J

Jackostammers

Member
Hi people

With winter coming and snow, living in a hilly area, I thought it a good idea to find out how to drive my series 3 in the snow/ice?
Any tips welcome?
As for the gear levers, all three of them!! I don't really get it...need a dummies break down really as don't know what high / low ratio means so a break down would be great.
Thanks a lot
Jack
 
I would counsel that if you don't know what the levers are or how they're used by now then being out in the snow and ice isn't really the time to start learning.

The long one with the black knob: That's for stirring the main gearbox; there should be approximately four forward gears and one reverse gear in there somewhere.

The short one with the red knob: That's for stirring the transfer box; selecting high or low ratio gears or neutral in the transfer box. High ratio for normal driving conditions, including snow and ice. The low ratio is for those times when very high torque at low speeds are needed.

The yellow knob is a push down to select: That engages the four wheel drive system in the transfer box. Use this to gain extra traction when driving on slippery or unstable surfaces such as mud, snow or ice. Don't leave the Series four wheel drive system selected for long periods while driving on normal surfaces.

To deselect the four wheel drive pull the hi/lo ratio lever back into the neutral position and the yellow knob will pop up, then push the hi/lo ratio lever forward again to select the high ratio for normal driving.
 
Thanks Brian

I tried that link on what's all the nobs for but I can't get to work as comes up with needingdrop box stuff. Does anyone have a link that might work for me?
Sounds like I'll never need low ratio gears, so just to be certain the
-red nob should be pushed forwards for normal driving.
-Push down yellow nob for 4wd
-back to normal driving, pull red nob back to neutral (middle) yellow pops back up then push red back into forwards position?
Thanks again
 
Thanks blue beasty.
"Low ratio is always 4wd" does this mean I need to select low ratio (pull red nob back) before pushing yellow nob down for 4wd?
Or if I just go straight into low ratio does 4wd automatically kick in?
Would this be the better option for me driving up and down hills in ice/snow?

Thanks (sorry, I'm kinda confusing myself here)
 
Jackostammers said:
Thanks blue beasty.
"Low ratio is always 4wd" does this mean I need to select low ratio (pull red nob back) before pushing yellow nob down for 4wd?
Or if I just go straight into low ratio does 4wd automatically kick in?
Would this be the better option for me driving up and down hills in ice/snow?

Thanks (sorry, I'm kinda confusing myself here)
Click to expand...

no, not, really sometimes all depends on condition and experience. engine compression in low range can put you into a uncontrolled spin/slide leading to disaster
 
brian47 said:
To deselect the four wheel drive pull the hi/lo ratio lever back into the neutral position and the yellow knob will pop up, then push the hi/lo ratio lever forward again to select the high ratio for normal driving.
Click to expand...

Do you have to stop first?
 
Hmmmm don't like the sound of that.
Well I have no experience, and will only really want to use is locally when gets iced /snowy and cars struggle on roads and can't get up hills.
So would you recommend for me then the following?

Sounds like I'll never need low ratio gears, so just to be certain the
-red nob should be pushed forwards for normal driving.
-Push down yellow nob for 4wd
-back to normal driving, pull red nob back to neutral (middle) yellow pops back up then push red back into forwards position?
Thanks again
 
Jackostammers said:
Thanks blue beasty.
"Low ratio is always 4wd" does this mean I need to select low ratio (pull red nob back) before pushing yellow nob down for 4wd?
Or if I just go straight into low ratio does 4wd automatically kick in?
Would this be the better option for me driving up and down hills in ice/snow?

Thanks (sorry, I'm kinda confusing myself here)
Click to expand...

Er....yes. Option 2, red lever back selects low range 4wd.

If you think it's so slippery you need low range you probably should be walking ;)
 
Jackostammers said:
Hmmmm don't like the sound of that.
Well I have no experience, and will only really want to use is locally when gets iced /snowy and cars struggle on roads and can't get up hills.
So would you recommend for me then the following?

Sounds like I'll never need low ratio gears, so just to be certain the
-red nob should be pushed forwards for normal driving.
-Push down yellow nob for 4wd
-back to normal driving, pull red nob back to neutral (middle) yellow pops back up then push red back into forwards position?
Thanks again
Click to expand...

You got it :)
 
I suggest you find somewhere flat and slippery ( with a couple of inches of mud NOT the local bog/ marsh with foot deep) with maybe a small incline and go and practice before you need to know how it works:)
 
Clutch down, into nuetral, clutch up, clutch down and match engine speed to gear you want to select, clutch up.......all done with positive effort

It sounds a lot more complicated than it actually is just takes a bit of practice. In and out of 4wd high is a good one to practice on because gear speed is the same
 
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