Live Axle - A live axle is a solid axle that transmits power to a pair of wheels. It is composed of a rigid axle with a differential and axle shafts to power two wheels. It is called "live" because it has engine power flowing through it. A solid axle that does not transmit power is called a beam axle.
Recovery Strap - A recovery strap is a strap made of elastic nylon with loops on both ends. Unlike a simple rope or chain, a recovery strap uses kinetic energy (like a rubber band) to help free a stuck vehicle using another vehicle.
Shift-On-The-Fly - Older-style part time 4WD systems sometimes required drivers to stop and lock the front hubs before engaging four-wheel drive. Most SUVs now have automatic locking front hubs and the ability to shift-on-the-fly (at speed) from two-wheel drive to four-wheel drive. However, many limit the speed at which this can be done (usually less than 50 mph and some times as low as 15 mph), and many still require the driver to stop and back up to fully disengage four-wheel drive.
Skid plate - This term refers to a protective cover or "plate" under a vehicle that covers vulnerable compo nents, such as the transmission/ transfer gearbox, engine oil pan or fuel tank.
Suspension Travel - This term refers to the amount of vertical wheel move ment allowed by the suspension, from full jounce to full rebound.
Sway Bar - Also called an anti-roll bar or stabilizer bar, this suspension element is a long torsion bar (essentially a rod that can twist) mounted across the vehicle from one wheel to the wheel on the opposite side. By transferring movement and force from one side of the vehicle to the other, a sway bar can restrict body lean (or sway) during cornering. Vehicles may have sway bars in the front, rear or both.
Traction Control System - Traction control is like ABS for acceleration. If a wheel starts to spin, traction control may cut engine power or pulse the brake on the spinning wheel (or both) to help transfer some of the engines power across the axle to the wheel with more grip. Expert off-road drivers sometimes pump the brake pedal on vehicles without traction control to try to accomplish the same thing.
Universal joint - A U-joint "connects" two moving shafts that aren't in a straight line. Depending on its design, a universal joint can accommodate a large variation between the angle of the input shaft and that of the output shaft.
Viscous Coupling -This complex device, also called a VCU, relies on the characteristics of a special fluid inside it. It can act as a differential, as a means to restrict wheel spin or both. It consists of a small sealed canister filled with silicon fluid. Inside are two sets of slotted metal plates -one connected to a front shaft, the other to a rear shaft. When there is a significant speed difference between the shafts, the silicon fluid heats up and becomes thicker (more viscous), limit ing the speed difference and thereby the slippage right-to-left or front-to-rear. In effect, it "locks" the shafts together (although not mechanically, as in a locking differential). When there is lit tle or no speed difference between the shafts, the viscous coupling does no work. Range Rover, for example, uses a VCU as a slip-limiting device in conjunction with its center differential. Lexus RX 300 uses a VCU in place of a center differential.
Winch - A winch is an externally mounted mechanical device consisting of a cable spooled onto a drum. It is used to pull heavy or bulky objects or to retrieve a vehicle that is stuck. The drum can be driven by the engine commonly known as Power Take Off, by hydraulic power or electrically through the battery.
May the FOURs be with you - JEEP
