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When in 2WD, the front ring and pinion and the driveshaft that the pinion is connected to is stationary (does NOT spin). The only parts that spin while in 2WD are the hubs, cv axles and joints, and the spider gears within the carrier.

OK, so that is quite a bit different from a part-time 4x4 with the hubs locked <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />.

So the spider gears will be spinning all the time while driving in 2H. In a conventional diff setup the spider gears only spin when the diff is taking care of a difference in sideshaft rotational speed (e.g. when cornering) and the (plain) bearing surfaces between the spider gears and spider will wear rapidly if this happens constantly (If one runs with different size tyres on the two sides of an axle, for example).

I suppose in the case of the Montero/Pajero this wear issue does not exist because essentially no torque is transmitted through the spider gear/spider interface in 2H. If those clever dudes at Mitsu had gotten it wrong we would have known all about it by now... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Regards

Gerrit

2003 Pajero GLS DiD A/T LWB...
Factory Rear Lockable LSD