How to tell if power divider is locked

you should be able to tell the difference making a tight corner. otherwise jack 1 tire just off the ground and try to spin it

 

Or back up on a curb and lift the front axle, if you're stuck, the divider is out.

 

the right front is the drive axle. when the divider is locked in. the left rear is the secondary drive.

every driver i've seen that pops the axle. it's always been the right front.

my truck don't act funny when the divider is on. and i know it works. i've been stuck a couple of times. (low ground, mud)
but i haven't done the extremely tight turn yet. so, who knows.

 

Put it in neutral, chock it, release the brakes and jack up 1 side of 1 drive. If you can spin it, it is not locked. There is no 1 drive location, all 4 wheel ends transmit power as long as they all have traction. The power divider simply locks the inter-axle differential to act as a solid shaft so you need at lease 2 wheel ends (1 on each axle) to lose traction to be stuck. With the power divider unlocked, all it takes is 1 wheel ends to lose traction to get stuck.

 

Not exactly....thats what happens if all 4 are off the ground, but the power divider works just like a differential. It powers all 4 when unlocked but allows any to spin at a different speed. It put power to the easiest wheel to turn. If one can spin all the power goes there. By locking the divider you putting even power to each axle, but still not evenly to all wheels. You can still have one spin on each axle unless you have Dif locks as well. Basically your always in 4 wheel drive, but with it unlocked, you can be in 1 wheel drive if one spins. With is locked, 2 have to spin on different axles. Only with dif locks and a power divider do you get true 4 wheel drive. This is why guys get stuck on the side of a road. They will have 2 drives on pavement and 2 in the grass. Even with the power divider locked, the 2 in the grass can spin preventing the driver from getting back on road.

To find out on or off, get on something slippery or lift up one Axel like other poster suggested.

 

I can usually tell with the tight turn method, if their locked it will try to push the steer axle and can sure push you out of the road on packed snow or ice in the right situation.

 

I dont want to risk damaging or scuffing my tires with that method. You could bend something pretty bad if its your un lucky day, especially if the tires aren't exactly the same size. I try to only use my PD on slippery ground. (aside from the time i forgot to turn it off)

 

Actually, the power divider is strongest when it's locked in, as the input and output are locked together and therefore the spiders aren't carrying any load. It's one of those common misconceptions; the truth is more dividers are damaged by operation for extended periods with a wheel spinning than are tore up by accidentally leaving them engaged. They've improved the oiling over the years, and dividers are far more durable than they used to be because of that and better metallurgy.

 

You can twist an axel if ur tire size is to far off or damage tires.... No the divider won't get damaged, but everything else could