Thread: advice needed

Originally posted by funkendrenchman
The Subie Forester XT is pretty kick ass. I may have to consider than simply for the fact that it isn't really a cop magnet.

quasi hijack*
Thats one reason why i like my outback, a white station wagon doesnt exactly scream "im an idiot probably doing something wrong"

Congratulations.

Tips on owning and driving a Toyota.

Turn key, drive. Repeat as necessary.

After each ~5000 miles change oil. Replace timing belt each 60k miles (or whatever your manual says). Replace tires, mufflers, brakes, windshields, headlights as necessary.

It's real easy to own a Toyota.

Originally posted by Arty50
There are 4 different types of differentials.

Open:

Limited slip

Spool

Locker

As a non-gearhead, where does the Gand Cherokee's quadra-trac system with the locking center diff fit in this list?

Originally posted by iceman
As a non-gearhead, where does the Gand Cherokee's quadra-trac system with the locking center diff fit in this list?

None of the above. Arty is talking about the front and rear diffs. What marketing pions call the "centre diff" is a transfer case; not a differential. The transfer case directs power to the front and back while the differentials direct power side to side. The Jeep site has cool flash programs to show the different 4x4 setups (I don't have flash so I'm not completely sure it's the right page).

Normally the QuadraTrac has a little slippage so that the front and rear wheels can turn at different rates -- necessary for going around corners on pavement. Locking the transfer case forces the wheels to spin at the same rate -- excellent for gravel and mud.

All-wheels drive cars use a center differential (a true differential) to distribute power front & rear as conditions dictate. True 4WD makes use of a transfer case, or none at all (i.e., full-time 4WD) such that power always goes to both axles.

Originally posted by Viva
All-wheels drive cars use a center differential (a true differential) to distribute power front & rear as conditions dictate. True 4WD makes use of a transfer case, or none at all (i.e., full-time 4WD) such that power always goes to both axles.

Well I learned something today. So Jeep's QuadraTrac is a transfer case with a center differencial (offering 4hi and 4lo).

Originally posted by Viva
All-wheels drive cars use a center differential (a true differential) to distribute power front & rear as conditions dictate. True 4WD makes use of a transfer case, or none at all (i.e., full-time 4WD) such that power always goes to both axles.

great explaination. thats why the old Subie 4WD system that activated by the button on the shift was more tanklike than the current AWD system.
Bring it Back!!!

Originally posted by Viva
Congrats, Kellie! Great car!

There's a place called

www.tacomaterritory.com

that you may want to check out. The forum there is, essentially, a big sandbox for guys, but every once in a while something useful is posted (e.g., electrical problem and how it was fixed, opinions on the best snow tire, etc.).

I was in the Nor Cal chapter of that a long long time ago, still lurk once in awhile....then I found out that you break lots of shit on the wheeling trips, not to mention have a good portion of your income go into mods. Those guys/gals are cool and really know their shit.

I love my car, it's like having a snowmobile, I drove right outta this:

Snow Dog and Viva pretty much covered it. But I'll add a little. A normal transfer case distributes power evenly (50/50) between the front and rear axles. However it doesn't do this exactly. Differences in tire pressure, bearing friction, drivetrain slop, etc. cause the front and rear drivetrain to operate at very slight speed differences. So eventually this causes binding in the transfer case, and causes undue stress throughout the drivetrain. This leads to excessive wear of parts or even catastrophic failures. When you're driving in dirt, mud, snow, rain, or ice then there's enough slippage in the tires to prevent binding from occurring.

Now enter all-wheel drive (4 hi only) or full-time four wheel drive (4 hi and 4 lo). In order to prevent binding on dry pavement, a limited slip differential is placed in the transfer case to allow the necessary slippage in the drivetrain. Any full-time system worth its salt also allows you to lock out this differential to provide 50/50 traction without slippage. This is necessary for hard core wheelin'. Naturally it's overkill for all-wheel drive.