4x4 at what speed?

[grogiefrog]

So I know that with selec-trac you can SHIFT into four-wheel full-time at up to 55 mph. Before you say it, I know that if need 4x4, you shouldn't be going that fast, but is the max for running in four wheel full-time also at 55 mph?

Reason I ask, last night it was raining hard. I was on the interstate and traffic was moving at 60 to 65 mph. I didn't have it in 4 wheel full time, but could I have? Any harm doing so? I was kind of thinking four wheel full-time is similar to an all wheel drive.

Now, I did have it in 4 wheel full time on side streets. Does she stick like glue (even with the stock tires). I :love7: my KJ. :headbang:

 

[valvestem]

So I know that with selec-trac you can SHIFT into four-wheel full-time at up to 55 mph. Before you say it, I know that if need 4x4, you shouldn't be going that fast, but is the max for running in four wheel full-time also at 55 mph?

Reason I ask, last night it was raining hard. I was on the interstate and traffic was moving at 60 to 65 mph. I didn't have it in 4 wheel full time, but could I have? Any harm doing so? I was kind of thinking four wheel full-time is similar to an all wheel drive.

Now, I did have it in 4 wheel full time on side streets. Does she stick like glue (even with the stock tires). I :love7: my KJ. :headbang:

ALL WHEEL DRIVE is a different beast. Like my wife's Subaru, no means to put it into 2wd. But it does stick like glue to the road and handles like a go cart. It is an automatic (hers) or manual trans with an extra differential to split the drive to the front and rear wheels, no transfer case. And you are right in thinking that FULL TIME 4WD is similar to AWD except there is a transfer case in the mix. I would imagine that you could go as fast as you want with the setup you have, but in the rain I doubt it really benefits you all that much, considering hydroplaning and other stuff.

 

[Bennett]

You have to be going speeds less than 55 mph in order to shift the transfer case.

Bennett

 

[grogiefrog]

You have to be going speeds less than 55 mph in order to shift the transfer case.

Bennett

Right... but once shifted, is it fine to go over... like 60 or 65 mph?

 

[Bennett]

Yeah, you can go to the vehicles limit if you want with 4wd on.

Bennett

 

[Hammer]

On a side note, the Baja 500 ( Baja Mexico) is a great place to run all out in 4x4!

Hammer

 

[Emoto]

You have to be going speeds less than 55 mph in order to shift the transfer case.

Bennett

Now, I am going to repeat what my salesman told me. Yes, yes, I know, most salesmen are not to be trusted about anything technical :^o , so take this with many grains of salt. Anyhow, what my guy said was that you can really shift into full-time 4wd at 70 or 80, but that Jeep wouldn't say so because they were afraid that under some circumstances that it could make a vehicle spin out. He claimed to have shifted into 4wd at high speeds a bunch of times. I've never tried it, preferring to slow down first.

At least it is better than my old Pathfinder, where I had to be going under 25 mph...

 

[grogiefrog]

I can buy into the possible wheel spin (at those speeds!). I'll avoid that myself! 8-[

 

[-=JoN=-]

You have to be going speeds less than 55 mph in order to shift the transfer case.

Bennett

Now, I am going to repeat what my salesman told me. Yes, yes, I know, most salesmen are not to be trusted about anything technical :^o , so take this with many grains of salt. Anyhow, what my guy said was that you can really shift into full-time 4wd at 70 or 80, but that Jeep wouldn't say so because they were afraid that under some circumstances that it could make a vehicle spin out. He claimed to have shifted into 4wd at high speeds a bunch of times. I've never tried it, preferring to slow down first.

At least it is better than my old Pathfinder, where I had to be going under 25 mph...

do that, and bring ur kj back to the dealer, with a burnt out T-case...LOL

 

[4Factor]

Had a weird occurance on the weekend... this seems off topic, but it isn't just keep reading.

For starters, the weather was bad, slippery conditions, blowing snow, all around not a great day for driving. Lanes merge from 2 into 1 on the other side of the intersection (on a slight incline), I'm about 300 yards from the intersection and the light goes red. As I decide to stop, the idiot behind me (Grand Am GT) decides he's going to veer out and line up beside me (he's now in the lane that ends about 30 yards after the intersection). I release the brake (still 50 yards from the stop) and pop it to 4wd (Full-Time) it switches fine, so I continue to stop. When the light goes green, I get on it and the Grand Am spins the tires so I relax and leave him sitting there as I continue up the slight incline. On the down slope I switch back to 2WD and go home (3 minutes away).
Next time out, although the gauges didn't say it was in 4WD (part, full, or lo) the Jeep felt as if it was in 4WD. I drove for about 5 minutes, still getting that 4WD feeling, so I pulled it to 4WD Full-time and waited... no change. 2 minutes, then back to 2WD and I felt it disengage properly.
So what baffles me is why it didn't switch properly the last time I switched it from 4WD to 2WD... even after 5 minutes of driving. Why did it need me to switch to 4WD and then again to 2WD? And yes, I've read the owners manual so no smart remarks! :-$
I'm excited about getting this thing out in the snow, I just don't need a problem with the t-case making my life difficult.

