How to disengage four wheel drive

bam-bambam-bam Council Member
in Engine & Drivetrain
To tow your RT4wd wagon, or drive it in 2wd, you need to disengage the transfer gear. Having fielded this question twice in a week, I thought I'd try to explain how with pictures.

230.jpg

In this picture the orange lever is the one you need to move. The tube sticking up in the crook of the lever is the speedo drive. If you follow the speedo cable down to the trans. You're in the right place. With a 10 mm wrench or socket, loosen the lock bolt located in the curved slot. Then use the same tool to rotate the arm to the other end of the slot. Then retighten the lock bolt to hold the arm in place.

231.jpg

an automatic RT requires the same precaution, but the lock lever is accessed through the right front wheelwell. Follow the cv axle to the transmission, the lever is just below the axle hole. This picture is of the only auto RT trans I have laying around. Crusty, but you get the idea.


232.jpg
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Comments

  • wago671wago671 Wagonist
    I was looking through my Owners manual couple days ago and found out you can do this with the rt4wd. I don't know what other purpose would benefit making it 2wd other than towing.
  • LowFlyin'LowFlyin' Moderator
    Dyno tuning on a 2WD only dyno. :P
  • jasnalljasnall Wagonist
    Ya that's how I dyno'd mine.
  • wago671wago671 Wagonist
    Fair enough haha.
  • r8edmr8edm Wagonist
    Cheers for sharing, did not know this can be done.

    For daily driving, whats is the recommended option? Simply 2wd or 4wd? Any affects on fuel economy?
  • r8edmr8edm Wagonist
    Here is another photo of the lever to put it in context

    362.jpg
  • nominousnominous familEE
    r8edm wrote: »
    Any affects on fuel economy?

    Gizmo posted on the Uk 4th gen forum that he did see a difference in MPG between modes.
    Certainly when I push mine on the drive in 2WD or 4WD mode it's a LOT easier in 2WD mode.
  • LowFlyin'LowFlyin' Moderator
    Might have to try this at the next autoX. Run half the runs with it engaged and the other half with it disengaged. Would be a fun little experiment.
  • r8edmr8edm Wagonist
    I did this today, surprisingly simple to do.
    Hardest thing is getting a long enough socket set in there.

    Going to record my fuel usage with 2wd now and compare it with before and see if there is any difference.
  • MrWhoopeeMrWhoopee Wagonist
    I disengage mine every spring when I take the snow tires off. That way I don't have to worry about the worn out snow tires (which I use for summer) being unevenly worn and damaging the VC. I got tired of fighting multiple socket extensions (which were always coming apart) and made a long "L" handle from a piece of 3/8 cold rolled steel square stock. I plan to weld a 10mm socket to it, but so far a little masking tape holds nicely.
  • dirtydirtydirtydirty Wagonist
    i believe the average MPG difference between 2wd and 4wd is between 3-5 mixed driving IIRC
  • nominousnominous familEE
    LowFlyin' wrote: »
    Might have to try this at the next autoX. Run half the runs with it engaged and the other half with it disengaged. Would be a fun little experiment.

    He also found it understeered a lot less in 2WD mode.

    I'll be experimenting here too.
    Only thing is teh manual and the sticker under the bonnet says for temporary use only.

    Any concerned about long term 2WD use folks?
    Looking at how the mech works, it's quite similar to a gear selector synchro so should be ok, but....
  • wago671wago671 Wagonist
    Is there any conclusion with the gas milage? I'm really interested in seeing if it's worth it.
  • bam-bambam-bam Council Member
    You will get better mileage in 2wd.
  • r8edmr8edm Wagonist
    Filling up fuel this afternoon, will update with results.
  • HakosukaHakosuka Wagonist
    Me too, disengaged today in the morning and then filled it up. I have some past fuel consumption numbers, so I can compare.
    Immediately I felt the car is easier to move (push) and it is faster in lower rpm's.
  • r8edmr8edm Wagonist
    My results

    4WD
    Distance traveled: 261.7km
    Fuel used: 24.77L
    Conditions: Daily driver - 50/50 town and motorway

    Results:
    10.56 Km/L
    29.85 M/G
    9.46 L/100km

    2WD
    Distance traveled: 401km
    Fuel used: 36.18L
    Conditions: Daily driver - 50/50 town and motorway

