Locked hubs and part time 4 wheel drive question

[matt s]

Well just to wrap this all up. I found and dug out my original owners manual and specs. The directions there say to move from 2H to 4H in either direction at any speed (yeah that surprised me to see in an owner manual), provided the hubs are locked. It does say to let off the gas when dropping from 4H to 2H. For 4L speeds below 5mph are required. While it does not name the 205 specifically the shift pattern and description matches and the 203 (the only other likely candidate for stock when new) is a very different pattern.

I love going through the old files for this rig. I have all the receipts, manuals, brochures (yes the showroom floor one), install instructions for various aftermarket parts. It's a gold mine in there. Sadly it's about 3 inches thick with NO organization. A project for another day.

EDIT: here is a scan of the manual, on the previous page (not shown) it says that the following chart is based upon the hubs being in the locked position.

 

[DiploStrat]

Assuming you are serious ...

This picture needs some explanation. When was it taken? The man seems to be wearing a 1970's bell-bottom leisure suit. Got enough spare tires? Why is he shoveling in the middle of the road?

I would have to review Beloved Spouse's journal for the the exact date, but it was probably November, 1974. The picture was taken in the lower Sahel between Zinder and Agadez. More pictures are at: http://www.pbase.com/diplostrat/sahara

I bought the cloth in the market and had it made into a bush suit. Bell bottoms were the style then. I am almost two metres tall and sadly, despite my best efforts to make allowances, the trousers ended up a bit short. Still a comfortable suit. (Still have the desert boots.)

Enough spare tires? Now there’s an oxymoron! (See also: Enough fuel, enough water.) I left Douala with four tires on the road and three spares. Arrived in Tunis with four on the road, one leaking. All of the others were destroyed. To be fair, the original H78x15 was way too small and the Michelin 215x15’s for which I paid some much weren’t much better. I had not sprung for 10x61.5’s or 11x15’s before I left the States and it was a mistake. Of course, to be fair again, this was the beginning of the wide, high flotation, low ply craze in California and I was in Washington, D.C. For simplicity, I should have simply gone with U.S. 16 inch rims and run 7.50x16 tires. Weight to tire would have been high, but the large diameter is correct and this is what all the bush tire repair men understand. Lotta klicks since the ‘70’s and lots of lessons learned the hard way. Let us just say I haven’t had to shovel in a lot of years.

Why dig in front of the truck. Well, I didn’t want to go back to Zinder. Seriously, the truck is high centered and has been dragging for a kilometre or three in 4x2. With the spindle bearing dried out, I could not drive with the hubs locked and could only remain in 4x4 for a few hundred metres. So when the rear tires were finally spinning more than pushing, I had to stop before digging in too deep. Sometimes I could simply dig the sand out of the way. At least once I had to use sand ladders.

Let us just say that I believe in:

-- Full size spares on real wheels.

-- Enough lift to get the body out of the way.

-- The largest diameter tire you can run without engine/gear problems.

-- Radial tires for long contact patches.

-- At least one ply rating higher than needed - for cut resistance.

Beyond that, YMMV!

All the best!

 

[Lichen]

I thought that the photo had 1970' s written all over it. Thanks

 

[DiploStrat]

I thought that the photo had 1970' s written all over it. Thanks

Some of us have been doing this a long time.

 

[BKCowGod]

Some of us have been doing this a long time.

doing what? wearing bell bottoms? jk - that's always been one of my favorite photos on ExPo.

 

[DiploStrat]

Touche!

doing what? wearing bell bottoms? jk - that's always been one of my favorite photos on ExPo.

But of course - someone has to set sartorial standards! (Even if they are low.)