G500 differential locking mechanism
Fellow addicts here is a tale of shame: :oops:
The other day, I went for a trip up in the mountains.
The snow was heavy.
The mud was deep and in abundance.
Temperature readings were near sub-zero.
Two sulking, "hollier than thow" teenagers were comfortably seated in the back-seats.
I procceeded with murder in my eyes and heart...
At one point, when the going got iffy, I tried to lock the centre differential. It worked faultlessly. A bit latter, when trouble was in sight, I locked the aft differential well in advance. It locked for a few minutes - about a hundred meters - (yellow and red light on) and then it took the liberty to unlock itself (yellow light on, red light off). I was moving slowly along a tortuous and slipery path. I got stuck. No differentials (except the middle one) could offer wheel-lock. Fortunately a Japanese foe saved my behind... :evil:
A couple of miles down the path, same senario, same result with the exeption that the front differential was also involved.
This time my winch saved my face. Sort of. :cry:
Why? :shock:
What hidden lesson awaits to be learned?
Anakreon,
oh no! :shock: What was the Jap Foe that pulled you out?
(and I hope the ridicule from the teenagers was not too bad! :lol: )
Spider1V
The middle one locks with pneumatic power and always works but the other two lock with hydraulic power so start at the top check the reservoir, and then look under the car and check the pistons on the diff locks are clean and can move. Then once they are moving try to put them on once a month to keep them free.
Is hydraulic pressure required to keep them (fwd & aft diffs) locked or just to move them from one state to the other (the rear got unlocked whilst already locked for abt 100m).
Also if the front gets unlocked by its own accord will it "take with it" the aft one as well (and vice versa)
Thanks
As far as I know it would need constant pressure to keep the diffs locked up, It is quite a simple mechanism after the hydraulic bit so if the piston cannot or will not travel full stroke then it might be able to unlock again?? Could be low pressure in the diff lock system which might mean it has air in the system, If it is affecting front and back difflocks I would change the hydraulic fluid first and see if that fixes the problem. Cheers Alex
Today I tried the system again and it worked faultlessly. I could not induce a "malfunction" no matter what.
One important difference between last week and today is the ambient temperature which is much higher today.
Next week, I will check both air & hydraulic systems. I will also change the fluids: I do not believe this has ever been done in the 50,000km life of the car.
I will report on my progress because I think that, joking apart, my embarassement could easily afflict any fellow-late-W463-inexperienced-nincompoop owner.
Fluid change will do it good after 50,000 KM then and next time you can pull the Pajero instead when he gets stuck :wink:
I detect a touch of optimism. :lol:
Make no mistake, I love my G500 and I would buy it again and again. Nevertheless my previous Pajero, although uninspiring, never let me down: in all its years under my brutal care, I did not even have to change a light-bulb.
True Pajero's are probably more reliable over time than a G and definatley cheaper to run but they can't compete on looks and style 8) used to have lots of Subaru's before my Mercedes addiction and they are super reliable and hard-working but they lack that 'G' Factor
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