4 wheel drive abls for dummies

3662 Views 5 Replies 5 Participants Last post by 8th Man, Nov 4, 2006

lostboy

Discussion Starter · Nov 4, 2006

Ok, so my old jeep had 4wd, however it had open difs so only two wheels ever spun when in 4wd, slip or no slip, those two wheels spun.

The X has abls, I assume that in 4wd 2 wheels spin opposites front and back. However when abls kicks in, does it just slow the tire that is spinning say the rear and provide power to the other say the front, or does it provide power to the other tire on the same axle(s) for better traction

Obviously I haven't had mine in 4wd yet, and probably won't this year except for snow.

Also, which two wheels spin when in 4wd.

Thanks for the learning session.

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Glucola

· #2 · Nov 4, 2006

ABLS just applies the brakes to the wheel that is slipping and redirecting it to the other wheel with more traction. Of course you can over power this with lots of skinny pedal. It will not transfer any power to the front or vis versa. No certain two wheels will spin every time. It depends on the situation. The ABLS does a good job and it's a lot better then just being open diff. I was able to get my back driver's side wheel off of the ground about 4" by climbing a small rock and the ABLS got me there.

A first gen couldn't even get the tire off of the ground because of being an open diff. Once the wheel was fully unloaded it started to spin like mad. So going in order: open diff followed by ABLS and finally the locker. Those are the best ways for traction. Open diff being the lowest and the locker being the highest. Also one other thing to keep in mind with ABLS is that it has a sensor that detects brake temps so if the brakes start to heat up then the ABLS system takes itself off line to prevent you from having no brakes when you really need them the most.

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lostboy

Discussion Starter · #3 · Nov 4, 2006

cool, that is what I thought it did but was questioning myself.

It's nice to be able to use all 4 wheels if needed.

Thanks

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syndicate

· #4 · Nov 4, 2006 (Edited)

What was the trick someone mentioned about feathering the brakes to fool the ABLS into giving power to both wheels? Or am I just high?
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Thai

· #5 · Nov 4, 2006

Syndicate said:
What was the trick someone mentioned about feathering the brakes to fool the ABLS into giving power to both wheels? Or am I just high?

You are just high. :drunken: ABLS does that for you! You just keep your foot on the gas pedal and enjoy the scenery...ABLS does the rest to keep you moving forward by braking the spinning/slipping wheel(s). ABLS only transfer torque LATERALLY (over the SAME axle). Front to rear distribution of torque is managed by your transfer case.

Here are some stuff i wrote on a similar system on the 4runner (ABLS = ATRAC on 4runner):
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5036

Hope this helps.

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8th Man

· #6 · Nov 4, 2006

Syndicate said:
What was the trick someone mentioned about feathering the brakes to fool the ABLS into giving power to both wheels? Or am I just high?

Acutally, you'll use the PARKING BRAKE to stop the spinning rear wheel and xfer more power to the wheel that has traction. Guys with open difs. in the first gen X can do this. Sadly, the 1st Gen trucks are badly underpowered and this doesn't always help. This also means that you've got to take one had off the steering wheel to work the parking brake. Assuming you're on an obstacle that's giving you trouble, you'll want two hands on the wheel.

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