I have often asked folks with Land Rovers fitted with a dual-range gearbox how often they operate the system for the transfer from High to Low ranges. More often than not the reply is a blank look and after a few seconds they either say "never" or "what's the transfer box". I have always been advised to operate the transfer box at least monthly, but it does no harm to work it more frequently. Not operating it frequently can lead to very expensive repairs if you ever do need to engage low box for example in deep snow. It is very easy to operate even on your drive or the street in front of your house - start the engine, select neutral on the shifter, press or flick the transfer switch and you should hear a little electric motor engaging (it's quite quiet) and the dash light should come on and hopefully you now have low ratio engaged when the light on the dash becomes steady. It is important, even if you never take, or intend to take, the car offroading that you do operate the transfer box to prevent seizure of the transfer motor and to get some lubrication to the mechanism. As modern Land Rovers use a viscous coupling instead of a mechanical difflock you can drive a short (100m or so) in low box on a hard surface without fear of the dreaded transmission wind-up, if you do want to drive further then do it on a slightly slippery surface like a gravel road or even dry grass. 2018 Mini Countryman Cooper S E All4 PHEV in Melting Silver - it’s whisper quiet in EV and polluter modes

when i had my navara d40 , i was told to use it once a month as well. ... - .- -.




Y. O. L. O.
.

I use mine every couple of days in traffic, to make sure it's all working properly. Including manual selection of gears in low range.

When used off road or tow a heavy trailer, usually 3 or 4 times a week - especially in the winter

The 07 MY onwards cycles the box on every start...according to the technician that attended my car the other day...this is to counter this very problem.
Kind regards,
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A friends Range Rover classic was siezed in high, through lack of use. Would not budge!

Every couple of weeks I put mine in low range just to check it works. 2006 Mercedes CLS
1991 Retro-style Mini
But really finding it hard to fight the urge for a S/C...

bit shocked at the poll results, do 37% of us actually check our oil and tyre pressures every week??

for me its once a month if I remember

You can drive as far as you want at up to 65mph in low box, it has no bearing on the centre diff operation..... Land Rover Addict
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M44K TS wrote:

Every couple of weeks I put mine in low range just to check it works.

mmmm when i get board and siting in the car i start to play with buttons and knobs and usualy the hill desent and low ration come to play.

that s why my outside temp gauge now does not read in deg c it does deg f and its a trip to the dealers to put back you no what they say idle hands makes for a trip to the dealers  02 Range Rover HSE Zambezie silver 4.4

never use it , mainly because the bloody thing didnt work when i bought the car

I check it every week, in the hope it will start working properly. I can switch to low ratio, but it won't switch back up to high. Have to turn off ignition, start up again and fiddle with the switch, then maybe repeat to get back to high. Someday....

So can we please have chapter and verse on driving in low ratio. Tim and Thrasher seem to differ in opinion? .
Experience is the only genuine knowledge, but as time passes, I have forgotten more than I can remember
Volvo V70 P2 2006 2.4 Petrol 170bhp Estate SE
MG Midget Mk1 1962

Previous: L322 Range Rover TDV8 3.6 2008; L322 Range Rover TD6 3.0 2002; P38A Range Rover V8 1999

Low ratio is just what it implies, in standard drive, ie no terrain response picked, just likely any Land Rover since the Range Rover classic and the Stage One V8 with permanent four wheel drive - low box is just lower gearing. In the series vehicles prior to the Stage One and early 110's there was a lever to operate low box, which locked the centre diff, making sure you had to drive off road. Discovery had a manual centre diff etc, but all modern can speed in low box as it is not related to the centre diff operation. Modern lesser crap locks the centre diff....(read not LR) Land Rover Addict
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In modern Land Rovers there isn't any manual difflock at all, the job that it used to do is now done by the viscous coupling which detects slippage and the fluid becomes more viscous between the plates in the coupling and in effect become solid. Even if you are fortunate to have an e-diff on the rear axle (standard on S/C 5ltr IIRC) you cannot manually control it, it also automatically engages. I was most impressed to see how well an RRS with the optional e-diff performed last weekend offroading in the Argyll Forest, and made a Dakar Challenge Mitsubishi Evolution look stupid when it came to traction in slippery conditions as the Evo has to have 5-6 wheel rotations to detect that it needed it's auto hubs to lock up, the LR system detected slip[page instantly and engaged the e-diff far quicker. One advantage of the system currently installed in all modern Land and Range Rovers EXCEPT Defender (which still has the manual diff lock referred to by Thrasher) and also X series BMWs, is that the viscous coupling cannot permit transmission wind up whereas in Defender driving on dry, metalled roads with the diff lock engaged in either high or low ratio you will do severe damage to the transmission due to wind up. 2018 Mini Countryman Cooper S E All4 PHEV in Melting Silver - it’s whisper quiet in EV and polluter modes