Diso1 Diff lock how it works

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hi_arshard

Member
Posts
56
Hello guys,

Could you please give your feedback on the below, I doubt my diff lock is not working as expected,

Got stuck in the sand and wheels spinning without traction (desert sand) diff lock on H-lock Dash lights come on as well.

Spinning wheels with no traction,
Rear left wheel and front Right wheel spinning has no traction.

Stuck wheel with no movement,
Front left wheel and rear right wheels are stuck not moving at well.

Tried with Low -lock as well no luck.

At this point I expect the stuck wheels to gain power so the car will get out.

As per the theory, when the diff is in lock position front / rear axles will have 50/50 power distribution equally and all wheels should be spinning but in my case only one wheel was spinning in each axle and that is the wheels which without traction which is useless.

Refer to the attached picture. sorry couldn’t take much pictures only left side I have.

Thanks 🙏 and much appreciated
Arshad
 

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Your centre diff-lock will indeed send 50/50 power to both the front and rear alxe

When all this power get's to each axle the axle doesn't have a diff lock so it put's it all to the wheel with the least amount of traction
That's on the D1
On the D2 onwards they got clever by taking the pesky wheel on each axle that is spinning and apply the brakes to that wheel only until the other side wheel has less "traction" when compared to the one that is now being braked and that one will start spinning
 
hi_arshard said:
I doubt my diff lock is not working as expected,
Click to expand...

You are correct it is working as expected.
You can get stuck with 1 wheel spinning without diff lock, and 1 spinning wheel on each axle with diff lock, In a standard car with open/normal axle diffs.

J
 
D1Nut said:
Your centre diff-lock will indeed send 50/50 power to both the front and rear alxe

When all this power get's to each axle the axle doesn't have a diff lock so it put's it all to the wheel with the least amount of traction
That's on the D1
On the D2 onwards they got clever by taking the pesky wheel on each axle that is spinning and apply the brakes to that wheel only until the other side wheel has less "traction" when compared to the one that is now being braked and that one will start spinning
Click to expand...
Is it normal that the stuck wheel will not get power and the wheel which is on air keep spinning?

Same behavior for front and rear axle. If this is the case in D1, what is the solution to get the truck back on track ?
 
marjon said:
You are correct it is working as expected.
You can get stuck with 1 wheel spinning without diff lock, and 1 spinning wheel on each axle with diff lock, In a standard car with open/normal axle diffs.

J
Click to expand...
Thanks for the input.

Any modifications/ upgrades can be done to get the power on both wheels in each axle at the same time?

thanks,
🙏
 
hi_arshard said:
Air-Locker or E-Locker does the job ? Tried to find the internet couldn’t find much infor ?
Click to expand...
Air or E are the same but different control. I believe.
Air needs a compressor, E needs electric.
LSD/ATB control themselves with no driver input I.E flipping a switch, but may not be as good as a "hard" locking diff in some cases.

Have a look at the this for info https://ashcroft-transmissions.co.uk/

J
 
hi_arshard said:
So you mean this is how it works on D1 and live with it…! ?
Click to expand...

Yep same with my defender, and my P38, and my L322. Although different control of the center diff and traction control on the P38/L322.

But without locking the axles/wheels through 1 means or another this is what happens.

Pays your money, takes ya choice ;).

J
 
marjon said:
Yep same with my defender, and my P38, and my L322. Although different control of the center diff and traction control on the P38/L322.

But without locking the axles/wheels through 1 means or another this is what happens.

Pays your money, takes ya choice ;).

J
Click to expand...
P38 has no centre locking diff, it is a viscous unit, so never fully locks. Most p38's have either 2 wheel or 4 wheel traction control, so they should behave quite differently, as will an L322.
 
hi_arshard said:
At this point I expect the stuck wheels to gain power so the car will get out.
Click to expand...
This is an incorrect assumption. Lots of info online on how diffs work, probably worth your time searching and understanding how they function. Lots of practical examples on YouTube too.

However the centre diff allows full time 4wd, so when traction is equal you will get power to all 4 wheels, but will still allow the front and rear wheels to rotate at different speeds when cornering on tarmac. This is great, because it generally gives Land Rovers loads of traction and good stability without spinning a rear wheel on the road, you can also drive in an out of muddy fields or on snow and even sandy tracks without needing to do anything.

Once you get onto really slippery surfaces or start flexing the suspension you will want to lock the centre diff. This locks the front and rear propshafts (axles...) together and would be the same as say switching a classic Jeep or Toyota from 2wd to 4wd. With the diff locked the front and rear wheels rotate at the same speed, so you shouldn't drive on dry tarmac like this, as you will wind up the transmission and potentially break it.

Off road with the centre diff lock open you can effectively end up in 1wd, i.e. only one wheel will spin if all others have traction. With the diff locked you will always have 2wd, i.e. ability to spin to wheels. But open axle diffs mean you can end up cross axled (most common) where diagonally opposite wheels (drive front/passenger rear) will spin. Although two wheels per side can also spin if say you are parked on a muddy verge with two wheels on tarmac.

This is completely standard for any 4wd/4x4 that doesn't have some kind of traction aid (LSd, lockers or traction control).

For sand use I'd suspect some ATB limited slip diffs such as those sold by Ashcroft transmissions would be the best bet or maybe an ATB in the front and a full locker in the rear.
 
300bhp/ton said:
P38 has no centre locking diff, it is a viscous unit, so never fully locks. Most p38's have either 2 wheel or 4 wheel traction control, so they should behave quite differently, as will an L322.
Click to expand...
Your point is?

The P38 has a viscous center which will lock up, along with the traction control it works ok.
The L322 also has a LSD center diff (it’s not that simple actually) along with traction control.

I have to lock my 90s center diff with a lever, so much effort. but it is effectively not as good as the P38 or the L322.
All with open axle diffs.
J
 
Last edited:
300bhp/ton said:
This is an incorrect assumption. Lots of info online on how diffs work, probably worth your time searching and understanding how they function. Lots of practical examples on YouTube too.

However the centre diff allows full time 4wd, so when traction is equal you will get power to all 4 wheels, but will still allow the front and rear wheels to rotate at different speeds when cornering on tarmac. This is great, because it generally gives Land Rovers loads of traction and good stability without spinning a rear wheel on the road, you can also drive in an out of muddy fields or on snow and even sandy tracks without needing to do anything.

Once you get onto really slippery surfaces or start flexing the suspension you will want to lock the centre diff. This locks the front and rear propshafts (axles...) together and would be the same as say switching a classic Jeep or Toyota from 2wd to 4wd. With the diff locked the front and rear wheels rotate at the same speed, so you shouldn't drive on dry tarmac like this, as you will wind up the transmission and potentially break it.

Off road with the centre diff lock open you can effectively end up in 1wd, i.e. only one wheel will spin if all others have traction. With the diff locked you will always have 2wd, i.e. ability to spin to wheels. But open axle diffs mean you can end up cross axled (most common) where diagonally opposite wheels (drive front/passenger rear) will spin. Although two wheels per side can also spin if say you are parked on a muddy verge with two wheels on tarmac.

This is completely standard for any 4wd/4x4 that doesn't have some kind of traction aid (LSd, lockers or traction control).

For sand use I'd suspect some ATB limited slip diffs such as those sold by Ashcroft transmissions would be the best bet or maybe an ATB in the front and a full locker in the rear.
Click to expand...
Great 👍 Thank you… this is a perfect explanation… now it’s clear. I should be looking for a ATB LSD.
 
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