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Lx 470 4wd Questions


GlennR

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I know, I know. Another newbie with a question that the owners manual should be able to answer. However, due to my lack of understanding of more than one lever over the transmission hump, I come here seeking truth. Yes, I did a topic search.

Could some wise sage explain to me exactly how to use the 4 wheel drive system in my LX 470? I asked the salesman at the dealership and he was not able to explain it ("just leave the lever in HI all the time, you'll be fine.") No need to explain its relationship to height adjustment, just a plain english guide to how the system works and how to use it would be great. The manual seemed very vague to me.

Thanks in advance!

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Preface: I'm learning too, so I'm no expert. Here’s my take……..

The salesman is right. You will most likely only need 4HI 99% of the time (depending on your plans with this vehicle). Just remember that the LX470 is a Toyota Land Cruiser all gussied up. The TLC has a long history of being a very capable off-road vehicle. http://www.tlca.org/trails/articles/history/landcrsr

OK, the 4WD HI vs LO. Refer to the manual for shifting between the two. But, if you are going to be driving through deep snow, mud or sand 4Lo will give you added traction and torque. Use the center differential lock to gain traction if the either the front or back wheels do not have traction, this will send equal amounts of power to the front wheels and the back.

This link will demonstrate how the whole thing works.

http://www.safari4x4.com.au/80scool/george...iffs/diffs.html

It's written for the 80 but a lot can be applied to 4WD in general. Big difference is the LX is not going to have front and rear diff locks. A center diff lock only.

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Mate, it is a bit simpler or even a bit more complex than that.

The LX470 is 4WD all the time.

On the Dash is the Centre Diff Lock Button. The Centre Diff lock ensures that you have 50% of power going to the Rear axel and 50% going to the Front axel. Do not use this capability on hard, non slippery surfaces or you will stuff the transmission. What this means is if you lose traction on the rear wheels then you have the 50% of power being sent to the Front Axel. conversely if you lose traction on the front wheels then 50% is still being sent to the Rear axel.

Remember, without the centre diff being locked then the possibility is that ALL power would be sent to the axel with the wheel that is slipping and to the wheel that is in fact slipping. You would then not have any power being sent to the wheels not slipping.

On the Lx470 with traction control this is unlikely event anyway.

Having the diff lock engaged means that the power will always go 50% back and 50%front, regardless of wheel slippage.

The Transfer lever, completly seperate to the Diff Lock works as follows.

The HI position means that the drive is transmitted through the normal Ratio Gearbox and thence to the axels.

The LOW position means that Drive is transmitted through the Low Range Transfer Case and thence to the axels. This LOWERS the revolution of the Drive to the prop shafts theu causing the wheels to turn slower for the same Engine revs for the same gear as provided in HIGH. This will give you higher torque (power) to the wheels. Typically you would use LOW range where you want to go slow(ly) through an obstacle - rock climbing for example, through water, up a very steep incline or a very steep decline where you want to use the power of the engine to !Removed! your speed downhill. LOW is not often use in Mud as the increased Torque (power) to the wheels tends to cause the wheels to spin and dig you deeper into the mud.

Typically you would use the Centre diff lock in mud, to ensure that you have drive going to both axels.

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Thanks for the quick reply - my last questions are: assuming I would want to, at some point, when can you shift into in 4L? I assume the car should be stationary and in neutral? Should you be moving? Same for center diff lock? Finally, what is 4N for?

And yes, I am loving my LX.

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Does the Lx470 have a center diff lock switch? I know it was not an option with the LX 450 in the US (I purchased mine and installed it myself).

To answer your last question, you should be stationary when shifting into 4L. Put the transmission into N, then shift the transfer case lever (the short one on the hump) into 4N, then into 4L. Once you have it in 4L, move the transmission to either D or a lower gear.

Reverse all this when going back to 4H.

Assuming you do not have a center diff lock switch, when you're in 4L, the center diff will automatically lock (you should see the center diff lock indicator light up on the dash).

BTW, it was a pretty lame answer the salesman gave you!

Please feel free to ask more questions if you have any or if this was not clear.

Cheers,

Doug

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Again, thanks. Yes, the LX470 does has a center lock differential switch. Last question - what is 4N for?

And yes, although Lexus has a wonderful dealership record, I was truly surprised by the salesperson's lack of knowledge of this product.

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4N is for power winches connected to your drive train. This is rare but you can connect a power winch to your transmission through the right access port under your vehicle. When you use a winch, you are not moving the vehicle so the 4N disengages the front and rear wheels from the transmission. You still use the engine and throttle to control the speed of the winch. The winch has it's own on/off controls.

