Outer Limits 4x4 Board

This is a complete newbie question, so I appologise in advance

Basically i would likt to know the proper way to engage & disengage 4wd on my Fez. The hubs are autolocking (?).

I have searched for this topic, but I could not find anything on it.

Thanks in advance!

The Feroza comes with manual hubs in Oz, but IIRC the procedure with auto hubs is:

- Stop vehicle, depress clutch and select 4wd Hi or Low
- Drive.

To disengage:

- Stop vehicle, depress clutch and select 2wd
- Reverse vehicle approximately 3 - 4m to disengage hubs
- Drive.

Hope this helps.

Cheers for that!

I thought that was the proper protocol. But hopefully you can answer this:

Now when I am driving (2wd) and I then put it in reverse, there is a strange clunking sound for a bit, but then it goes. And again, when changing direction from reverse to fwd, there is a clunking sound, and then it goes....

Kind of sounds as if it has not disengaged from 4wd completely. Has this happened to anyone else?

Also, is it ok to drive around in 4wd all the time? If I have it in 4wd, I do not have the clunking thing happen to me....

i dont think it is good to drive in 4x4 all the time
im not sure why...
but thats what i have been told...

NEVERNEVERNEVERNEVERNEVERNEVERNEVERNEVERNEVERNEVERNEVER
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Drive ON ROAD in 4x4 , you'll het axle wind up and/or transfer wind up, and the small clunking shall turn into a loud BANG

The clunking noise could be fault in the vacume hubs, IMO, swap to manual locking hubs, for the trouble they prevent its way worth the effort to of getting in/out car when you go offroad. Unless u harldy ever go offroad, then u may as well just spend sum $$ on fixing the auto hubs.

RockyF70 wrote:NEVERNEVERNEVERNEVERNEVERNEVERNEVERNEVERNEVERNEVERNEVER
NEVERNEVERNEVERNEVERNEVERNEVERNEVERNEVERNEVERNEVERNEVER
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Drive ON ROAD in 4x4

Why

Sneezing7 wrote:
Why

RockyF70 wrote:you'll get axle wind up and/or transfer wind up, and the small clunking shall turn into a loud BANG

sum1 may be ableto explain it better... but basically the wheels need to be able to slip and slide a little bit ie; not have complete traction as you would have on tar. If they do, it puts too much strain on the drivetrain, causing your diff to blow or axle to snap/blow or sumthing.... dont know the exact technical reasons sorry, will look for it.

how long can you drive on road in 4x4 for...
obviously not a road trip...

but what if its like a metre or two with very little turning

When the hubs are locked and 4WD is engaged... the opposite wheels must turn the same number of revolutions. Opposite is in regards to Left front-Right rear and Right front-Left rear.

When turning a corner, the inside wheel must be able to slip against the surface, as it travels a shorter distance than the outside wheel.
If this slip doesn't occur, the wheels still try to turn the same amount of revolutions and this strain will be taken up by the driveline.. resulting in wind up as F70 said.
The axels and diffs will keep trying to turn until the point where the diff teeth or axles give way.. then you are in trouble...
On the road you will feel the steering and driveline get really tight up until the point where the car will almost not move.

This is sorta the same principal as a locker.. You can hear the inside wheel slipping/screeching when turning a sharp corner as it has to move the same number of revolutions as the outside wheel.

So in that case, the strain should be on your T-case/Gbox and drive shafts?? As the axles are 'protected' by the free-spin in the diffs
Which would explain why AWD have a 'central diff' - in the Tcase i presume

Got the marks there cause i'm thinking out loud, have always wondered about how the axles can wind up, if there is a diff, as i thought a diff was supposed to take up this extra movement

Newbie question # 16 from me:

What is axel wind up?

Sorry for all the questions, but this is the first 4wd I have owned
(I know...shame on me)

Axle whine-up really only occurs where diff-locks are used. When turning the corner, the inside wheel is trying to turn slower than the outside wheel. With welded or locked diffs, they will try to resist this putting pressure on the diff and the axle.

With part-time 4WD's, when 4WD is enaged, the drive is locked between the front and rear diffs. In this case, during a turn the front wheels are trying to turn faster than the rear. This causes tension or whine-up in the drive train which can cause premature wear or failure to the diffs, drive shafts and the transfer case. On dirt roads and slippery conditions the whine-up can release itself through loss of traction of one wheel. On bitumen, the whine-up cannot release itself and failure can occur.

Constant 4WD's have a thrid diff in the transfer case to prevent whine-up occuring. AWD's have the power going to the front diff and drive to the rear goes through a torque/slipper clutch to release the whine-up. Some AWD's use a computer controlled clutch to only provide the rear drive when needed while being a front-wheel drive car for the main driving.

Great!

Thanks very much to all that replied!!!

the stress buildup is considered faster wear/tear on parttime 4wd. you CAN have it engaged all the time but be prepared for parts to be worn out at a faster rate than under "normal" use.

in parttime 4wds that have open diffs (usually comes standard), the windups are almost no worry because the wheels CAN slip with no problem. thats why its alot easier to get suck compared to having a locker. so the only parts that would get more wear/tear at a faster rate than "normal" would be cv joints, steering components, and some tcases depending on design.

I have no lockers and my old Subaru had no lockers OR LSD's and you could not turn around on a tar road with the 4WD enagaged... The Subaru's driveline would wind up so much the car would virtually stop moving and the steering would go very tight... I could've broke it in a day easily if i left it in 4WD. I'm not going to try it in the Rocky

I've heard from sum1 who did on of those 4x4 courses (the newbie, softroader training ones), that if you drive it in 4wd on road for a bit, then jack up the front the wheel will spin off its own accord for a bit, as it has literally 'wound up' , apparently the instructor demonstrated this ... so yeah, i wont be tryin it in the rocky either

Sneezing7 wrote:Newbie question # 16 from me:

What is axel wind up?

Sorry for all the questions, but this is the first 4wd I have owned
(I know...shame on me)

The only stupid question is the one that isn't asked. So ask away

Quite simply, if you drive on a high traction surface with 4wd engaged, you WILL break things!

That is why constant 4wd vehicles have a centre diff, to allow front and rear axles to turn at different speeds and prevent wind up. In a constant 4wd vehicle you ONLY engage the centre diff on low traction surfaces.

In a part time 4wd, same applies, but you don't have a centre diff to allow different axle speeds. Same reason why you should only engage 4wd on the move when the front wheels are pointing straight ahead.