This morning the Diesel Suburban was covered with snow — creating an opportunity to check 4×4 functions.
We are still in Colorado on vacation with the Diesel Suburban. The warranty exchange on the steering box fixed the handling issues, and we’ve been driving this up and down the front range. We took it to Wyoming to visit a friend’s missile silo north of Cheyenne, and topped off the tank on the way back. Wyoming has lower diesel prices, probably due to lower taxation. We checked, and found that we were still getting 25 mpg — even with trips to and from Boulder Heights where the elevation changes over 2,000 feet in only 4.5 miles.
It snowed six inches last night, and I took advantage of these conditions to check 4×4 functionality. I can shift in and out of 4wd with no issues. Traction is pretty decent in 2wd, too, thanks to a limited-slip differential in the rear. I can sure tell the difference climbing steep snow-covered roads, though, when 4wd is engaged. I can’t get into 4 Low, though, and will look at what other signals that system may be looking for. 1st gear in this NV4500 is pretty darn low, anyways, and this will certainly be adequate for the rest of the trip.
