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OK folks , coming from a 25 years of Land Rover use this may seem a stupid question to most. But alas with my Land Rovers I had brilliant 4WD all time , plus many not so brilliant issues hence me being a Nissan Patrol GQ owner since last week :-)
The simple question is :
Can I Leave the Hub Locks on all time without doing other damage as increasing my fuel bill ? Or is the Front Differential of a Nissan GQ different from a Land Rover and can not handle the non stop engaged axles?
Thx:
J.
it wont matter too much if you leave them in
yes it will increase your fuel bill, but not by alot
just remember to make sure you are in 2wd when on the bitumen
I'd just make the effort to get out a unlock the hubs personally. There would be bugger all in a fuel usage increase, but the unnecessary wear and tear would concern me more.
If you don't go bush a lot, just lock 'em in for a few minutes every month or two, to keep everything greased.
The old gq did 400,000k locked with no issues..
As others have said, I would always unlock them for highway driving - Not because of any damage that may occur, but just to decrease fuel usage and driveline drag a little, and I mean a little ... it would be unlikely to add more than 0.1 Litres per Hundred. It is more keeping and getting up to speed in an old 4.2.....
If you are just tootling around on your property, just leave them locked all the time, so you can just throw it in 4wd when you need it.
I have driven across the country with the hubs locked, and I have also gone 4 wheeling with the hubs unlocked ..... you will have your moments too no doubt.
Just be careful with the small gear lever with hubs locked all the time. With the Patrol, 4wd is for softer surfaces only, such as dirt roads...... As everything from front to back in the driveline is then locked together in 4wd when you throw the lever, it is then the transfer case, and the gearbox that cop the brunt of any excess pressure from transmission windup. IE All wheels are being driven together at the same speed and distance, and turning corners on a hard surface like bitumen causes the inside wheel to rotate less than the outside, which then causes thing to bind up, making it hard to get out of 4wd, and it can also cause expensive damage to the driveline too. On soft surfaces the wheels just slip/spin/skid to relieve the pressure.
If you do forget to take it out of 4wd on the bitumen, you will start to feel it, and you get some notice as the truck will begin to get a bit harder to drive and steer. Just reverse back a little from where you came, and relieve the pressure a little to take it out of 4wd and then off you go.
if you unlock the hubs on the tar it is easier on the steering gear and needs less effort to steer when getting around carparks .
Thanks all for the quick replies. I really start to like this forum !! Much more friendly up as a forum I joined with my previous vehicles... no names please ;-)
OK what you all told me makes perfect sense. Since I live on that 400 acres of near wilderness I leave the hubs locked - easy.
Bummer Nissan did not go for the center-diff with locking option. That would have made it the absolute 4WD - can n't count the number of times I had to lock the center-diff of my LandRover County on our previous , very muddy , property. But , this Yellow Submarine I have now has a factory rear diff lock - so I should not complain :-)
Cheers from the Warrumbungles
J.
All the GUs I've come across must be different to all yours. My GU doesn't have an "unlock" position. The two positions on mine are "lock" and "auto". I leave mine in "auto" and when off road in 4WD it locks automatically (funny enough) whenever required.
Whatever, but I can't actually "unlock" mine.