Mitsubishi Delica Owners Club UK™

[Raffaele]

Hello all,

Can somebody please explain how the freewheeling clutch gets activated/deactivated.
I know its operated by a vacuum system which is fed by the engine air supply and controlled by solenoids. but what exactly tells the solenoids to open/close?
Is it when the 4L is activated? or is there some sort of electronics behind it ? a wheel slip detector I read somewhere but not too sure.
I have no superselect or diff lock. just 2H, 4H and 4L. and wheel lock light.

TIA

[Google]

[andyman]

2H, 4H and 4L is all my L300 has too, as well as the standard (for L300) auto-locking freewheel front hubs (it is cast into the hub caps, so you would know if you have them). I wonder if your gearbox is the same as the L300's, with no viscous "diff" to give conditions-sensing 4WD like the 2.8L and 3.0L V6 L400s?
_________________
Andy C L300 Super Exceed - over 100 smiles per gallon!

[Raffaele]

thank you for the response andyman

what do you mean cast into the hubs?
auto-locking how? i mean when does it lock?

my hubs look pretty standard, only thing i see is on the front axle there is a vacuum actuator, which i traced back to the solenoids.but what activates the solenoids? can't be electrics , can it?
now that i've fixed the wheel lock light, faulty due to a missing washer. i still Can't test it out yet as she is stripped down waiting for parts for the front wheel assembly.
i think maybe its when its in 4L it just locks???
arrrrggghhhh    

[jejoenje]

andyman means that the hub say "auto-locking" (or something of that ilk) on the hub caps, at least on the L300.

You haven't said whether this is for an L300 or L400.
In the case of the L300, the hubs are called "auto-locking" because they "lock" themselves to the front axles automatically, when 4H or 4L is selected, coming from 2H.
As opposed to needing to do the locking yourself - manually - by jumping out of the vehicle and flicking a switch on the hubs.
You then unlock the hubs again by going back to 2H, and reversing for a short distance.

For the L300, I am not actually 100% sure how either mechanism (either the switch to 4H/4L or the engagement of the hubs themselves) works,
but I'm thinking it's largely mechanical, with only the "wheel lock" light engaged by a big actuator switch on the gearbox (?). On L300's I don't think there are any electrics or
hydraulics on the front hubs themselves.

As for L400, I'm afraid I can't help with any of that newfangled wizardry.
_________________
1992 L300 Exceed "Selma"

[Lewis]

Hi Raffaele

You have a L400, so first take a look at this post for how to use the Super Select system, if you haven't already:- http://www.MDOCUK.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=18735


Now for the technical bit;

The front prop shaft is turning all the time whilst the vehicle is moving.

The front drive shafts are turning as the wheels are pushed along in 2WD (2H or 4H, when the viscous diff is not engaged)
This involves the two vacuum servos that are located on the drivers side inner wing, in the engine bay.
When power is engaged to operate the front diff then an actuator in the freewheel clutch engages the inner drive shaft to the front diff. This shaft is directly engaged to the drivers side drive shaft. The gearing also engages a gear on to the end of the passenger side drive shaft.

As both driveshafts are then engaged the front propshaft powers the diff and the diff turns the driveshaft and they turn the wheels.

NB: Vacuum hose from air reservoir to the clutch actuator is missing in the photo below.
The electrical cable is the sensor for the switch showing the front diff is engaged on the dashboard.






The photo below shows the inner part of the passenger side driveshaft. Note that the one on the left has had the outer edge of the splines ground off, by the diff gearing. This is due to the drive shaft getting pulled out unnoticed, whilst the vehicle was getting towed sideways during a recovery operation, then driving forward after recovery. That tiny amount of spline removal stopped the shaft fully engaging into 4WD, requiring a replacement shaft to be fitted. so if your ever getting towed. put it in 2WD.




Note that some misguided people fit Autohubs to their front wheels, in the belief that they are constantly turned by the diff. This is true in the L200 models, but not the L400's.
Auto hubs effectively disconnect the wheel from the splined outer end of the driveshaft, by a manual switch on the hub. Unless that switch is manually moved back to engage the wheel then the front drive shafts will not turn the wheel when the freewheeling clutch is engaged to give 4WD.

This is in fact a dangerous thing to do. When driving in 4H should you drive across a wet or loose surface and lose control then the lack of traction at the rear wheels will instantly engage the viscous diff. In a fraction of a second that has heated the viscous fluid up and engaged the freewheel clutch and provided power to the front wheels, thus getting traction at the wheels letting you regain control of the steering, which keeps you out of ditches, or worse.

