Victoria the Land Rover

General functionning

Read the way it should be done...

Car in default gear setup (means: high ratio + rear wheel drive only).
TWO things you can do:
-YELLOW KNOB = Engage 4x4 solely: means stay in normal high-ratio, to drive on open roads with 4 wheels engaged;
-RED KNOB = Engage crawling mode: means low-ratio AND 4 wheels drive. You cannot be in low-speed crawling mode without having the 4 wheels driving.

A word about safety

Safety for the driver and for the car

TO CLUTCH or NOT CLUTCH ?
While engine running: always de-clutch when moving the yellow or red knob. When engine is off, you can move freely all these levers but they might not be fully engaged next time you start the car.

WHILE MOVING ?
Now, what about touching these levers while the car is MOVING ? The owner manual stipulates that you should fully stop when moving from HIGH to LOW ratio. Otherwise, it is like using the EJECT button of a fighter jet: be ready for a brutal outcome.
But it is possible to change from LOW to HIGH (to tow an heavy load until a certain momentum is reached) as long as you fully de-clutch while moving the red knob lever, with a quick pause in the middle, and then change the normal gearbox to 2-3rd gear.
Seems ambitious to move 2 levers without losing too much speed, but  it is written black on white in the owner's manual that "with practice, it becomes easier"…

So, for one last time, let's have a look at how to (dis)engage the 4 wheels and the low ratio gearbox using the yellow and red knobs.

YELLOW KNOB: Four wheel driving

Meaning at normal speeds

Driving 4WD-engaged on a Series Land Rover is more the exception than the rule. Unlike its modern Defender descendants, who have a permanent 4WD transmission, the older Series are powered through their back axle. It is good to know that a Land Rover can drive almost everywhere using only its rear wheels. But it is a common attitude, in a rush to put all the new levers at play, to switch to 4 wheel drive as soon as the car goes out of the paved roads.

So keep in mind: in a Series Land Rover, drive in "normal" mode until you can't anymore.

When do you need 4 wheels to drive ?

When the power needs to be spread between four wheels, to reduce the risk of slip / spin. Let's say 100% of the engine power is sent to the wheels. With 2 wheel drive, this traction goes 50% to each wheels, which may override the grip available from the ground. With 4 wheels spreading the 100% equally, only 25% of the power will reach the ground at each wheel, therefore giving a chance to each to stay under the maximum ground thrust.
Examples:
-Driving on icy, snowy roads;
-Rear wheels slipping or spinning on a muddy track, sand or wet grass;

As the Land Rover is pushed forward by its back transmission axle, it behaves badly in such a condition, like all cars powered through their rear axle. This is a good time to use the YELLOW knob, push it vertically to engage the front axle transmission.

Then, why not stay permanently in high - 4 wheel drive ?

The modern Land Rovers (1985 - 2016) indeed have permanent 4WD but also have a central differential. This key mechanical component provides the necessary flexibility to allow the rear and front axle to spin at different speeds. Without it, the driving at speed becomes dangerous, since the front axle, responsible for turning the front wheels, tends to rip as the transmission spins at an identical speed than the back axle, despite of driving slightly different distance lengths. This leads to dangerous and poor handling.

Another reason, directly related to the above, is the unnecessary wear of the front axle mechanical components, steering UJ and tires.

RED KNOB: low ratio gearbox

A special transfer gearbox that offers extra gears

Until recently, building a gearbox with 8 forward speeds was too complex, too heavy and certainly too expensive. Real off-road cars have a "transfer case" that allows to double the number of speeds: HIGH and LOW. Obviously, the high ratio is for road speeds. The low range is extra short speeds, as on a "mountain bike", when the power/torque is not enough for the effort required. A switch to a lower ratio provides high power and traction, simply at very slow speed. The main gearbox gets through the tranfer case, and offers as a consequence 4+1 speeds in HIGH ratio for normal usage, and 4+1 in LOW, for tricky situations.

When to select low range ?

As explained in Tom Sheppard "Land Rover Experience" official book , the low ratio is used when "power" and/or "control" is/are needed.
Examples:
-POWER: towing a car, climbing a steep slope, pulling an heavy load.
-CONTROL: crawling downhill without using brakes, crawling steadily over rocks, without touching the clutch.

FUN FACTS
The 3rd gear in LOW corresponds to the ratio of the 1st HIGH gear. A Series Land Rover cannot engage LOW ratio without 4 wheel drive.

EXECUTION MANUAL

Time to leverage

Default normal is HIGH - 2WD.

Slippery conditions Wanted =HIGH - 4WD: push YELLOW knob.
→back to normal? Wanted = HIGH-2WD: pull RED knob; then push RED knob.
→gets worst: power a/o control needed?

Power a/o control needed Wanted = LOW-4WD: pull RED knob.
→gets a bit better? Wanted = HIGH - 4WD: not possible, must go first through "normal" HIGH - 2WD.
→back to normal? Wanted = HIGH-2WD: pull RED knob; then push RED knob.

Hopefully, this is clear enough.

And remember: always de-clutch while moving levers...