 

[grogiefrog]

Had a weird occurance on the weekend... this seems off topic, but it isn't just keep reading.

For starters, the weather was bad, slippery conditions, blowing snow, all around not a great day for driving. Lanes merge from 2 into 1 on the other side of the intersection (on a slight incline), I'm about 300 yards from the intersection and the light goes red. As I decide to stop, the idiot behind me (Grand Am GT) decides he's going to veer out and line up beside me (he's now in the lane that ends about 30 yards after the intersection). I release the brake (still 50 yards from the stop) and pop it to 4wd (Full-Time) it switches fine, so I continue to stop. When the light goes green, I get on it and the Grand Am spins the tires so I relax and leave him sitting there as I continue up the slight incline. On the down slope I switch back to 2WD and go home (3 minutes away).
Next time out, although the gauges didn't say it was in 4WD (part, full, or lo) the Jeep felt as if it was in 4WD. I drove for about 5 minutes, still getting that 4WD feeling, so I pulled it to 4WD Full-time and waited... no change. 2 minutes, then back to 2WD and I felt it disengage properly.
So what baffles me is why it didn't switch properly the last time I switched it from 4WD to 2WD... even after 5 minutes of driving. Why did it need me to switch to 4WD and then again to 2WD? And yes, I've read the owners manual so no smart remarks! :-$
I'm excited about getting this thing out in the snow, I just don't need a problem with the t-case making my life difficult.

I believe that I read in the manual that it suggested to take your foot off the gas twice in a row. I don't have the exact quote in front of me, but it said that it's becuase that everything had to spin down in order to switch out of 4x4.

I love the KJ's four wheel drive sytem. I can't wait for snow either! \/

 

[4Factor]

I believe that I read in the manual that it suggested to take your foot off the gas twice in a row. I don't have the exact quote in front of me, but it said that it's becuase that everything had to spin down in order to switch out of 4x4.
I love the KJ's four wheel drive sytem. I can't wait for snow either! \/

I made 3 more turns (including the one into my driveway) after putting it back to 2WD so I would've taken my foot off the "gas" pedal at least 3 times, then shut it off.
In the 5 minutes I drove it next I backed out of the driveway, stopped at 2 stop signs, then 3 red lights, realized it was acting funny, yanked it to 4WD and back to 2WD and it was fine. I guess it was just being tempermental. It seemed fine today.

 

[grogiefrog]

Last Thursday night it was raining pretty hard and I was on the interstate. As I was on the on ramp, I went ahead and pulled it into 4 wheel full-time just for some extra traction. I did 65 mph without a problem.

 

[4Factor]

I believe that I read in the manual that it suggested to take your foot off the gas twice in a row. I don't have the exact quote in front of me, but it said that it's becuase that everything had to spin down in order to switch out of 4x4.
I love the KJ's four wheel drive sytem. I can't wait for snow either! \/

I made 3 more turns (including the one into my driveway) after putting it back to 2WD so I would've taken my foot off the "gas" pedal at least 3 times, then shut it off.
In the 5 minutes I drove it next I backed out of the driveway, stopped at 2 stop signs, then 3 red lights, realized it was acting funny, yanked it to 4WD and back to 2WD and it was fine. I guess it was just being tempermental. It seemed fine today.

Grrr... really needed the 4wd last night. In 2WD it was a bit tricky to keep the rear in line on starts so I thought "hey it's got 4WD so why not use it and make my life easier". So I yank it to 4WD FULL TIME, got out of the subdivision, and onto clean roads and put it back to 2WD. Just as before it wouldn't disengage. I tried every trick I could think of... here's a short list

With the transfer case shifter in the 2WD position
-----------------------------------------------------------
1. tapped the accelerator countless times
2. floored it several times
3. shifted the transmission to neutral and back
4. tried #1 and #2 above while transmission was in neutral (went up to 4500 rpms while sort of flooring it)

Other ideas I tried
------------------------
5. with the transmission in "D"rive, put transfer case in neutral (which actually worked) and tried #1 and #2 above, then back to 2WD
6. put both transmission and transfer case in neutral and tried #1 and #2 above.

Through all this driving I had also tried various methods when stopping at several stop lights and stop signs.

