diff lock and tire wear

[fantasy]

Hi i'm new to 4 x 4 my firends drive land rovers 2.5 tdi but i liked the look of the surf's in fact I drove past one and bought it straight away, anyway we went to kielder and did a bit of off road when i got stuck in a ditch basically 1 front wheel and the opposite back wheel just span?
engage diff lock my mates said ? but i couldn't find anything to do with diff lock ? my model is a 93 L 3.0 turbo does this model have diff lock or not? i eventually got pulled out but this has now got me thinking? also the surf suffers badly from inside tire wear on all wheels the surf has been jacked up with rancho 9000's and the tires are wrangler good something's big off road tires none of the wheels look bent or have adverse camber but all i've done for now is to swap the tires so the tread is on the inside to get more use out of them? any help greatfull

[Guest]

Hi i'm new to 4 x 4 my firends drive land rovers 2.5 tdi but i liked the look of the surf's in fact I drove past one and bought it straight away, anyway we went to kielder and did a bit of off road when i got stuck in a ditch basically 1 front wheel and the opposite back wheel just span?
engage diff lock my mates said ? but i couldn't find anything to do with diff lock ? my model is a 93 L 3.0 turbo does this model have diff lock or not? i eventually got pulled out but this has now got me thinking? also the surf suffers badly from inside tire wear on all wheels the surf has been jacked up with rancho 9000's and the tires are wrangler good something's big off road tires none of the wheels look bent or have adverse camber but all i've done for now is to swap the tires so the tread is on the inside to get more use out of them? any help greatfull

First off i've moved this thread as it was in Surfs for sale where it is unlikely to get the coverage.

Anyway the Surf doesn't have locking diffs as standard which is a problem in Cross axle and breakover situations. Some Surfs come with an electronic Toyota locker on the back but I don't think anyone here has got one. You can get aftermarket ones from ARB which are the dogs! howevr cost a lot to buy and need you to plumb in an air pump as they are Air operated. You can also sometimes find an Limited Slip Diff for the rear off some 4 runners.

You might want to get the tracking and camber checked at your local tyre place but a common problem that will cause adverse tyre wear is the front idler arm bushes being worn - mine is bad at the moment and it's the next job I've got to do. They can be changed in 1 1/2 hours and will cost less than £10 to buy.

Cheers

[TonyN]

Land Rovers have a center diff, to allow perminant 4wd on the road, letting you wear out front drive components and use more fuel turning the front wheels unnessesarly, so need a center diff lock to work properly in 4wd when offorad.

Your Surf has no center diff, only driving the rears on the road, thats why you can only use 2wd on the tarmac, putting it in 4wd is the same as a LR with its center diff locked, so you arn't lacking anything compared to a LR. crossaxling a LR will leave you as stuck as the Surf was, only the LR has better articulation than a IFS Surf, keeping the wheels on the ground in slightly bigger holes.

Rancho 9000's are a good shock, set them to soft when offroading to get the most axle articulation, and won't affect your tyre wear, nor will bigger tyres, you just need the alignment set up properly. YOur tyres are Goodyear Wrangler, just another brand off All Terrain (usually 80% on road/20% offroad) , if your going offroad regually, get Mud Terrains.

[fantasy]

Thanks guys the advise is helpfull, I can understand the front tires wearing the inside if the bushes or the camber are out but i thought the rear wheels are on a fixed axel ? how can the camber be wrong or I am wrong ? p.s. i didn't know the rancho's could be adjusted is is easy ?

[JimL]

Thanks guys the advise is helpfull, I can understand the front tires wearing the inside if the bushes or the camber are out but i thought the rear wheels are on a fixed axel ? how can the camber be wrong or I am wrong ? p.s. i didn't know the rancho's could be adjusted is is easy ?

I'd think that the rear tyres were on the front, got worn badly due to bad alignment, were swopped onto the back just before they croaked, and the owner held on till the 2 good ones went the same way. Then it was time to spend money or sell it.

[fantasy]

sounds plausable through cheers will get them checked !,