| Want to confuse a car thief? Just leave all the sticks in neutral and the keys in the ignition. If he can figure out how to put it in gear - hell he deserves it! :) The sticks are in the same location in the left hand drives, but the parking brake is moved across next the the drivers knee. The knobs are actually coloured yellow and red like this picture. The one that causes the most confusion is the yellow stick. It's only purpose is to engage 4WD when travelling in any of the Hi ratio gears. To dis-engage; stop, move the Transfer Lever to Neutral ( the yellow lever will pop up) and re-engage the Hi transfer to proceed in 2WD. SCENARIO: The driver suddenly encounters a wet clay section while travelling at 70kph on a gravel covered road. Without drive to the front wheels the vehicle looses some steerage due to the wheels slowing with loss of much of the traction. Meanwhile, the rear wheels will start to spin because of less traction possibly allowing the vehicles back end to drift out of line and certainly meaning the vehicle will loose speed. The driver will get a "floating" sensation. NOT GOOD! Pressing down the yellow knob engages wheel drive to the front wheels as well as the rear. By disipating the drive power over the four wheels the amount of slippage is reduced. Steering becomes more positive because there is some "pull" in the direction the vehicle is being steered which tends to "lead" the vehicle in a more positive direction. Mind you! This is not a good scenario for even an experienced driver to be in, but it's good to know there is a "yellow knob" at ones disposal to help out! |
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