Those with Autohubs set on manual will of course have to get out of their Deli's to engage the hubs, so they can drive out of the ditch, assuming the Deli is safe to drive and the driver able to do so.

HTH
_________________


Copyright is retained for all my photos. Please don't copy them without asking permission
Do not blindly go where the path may lead you. Go where there is no path and leave a trail that others may follow!
ルイス

[andyman]

Just to clarify, L300 Autohubs are locked to the drive shafts every time you push the transfer lever in the cab into 4H or 4L - no need to get out; - those are MANUAL locking hubs.
_________________
Andy C L300 Super Exceed - over 100 smiles per gallon!

[Lewis]

This is about the L400 system, which is not altered in anyway from inside the vehicle.

The L300 system is irrelevant to Rafaele's Question a d just confuses the issue.
_________________


Copyright is retained for all my photos. Please don't copy them without asking permission
Do not blindly go where the path may lead you. Go where there is no path and leave a trail that others may follow!
ルイス

[andyman]

It was more about clarifying the term "Autohubs", Lewis. Hubs you have to get out to lock at the wheel, are surely MANUAL, not AUTO. As Raffaele's vehicle is a Euro-spec L400 with 4D56 engine, and he said it had no superselect, just the same 4H,4L and 2H positions (as a 300), I thought it just possible that his vehicle had more transmission similarities with a 300 than a 4M40 Japanese -spec L400.
_________________
Andy C L300 Super Exceed - over 100 smiles per gallon!

[Raffaele]

good evening all and many thanks to all of you for your time and knowledge, it is much appreciated!

jejoenje - apologies! its the L400 (although at this point I'm not quite sure its the L400 you guys over there are familiar with)
my hub caps just have the mitsubishi logo. and i deffo don't have any switches on the hubs, of that i am sure.
Guess I'm off to see the wizard then...

Lewis OR should I say LeWizard!  - I had read your thread, however, i skipped the bit about Super Select 4WD because i didn't think it was relevant to mine.
I've now read it 3 times.   annnnndddd.....

I think I'm getting somewhere BUT because I´m just a woodsman and carpenter this is still a little confusing. I do apologize.

You said in the technical description that :

"When power is engaged to operate the front diff then an actuator in the freewheel clutch engages the inner drive shaft to the front diff."

my doubts are.
What power? How does the actuator know when to engage?
is it like you said in the referenced post, that it is when the rear wheels slip/have loss of traction. If so is it like an ABS system, electronically monitored?
Haven't got to the rear yet so pretty clueless as to what may be under there, but I truly didn't think it was that clever. I was just hoping for a mechanical beast. Put the stick in 4 and you got 4x4. oh well, should've researched better beforehand.  
The super select is different to mine but am i right in assuming that the 4L position will lock my wheels automatically, when above 3mph?
just like the 4HLc and 4LLc positions of the super select.

andyman - I do think I actually own a MEGA facelifted L300   everyone on the L400 threads all talk about stuff I don't have  
As simple as she is... I Still Love Her!
I´m gonna research autohubs! Jeez the lists keep getting longer! Ha! I love it!
But from what I understand so far, the hub is not "auto" per say. It is always connected to the drive shaft and that is always connected to the diff. what connects those to the prop shaft is the viscous coupling(?). which engages when there is a sudden difference in the rear wheel rotation. Correct?
autohubs does sound cool though!

[andyman]

Without knowing the Specs of the Euro L400, I'm purely guessing that it may be a hybrid of the Japanese spec vehicles we are familiar with in the UK. But on all things L400, I would defer to Lewis's encyclopedic  knowledge.
_________________
Andy C L300 Super Exceed - over 100 smiles per gallon!

[Lewis]

[Lewis]

[Raffaele]

Lewis I was just messing around! I know I have an L400, just its...simple. No offence L300'ers

No captain chairs, no ecs, no auto gearbox (thank God!), no 2.8 or 3.0 V6 engine, no diff lock (at least not on the dash), no 4HLc or 4LLc, no super select, no super cool fog lights on awesome bull bars, no crystal roof, and possibly quite a few more differences.
Actually my model is not even listed on the thread you posted.
It's...different...but I assure you it IS a 1996 Mitsubishi Space Gear 2.5TD 99bhp 4WD SWB 8seater
The model even showed up on the Mitzy Bitzs website you suggested as :
MITSUBISHI PD5W - 2500/4WD/SHORT(WAGON)<95M-> - GLS,5FM/T LHD
although it was on the export section.

[Raffaele]

I would like to post photos of her...but am not allowed.  

[Deker]

[Lewis]