Diff. Locker

[vtferret]

So today I learned an important lesson, that lesson is that I have a lot to lean about off-roading.

So to make a long story short, saw a "puddle" Thought I could get through it... And well this happened.

After a while some guy in a chevy blazer came by and pulled me out... At least it wasn't a jeep.

The point of this thread is.... Help! I have no idea what I'm doing. I understand how I screwed up on the trail, but there are a few other things. Like for instance, my drivers side front tire was spinning, but the rear driver's wasn't (Which sucks because I probably could have gotten out if that was spinning). I had the Diff locker on... I think. The little yellow light in the center of the 4wd indicator in the gauge panel was lit, I thought the dif locker made it so everything had power. If it helps at all I have a 2002...

Please help! Is my diff locker broken, or am I misunderstanding what a diff locker does.

 

[98OzarksRunner]

The 2002 has a center diff lock, which applies power to both the front and rear axles. Without it power will go to the front or the rear when in 4WD (like an AWD vehicle). It is not an axle diff locker, so one wheel on each axle will spin.

You're also going to need a little more aggressive tire for that kind of mud.

 

[vtferret]

Ah, I see now..... I thought it just locked all 3 diffs. Damn. Shows how much I knew, Thanks!

And yeah, I know... To be honest I wasn't even planning on playing in the mud, Back home had a bit less mud, lots more dry dirt. I prefer logging trails over mud pits, any day. I don't think I'm going to do that again though.... At least not attempt that hole (or if I do I'll stay to the left)

 

[vtferret]

And on a note that I wish was completely unrelated... Does anyone have any suggestions for tail lights? I may or may not have backed into a tree while getting out and broke mine...

 

[Kraze]

If you get in a situation like that again, you can try lightly applying the brakes while you're also on the gas. This might lock up the one wheel that is spinning just enough to make it send power to the other wheel as well. You could try it with the ebrake for that one, since you said you might have made it out had your driver side rear had power to it.

But yeah, you should look into some different tires if you're going to be playing in the mud a lot.

 

[JBecker]

Tips for off-roading:

-Never have just 1 vehicle
-Always have a tow strap
-All season tires suck
-Mud puddles are deceiving
-Trees damage vehicles, rocks too

:cheers:

 

[vtferret]

Yeah... I have a lot to learn... I used to drive my dad's explorer on logging trails back home in Vermont all the time, but that seems to be quite a bit different than here... That puddle was a lot deeper than It looked. Back home there would have been so many rocks at the bottom of it that it wouldn't have been an issue at all! Damn I need to get out of this state...

 

[Singtoe]

The problem is that you just didn't go fast enough.:lalala:

 

[george16]

Where in Florida are you located? Next time, get a piece of stick and find out how deep the puddle is before going through it. I know the puddle your went through wasn't deep but checking it out first will prevent you from getting stuck.