P1000 Separate rear differential lock lever build

[wrwtexan]

Has anyone disconnected their rear diff lock cable and attached it to a secondary lever? It spring defaults to engaged. I hated having it locked just because its in 4WD as it really screws up steering response. Right now I just have it pulled and blocked as I really never need the function.

 

[Admin]

 

[ODAMO]

I’ve thought about this also and wondered why Honda does it this way.
My only conclusion is that they want the majority of the strain to be bore by the rear axle and that doing it the way they did is what takes Honda into the durability and longevity conversations.
Same goes for the slight gearing difference in the diffs. The drivetrain has less drivetrain windup(bind) when loaded vs empty when such loads have a greater impact.
The approximate sizes of the ring gears is:
Front= 6.25
Rear = 7.75
telltale of the load differences each axle was meant to deal with.

 

[wrwtexan]

Normally I have it in turf mode but after disabling the rear diff lock, I drove it extensively in 4WD today and it steers much better. Even with our slop after this last round of snow melted off, it never had any traction issues. As I try to avoid deep mud or circumstances where it might be needed, I may just leave it be.

 

[ToddACimer]

Only concern I would have is parking on hills. As I recall Honda applies the diff lock in park so both tires are locked