Morning Fewbie Plus Desert Drive - Bowling in Sweihan - Abu Dhabi - 3 Sep 2021

[Ruan van den Heever]

I would be hesitant to drive the Jeep in 4L on a drive like yesterday however, I dont have a manual box. I do however mostly on climbs shift manually to force the Jeep inside its torque band and keep it there.

The gearbox oil on the (well on my) Jeep is circulated through its own oil cooler which is situated infront of the radiator. Apart from that there is also the condensor of the airconditioner. All of which is situated infront of the Jeep's radiator, quite a warm business all in one spot. So the air reaching the radiator is already being heated before even getting there. I noticed over time, and this is one of those small things which one at first notices and then say...."maybe Im seeing things that aren't there" .....but in summer when I drive the Jeep hard in a convoy my engine water temperature reaches a warmer temperature than what I expect. Now I know the Jeep runs hot. And when I say hot, the V6 likes to operate between 95 and 105 degree celcius. I mean the thermostat only starts to open at 95 and fully opens at 105. The thermostatic fan only comes on at around 95 on its slow speed and the fastest PWM control only kicks in at 120 degrees celcius. 

Ive driven with the ODB2 scanner in the Jeep a few times during a drive with Carnity and I average between 100 and 110 degree celcius on a good day whilst we push through the sand.

I decided a while back to import an offroad 8 core full aluminium radiator for the Jeep, installed it (which was a "lady dog" to do as it is 25mm thicker than stock) and alas, I now am able to continuously push in the sand whilst being able to handle all the hot air through the transmission oil cooler and aircon condensor infront of the radiator and keep the water temp below 105 degrees at all times.

But believe me....it is still pretty warm in that nose!

Edited September 4, 2021 by Ruan van den Heever

[Varun Mehndiratta]

10 hours ago, Arman said:

.  (in a tj it's something like 11:1) so you're getting 11x more torque for 11x less speed approximately...... 

 

WOW ...

[Srikumar]

16 hours ago, Arman said:

I've got a friend in a jeep club I'm in that exclusively drives in 4L (except he's got a manual), he's been doing it for years now and has had no issues but believes that some of that may be due to the manual gear box as he seldom shifts below 3rd gear when in 4L ( lower gears in TJ are geared super low and you'd have to shift very early in 4L). 

The 3rd gear in 4L would be equivalent to 1st gear in 4H (which in a TJ is already configured quite low).

I would not recommend driving in 4L for extended periods of time at high speeds. There was earlier an old Pajero member who was part of a dedicated Pajero offroad club where everyone would drive in 4L on the sand, it took him just 4 months to suffer a gear box and transfer case replacement. Also, if you read most owner manuals they mention that the speed in 4L should not exceed 20 km/h.

I have not seen anything that cannot be achieved in 4H, to take the chance of driving in 4L.

[Mario Cornejo]

2 hours ago, Srikumar said:

There was earlier an old Pajero member who was part of a dedicated Pajero offroad club where everyone would drive in 4L on the sand, it took him just 4 months to suffer a gear box and transfer case replacement. Also, if you read most owner manuals they mention that the speed in 4L should not exceed 20 km/h.

...and this puts a stop to my 4L experiment 🤣

This is what the Y61 manual says:  "4L - (4WD, low range) Four wheels are driven. Use when climbing or descending steep hills, or during driving in sand, mud or deep snow.  The "4L" position provides maximum power and traction. Avoid raising vehicle speed excessively, as the maximum speed in 5th gear is approximately 50 km/h (30 MPH)."

[Varun Mehndiratta]

3 hours ago, Srikumar said:

The 3rd gear in 4L would be equivalent to 1st gear in 4H (which in a TJ is already configured quite low).

I would not recommend driving in 4L for extended periods of time at high speeds. There was earlier an old Pajero member who was part of a dedicated Pajero offroad club where everyone would drive in 4L on the sand, it took him just 4 months to suffer a gear box and transfer case replacement. Also, if you read most owner manuals they mention that the speed in 4L should not exceed 20 km/h.

I have not seen anything that cannot be achieved in 4H, to take the chance of driving in 4L.

Yeah that's what i thought... especially on sand it's more about momentum which makes it very diff from offroading in rocky places where low duration torque and grasp at particular obstacle is more important than a general overall approach speed..  I was thinking of more experimenting with it on some steep climbs/playareas (perhaps Faya dune or someplace) ..something as shown in video below 

https://youtu.be/VnT4uSJ3pkA