you start going forwards) now the one possible exception that I haven't tried is if you reverse to get in to 4wd, then never drive forwards in 4wd but instead switch to 2wd before driving forwards... I've never tried that, and if I needed 4wd to back up, I'm probably leaving it in 4wd for at least a few feet going forward too, after which you do have to reverse to unlock.

[jessef]

Auto hubs lock rotating forward and unlock rotating backwards.

If they unlock rotating forward then they are malfunctioning.

Pull one off, move it while looking at the internals and you'll see what I mean.

[Erebus]

switch to 2wd before driving forwards... I've never tried that, and if I needed 4wd to back up, I'm probably leaving it in 4wd for at least a few feet going forward too, after which you do have to reverse to unlock.

That's exactly what I mean -- switching to 2wd while reversing will require going forward to unlock. But I can't test it anymore since I now have manual hubs.