Nothing worked! After 5 (or more) minutes of playing (while driving... definitely NOT a great idea... very dangerous!) I eventually pulled over, and as I was stopping, I felt it release the front driveline. I confirmed this by (after stopping) nailing the accelerator and stepping the rear end out slightly (in the deeper snow, so as not to shock the driveline). Needless to say I'm NOT at all happy with this performance, and since it's due for it's 10,000 km inspection, this is going to be foremost on my list of problems. Basically the 2 times I've needed 4WD it's engaged properly, it's been the dis-engaging that's giving me all the grief. Hopefully I can get it looked at this week. Nothing like having a vehicle that only functions 1/2 as well as what I paid for.

 

[yoda13]

I used to have a 97 Wrangler, and my father still has a Cherokee. My brother also has a Wrangler. On all of these plus my KJ, at times, the transfer case refuses for several seconds, even minutes at times, to release the front driveline if I have been in 4-wheel for any amount of time. All of us, at one time or the other have been to at least ten different dealers over the course of the last several years and all of them said that this is fairly normal behavior. Now, the KJ doesn't do this very much, but it is the only one that hadn't/hasn't been towed extensively behind an RV, so I have always figured this had something to do with the balkyness of the transfer case, I dunno. I don't like it much when it does it either, but I have yet to find a dealer who wants to or is willing to help. Even got on the horn to corporte on the Wrangler and they said it was within spec. Whatever that means. I have grown to be used to it on Jeeps. I hadn't thought about it in years as an annoyance until I read this thread. I have just expected it. I will be interested to hear your outcome. Please keep us posted.

 

[grogiefrog]

Last Thursday night I was also messing with taking it in and out of four wheel and it did so right away each time. I am looking forward to snow to mess with it more!

 

[JeepJeepster]

a thing ive learned is to never floor it when ur shifting modes, i was at a friends house one night and was spinning in a field, a stupid guy said" hey i think ur stuck", so i slaped it into 4 low and was going to do a 4 wheel spin and gave it alot of gas and BAM!!, it wasnt in 4low good when i gave it gas and it made the loudest noise in the world, lol i just kept going.

another time i was in my driveway screwing around and i had it in part time, i put it into 2wd b/c i was going back onto concrete and i started to turn, i felt it binding and backed up a few times but i was still doing it, so i figure heck with it and turned with it binding, it then popped into 2wd giving me yet another very loud BAM!! my brother laughed his head off (xj driver) and said i broke a half shaft, he was just kidding though, he always kids me about my ifs and calls my jeep the half shaft, hehe, i even beat him in flexing on a hill, we put in 2wd and who ever made it the farthest without there back tire spin won, i won.

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[yoda13]

a thing ive learned is to never floor it when ur shifting modes, i was at a friends house one night and was spinning in a field, a stupid guy said" hey i think ur stuck", so i slaped it into 4 low and was going to do a 4 wheel spin and gave it alot of gas and BAM!!, it wasnt in 4low good when i gave it gas and it made the loudest noise in the world, lol i just kept going.

another time i was in my driveway screwing around and i had it in part time, i put it into 2wd b/c i was going back onto concrete and i started to turn, i felt it binding and backed up a few times but i was still doing it, so i figure heck with it and turned with it binding, it then popped into 2wd giving me yet another very loud BAM!! my brother laughed his head off (xj driver) and said i broke a half shaft, he was just kidding though, he always kids me about my ifs and calls my jeep the half shaft, hehe, i even beat him in flexing on a hill, we put in 2wd and who ever made it the farthest without there back tire spin won, i won.

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Guys with XJs can be brutal when talking about the KJ, but I have extensive time in both, Pops has an XJ, and really I can get his stuck quicker than I can mine. I think that people are just afraid of change. It is their loss \/

 

[grogiefrog]

a thing ive learned is to never floor it when ur shifting modes, i was at a friends house one night and was spinning in a field, a stupid guy said" hey i think ur stuck", so i slaped it into 4 low and was going to do a 4 wheel spin and gave it alot of gas and BAM!!, it wasnt in 4low good when i gave it gas and it made the loudest noise in the world, lol i just kept going.

another time i was in my driveway screwing around and i had it in part time, i put it into 2wd b/c i was going back onto concrete and i started to turn, i felt it binding and backed up a few times but i was still doing it, so i figure heck with it and turned with it binding, it then popped into 2wd giving me yet another very loud BAM!! my brother laughed his head off (xj driver) and said i broke a half shaft, he was just kidding though, he always kids me about my ifs and calls my jeep the half shaft, hehe, i even beat him in flexing on a hill, we put in 2wd and who ever made it the farthest without there back tire spin won, i won.

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I have the same exact Jeep, minus your tow package I believe, and I bet you that mine will last a lot longer then yours! \/

 

[JeepJeepster]

i dont have the tow pack, i do have the 17in rims though, hehe. and y would urs last longer? b/c i use mine, that dosent hurt it to do what ive done, it still works fine!!