Hey guys,
First I will say, I have not done this, just curious. What damage can be caused by driving with your CDL engaged on pavement?

 

You could break something. Maybe a differential. Maybe a cv. Hard to say. Most likely nothing would happen except it would be hard to steer.

 

On soft surface, like loose soil or snow, there is no problem. But on a hard smooth surface additional strain is placed on the driveline components especially in turns. That is just extra wear you can avoid. With unknown lubrication before you owned it, who knows how long things will last. Also helps avoid Cedric Whistlebritches down at Robbin' Bastids Motor Repairz.

 

The world will end in a ball of fire.

 

The world is going to end anyway on 12/21 so I would suggested saying to the original poster nothing would happen between now and 12/21.

2003 Discovery 131K with all high miles services complete

 

Nothing will happen, take it easy and don't floor it.

 

opinions vary, but take a peek at this and what some other 4WD owners have happen. http://www.4x4abc.com/4WD101/def_turnpart.html - more that the turns place all sorts of demands on a locked system.

Obviously driving in a straight line is easy on the system, weaving along the mountain paved roads is something else.

From the owner's manual - DO NOT use the ’diff-lock’ unnecessarily!

Now since we know that Rover cares naught about oil pressure (no gauge needed), very little about temperature (poor quality heat gauges), and very little about miles per gallon - the fact that they insert this warning might just have some basis in fact.

 

It will bind up your driveline (even in a straight line) and eventually cause things to go snap or worse.

From Savannah's link...

http://www.4x4abc.com/4WD101/axle-wind-up.html

 

How far can you drive with CDL engaged and what is the purpose is a better question i think because alot of people have taken out the front shaft and engaged the CDL to pinpoint a vibration or noise. And some have left it out for hours/days and even weeks. I know one guy that lived in dry climate and was not much of a off road guy but loved the look of the disco so he pulled the front drive shaft ect. locked in the cdl and had a 2 wd disco never looked back. So its really hard to say how long it will last or what will happen because of it all you can do is read the posts and other info out there and take it for what it is.

 

IMHO without the front prop shaft you have way less issues. I drove my D1 for two weeks while I worked on the front shaft with two hammers and a vise on the patio. I think the main issue comes when turning. Near me, you might use low and locked for pulling a boat up a slippery salt water ramp. Once out of the water you can get out of lock, not really needed on dry pavement for trip to the next place to stalk the finned opponents. Before fish, all men are equal....