    Results:
    11.08 Km/L
    31.31 M/G
    9.02 L/100km

    Very little difference between 2wd and 4wd.
    Also tested 91 octane compared to 95 (not in this test) and didn't find any difference that was of significance.
  • HakosukaHakosuka Wagonist
    You are blasting it pretty good, don't you? Your mileage is pretty low. I got 7.7L/100km last time, and few before around 8L, and I got 195 winter tyres with 4WD and DOHC ZC engine (130hp) with CAT (shouldn't have it).
  • Atom D&DAtom D&D New Wagonist
    I'm sorry for being new, and I have searched, but not turned up a definitive answer. In the picture above with the orange lever, is the RT4WD engaged or disengaged? I bought mine recently and was told the RT4WD was disengaged, but the lever was not exactly at either end. The underhood sticker was also confusing. Again, I'm sorry if this is a simple question.
  • bam-bambam-bam Council Member
    In both of those pictures the lever is in the engaged/4wd position. You're right, I didn't make that clear.
  • ChaseChase Wagonist
    thank you for this thread, it helped me switch my rt to 2wd when I had a bad rear axle... then I did a fwd burnout and broke a front axle... damn! lol much appreciated though
  • Atom D&DAtom D&D New Wagonist
    Sorry to bug you again. I can't seem to get the lever all the way to the "engaged" end of the slot. I can't get a great pic of it 435.jpg but is there any sort of procedure for doing this? IE: does the can need to be in neutral? Do I need to roll it at all? Is it an actual gear that engages? Etc. thanks in advance.
  • MrWhoopeeMrWhoopee Wagonist
    You might need to back the nut out a little more, the flange on the nut has to clear the recess/divot in the arm. Not too much! You may also need to rock the car (in gear).
  • bam-bambam-bam Council Member
    He's right on the money^^
  • boogie_manboogie_man Band Wagon
    good advice me and my friend had this problem when we initially tried to tow his awd wagon home, quick fix but could be a pain for those who don't know about the awesomeness of honda real time awd
  • 89 WagoVan89 WagoVan Band Wagon
    If you suspect the viscous coupler is bad would it be a good idea to switch to 2wd?
  • HaydzHaydz Moderator
    89 WagoVan wrote: »
    If you suspect the viscous coupler is bad would it be a good idea to switch to 2wd?

    Why not test it? :)
    the head wrote:
    Sorry, my camera would not take clear pics of the FSM. Hope this helps..
    1991 HCW FSM, 16-19 wrote:
    Viscous Coupling Stall Test

    1. Raise the car off the ground and place safety stands under the side sill reinforcement sections.
    2. Start the engine.
    3. Keep the engine speed at idle.
    4. Shift into low gear and gradually release the clutch
    5. Apply the parking brake firmly.

    Viscous coupling is OK if the engine stalls
    Viscous coupling is faulty if the engine continues running
    1991 HCW FSM, 16-20 wrote:
    Viscous Coupling Precaution

    The Viscous coupling unit contains no serviceable or replaceable parts. If it is found to be faulty (fails the stall test or shows signs of leakage), it must be replaced as a unit.

    Do not remove the TORX bolts from the viscous coupling unit.
  • 89 WagoVan89 WagoVan Band Wagon
    Haydz wrote: »
    Why not test it? :)

    I shouldn't have said guess....It spins front wheel like mad on the snow now. Pretty certain it is but wanted to know if I was hurting anything driving it that way.
  • MrWhoopeeMrWhoopee Wagonist
    89 WagoVan wrote: »
    I shouldn't have said guess....It spins front wheel like mad on the snow now. Pretty certain it is but wanted to know if I was hurting anything driving it that way.

    No, it won't hurt anything. It also won't hurt to disengage the rear drive if the VC is not working. Have you checked to be sure the rear drive is actually engaged?
  • 89 WagoVan89 WagoVan Band Wagon
    MrWhoopee wrote: »
    No, it won't hurt anything. It also won't hurt to disengage the rear drive if the VC is not working. Have you checked to be sure the rear drive is actually engaged?

    No, but it has been working fine all along. I noticed it spun a front wheel in gravel once or twice and then when snow fell it was obvious. I guess it wouldn't hurt to see if somehow the lever moved but I'm betting it is the VC.
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