4wd engagement

[marduksenforcer]

I have been searching for 40 mins on my phone to no avail. Maybe because its my phone.

Any way im at work and I just had to move the jeep so the guys could plow. I was parked in about 18" of snow. I jumped In started it and put it in drive and couldn't go anywhere. So pulled the lever for full hi. Pressed the gas still was not budgeing. Went from drive to reverse to drive as the book says. Gave a little gas and all of sudden it sounded like someone hit the jeep with a metal bat and then I pulled out of the snow as easy as could be.

So im guessing the noise was the 4wd engaging. But why so loud and hard. I didnt have trouble yesterday. Course it was a lot less snow yesterday.

Im worried now I damaged something

 

[Gyro]

Frozen brakes?

Gyro

 

[marduksenforcer]

Maybe but im not sure. I have never had frozen brakes on a vehicle ever so I cant really say. Im sti ll leaning towards the 4wd but I could be wrong

 

[Gyro]

Was the engine revving or was it lugging like when you test the e-brake.

Gyro

 

[Porkchop]

Don't know what t case you have but Jeep should be moving when you put it in 4WD. How many RPMs on the tach when it went in to 4wheel?

 

[marduksenforcer]

Was the engine revving or was it lugging like when you test the e-brake.

Gyro

Sadly I dont remember I had to move it in a hurry

 

[marduksenforcer]

Don't know what t case you have but Jeep should be moving when you put it in 4WD. How many RPMs on the tach when it went in to 4wheel?

Not sure of the case either. 06 kj sport automatic. Maybe 1200 rpm. Wasnt applying much gas

 

[Porkchop]

Part time, best to be rolling when pulling up on the lever sounds like you did the equivalent of a neutral drop to you t-case. Ouch hopefully everything will be ok.

 

[dude1116]

Mine usually engages without too much motion no problem if I have to. Go test it out in a snow covered parking lot to see if it engages/disengages normally at this point.

 

[marduksenforcer]

Mine usually engages without too much motion no problem if I have to. Go test it out in a snow covered parking lot to see if it engages/disengages normally at this point.

everything seems fine. i did multiple test. i cant hear or feel it engage i guess you would say but i could definitely tell it was just by the increase in traction and decrease in slippage. so heres hoping.

 

[marduksenforcer]

Part time, best to be rolling when pulling up on the lever sounds like you did the equivalent of a neutral drop to you t-case. Ouch hopefully everything will be ok.

so in that particular situation would it have been better to use 4lo?

 

[TwoBobsKJ]

so in that particular situation would it have been better to use 4lo?

No.

In very slippery situations like you were in it's actually better to be in 4HI. Too much torque will get the wheels spinning and will dig you in more - and 4LO has tremendous torque and probably would have just sat there and spun.

Good idea to occasionally put your Jeep in 4WD on slippery surfaces just to keep the transfer case lubed up. Just be sure you're on snow or gravel if you have the Command Trac part time transfer case (4 positions on your transfer case lever.)

Bob

 

[hectikart]

That's why I like to just throw it in 4hi right before I park if we're supposed to get a lot of snow...

Bob-only disagreement about 4lo in a situation like that, is that sometimes you don't even need the gas, you can just let the Jeep pull itself out in 4lo. But otherwise, you're definitely right, too much torque and you'll just spin yourself deeper into the crap.

 

[marduksenforcer]

i guess that is part of where i get confused.

being in the snow stopped/parked like i was, i put it in 4hi gave it gas and basically neutral dropped the 4wd. which is clearly bad.

putting it in 4lo while in the circumstances i was, could possibly dig me in deeper, if i use too much throttle. or it could just have "let it pull itself out" so to speak.

what happens if im in 4hi, and i park and turn off the vehicle? will it still be in 4hi when i restart the jeep? would this method have helped me to avoid"neutral dropping" the t case?

im understanding 4wd a little better thanks to you guys, but obviously im still trying to "fine tune" my knowledge.

 

[hectikart]

i guess that is part of where i get confused.

being in the snow stopped/parked like i was, i put it in 4hi gave it gas and basically neutral dropped the 4wd. which is clearly bad.

putting it in 4lo while in the circumstances i was, could possibly dig me in deeper, if i use too much throttle. or it could just have "let it pull itself out" so to speak.

what happens if im in 4hi, and i park and turn off the vehicle? will it still be in 4hi when i restart the jeep? would this method have helped me to avoid"neutral dropping" the t case?

im understanding 4wd a little better thanks to you guys, but obviously im still trying to "fine tune" my knowledge.

Yes you can put in leave it parked in 4wd, wont hurt anything and it will still be in 4wd when you restart. Honestly, I don't think it's as big of a deal switching into 4hi while you're not moving...best to avoid it, but you are likely to do more damage going into 4lo while not moving. It can be more difficult for the gears to grab, especially in 4lo...if they don't happen to be lined up correctly, they may not grab well.

Basically the difference between 4hi and 4 lo is that 4hi simply locks the front and rear driveshafts together, and all 4 wheels turn, splitting the torque 50/50 to front and rear. 4lo locks the driveshafts, but also delivers more torque. In the right situation it's useful, but in mud/snow you'll probably just spin. Think of it sort of like getting a stuck 2wd vehicle out of snow. You might do better starting in 2nd/3rd gear than first because you wont spin your tires as much.