A little late now but a question for next time…. center diff lock

[RemyRunner]

Got to try my hand at 4 wheeling in Moab last week for the first time and I was scared sh!tl3$$ of breaking something and being stranded down there.

As I am continually finding out, my JDM 04 is quite a bit different than the standard offerings on LC’s in NA. I don’t have ATRAC or VSC but just an LSD with centre diff lock.
My last 4wheel trip locally, I dropped it in 4lo and the centre diff locked automatically. Wasn’t sure what was going on but decided it was fine, given the mud and snow.
Then when I got to Moab, I was getting concerned about attempting to do anything in 4Lo and centre diff locked on slick rock. Didn’t want to break anything and couldn’t find anything on on google about why the centre automatically locked.

Got the owner’s manual and opened google translate on my phone and it turns out that since I don’t have vsc or atrac and the LSD, the centre diff automatically locks in 4LO.

So, after that long drawn out preamble, my question is what should I be doing on rock like that if my centre diff is locked and I am in 4LO?
Should I be concerned about turns and doing damage to my trf case on slick rock?
Or since it is such low speed, it’s really a non issue and just try to avoid shock loading the diff/cv’s by spinning if I can?

Tried to google it but didn’t find anything definitive and figured there are enough of you with experience that you can offer insight?

I’m relatively keen to do another trip down there but get some other guys to go in their rigs so I am not going solo again. Hells Revenge looked soooooooo tempting….

 

[Trunk Monkey]

You should be using 4L on terrain like Moab slickrock, trying to do those climbs, etc in 4H will strain the engine and gearing overworking it. Having the center locked on a high traction surface like the slickrock isn't ideal, it causes a lot of binding and you probably heard it in your tires skipping/chirping, but won't cause damage for the short time frame. If it's concerning to you, you could look at the "pin 7" mod which allows for unlocking the center in low.

edited your title so others will know the topic too

 

[kevgentile]

Just did the #7 pin mod today, easy peasy. Lifted the retainer from the side and used an I.V. needle to pop out the wire from
the connector. I did find it easier to remove the nut holding the entire bracket. By removing the bracket you can unclip the connector
from the relay and pull the entire harness with the bracket and all further out of the dash, just makes it a bit easier.