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4N is for power winches connected to your drive train. This is rare but you can connect a power winch to your transmission through the right access port under your vehicle. When you use a winch, you are not moving the vehicle so the 4N disengages the front and rear wheels from the transmission. You still use the engine and throttle to control the speed of the winch. The winch has it's own on/off controls.

I don't think there's ANY change of seeing a PTO winch on a LX 470 -- EVER!

That said, good explanation!

...

Doug

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I was up in the Northwood’s this weekend and got my 450LX stuck in a hard crusted snow bank. I was “screwed” because the frame was caught up on the snow bank and of course the left front and the right rear tires spun.

After the wife was all done with her “I TOLD YOU SO’S”, I got out the shovel and jack and went to work getting unstuck. Is there a posi rear-end you can buy for the LX so both wheels turn?

dougjohn you mentioned you bought a locker switch. Was it expensive, was it easy to install, is it only a wiring harness, and what does it do????

Dakrri

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I'm confused Dakrri...why were all four tires not spinning at the same time if the center diff was locked??

Perry

I think its because the power is split 50/50 to front and rear, but when it gets to either the front or rear, the diffs there determine how that 50% is distributed to left or right wheel.

-Robert

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Dakrri,

Sorry to hear your adventure in the snow didn't turn out quite the way you'd hoped.

Here's the deal with 4wd systems. Standard 4wd means that you get power to one of the front wheels and to one of the rear wheels. Because of the way the differential works, the power is sent to the wheel with the least amount of traction. (www.howstuffworks.com has a good write up on how differentials work)

Limited slip differentials help to reduce wheel spin, but they're not perfect.

The better way to go is with full locking differentials. There are aftermarket "lockers" you can get for the LX 450 (Land Cruiser). ARB has an air locker which uses a small compressor to lock the diffs. You can get aftermarket lockers for the rear and front diffs.

Some of us have factory locking differentials (I do on both mine and my wife's); they were an option on LX 450s. If you have a little knob on the dash, to the left of the steering wheel labeled "DIFF LOCK", you have locking diffs. This means that you can selectively lock your rear and, if you wish, the rear and front axles. In this case all 4 tires would have power. Diff locks are great if you plan on doing alot of off road travel on medium to difficult trails.

Aftermarket lockers like the ARB cost aprox 1200 for front and rear and aprox another 800 to 1000 for the installation. Well worth the investment if you're planning on running the Rubicon Trail (or something similar). There are other, less expensive lockers available, however, ARB seems to be the choice of most.

The switch I have is the center diff lock switch. This is something different. When you shift from 4H to 4L, you automatically engage the center diff lock. This distributes power to both the front and rear driveshafts -- so you get equal power to front and rear axles. The center diff lock switch allows you to lock the center diff while in 4H -- it also disables the ABS. I purchased the center diff lock switch from www.sleeoffroad.com. It was $58. Installation took about 15 minutes.

Don't sweat getting stuck in the snow too much. I recently went on a snow run with about a dozen other well built Land Cruisers/LX 450s. We had quite a few rigs get stuck at different points in the day. Unless you had something solid to grip to, I don't think diff locks or limited slip would've helped much.

Keep wheeling -- don't let the bad snow experience let you down!

...

Doug

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The switch I have is the center diff lock switch. This is something different. When you shift from 4H to 4L, you automatically engage the center diff lock. This distributes power to both the front and rear driveshafts -- so you get equal power to front and rear axles. The center diff lock switch allows you to lock the center diff while in 4H -- it also disables the ABS. I purchased the center diff lock switch from www.sleeoffroad.com. It was $58. Installation took about 15 minutes.

Doug,

When I put my 450 in 4L by pulling the small shift handle, the dash lights read "center diff lock" & "ABS". That part I get, but what is the advantage of having that option/$58.00 switch for 4H?

Dakrri

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  • 7 months later...
  • 2 months later...

dakrri, i too have recently gotten stuck (high centered) in a snow bank. not much you can do here other than get out the shovel and start digging all the cold, wet, hard snow out from under the frame and suspension bits....in short keep it on the road!

regards,

terry

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  • 11 months later...

I know this is an old post, but I thought I would mention this.

One of the greatest things about the 470 is the adjustable suspension. When you get high centered in the snow, (which should only happen when you tried to go through a snow bank too slowly), this will usually get you out:

put in 4L. More importantly, put the suspension down, which will smash the snow down several inches, then put it all the way up in high. This gives you around six inches of clearance of frame clearance off the snow.

The first winter I got my truck, I went to parking lots and purposely stuck my truck into the biggest snowbanks possible, to see how it would work if I were actually in trouble.

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