4wd on pavement for testing puposes.

OK so i just took my truck out and tested the 4LO on flat street drove straight, stopped switched it to neutral, took it off 4HI to 4LO than back into Drive then took off did about 7 MPH and stopped back into neutral switched from 4LO to 4hi then to 2wd then drove a little bit the light on the dash went off but i felt the truck still in 4HI so i braked and nothing, gave her a little bit of gas and nothing then did a sharp turn and heard this big SNAP!!. im guessing that the transfer case did not go back into 2wd. so i looked under the truck to see if anything broke and i didn't notice anything so then went on a normal 5 MPH test. went back into 4HI and took a little turn and i felt the tires losing traction on a sharp turn. ( i think i wasnt suppose to do that).

 

I think I messed up my truck, can anyone give any input on this?

 

If I followed your first post correctly, it sounds like you started driving it before letting it fully disengage the 4lo.

When shifting out of 4 low you should be stopped, in neutral, and not move the truck until the 4lo light switches for the 4hi light. If it just blinks you can try putting it into reverse or drive and moving it a foot or two, then back to neutral.

Once you are in 4hi (you should wait for it to fully shift out of 4lo before attempting to go back to 2wd) you should be able to shift to 2wd normally as long as you are not spinning a wheel, and are not turning. If you are moving and the light continues to blink you can try slowing down to get things to disengage. If you are still stationary, then the same small movement forward/backward used to get out of 4lo can be used.


If you took more than a small turn on dry pavement while your 4wd (lo or hi) was engaged, or the light was flashing, then you may very well have bound things up and caused damage. Sucks to see it on a new truck, but it's a mistake you'll never make again.


TLDR: If any of the 4wd lights are on or blinking DON'T TURN ON HARD, DRY SURFACES.

 

After that huge clunk noise that happened I tried it again switched from 4HI to 4 LO, stopped put it in. Neutral switch it to 4LO then after all the lights switched to 4LO and I hear the truck engage the 4 lo gears I drive for about 30 feet seemed fine, then did everything in reverse to get back to 2wd and it seemed like everything worked normally. Not to worried about it just a noise I never hear heard before so I thought I'd bring it up on here to see what someone thinks, thank you

 

Thanks for the explanation. So if 4Hi is engaged on a snowy or icy surface, it’s ok to make a sharp turn while it’s engaged?. Winter is coming and I want to make sure I don’t mess anything up. Thanks!.

 

On. Trail right now, went 4HI and 4LO going uphill no issues, 2wd coming back down no issues.
All good

 

As long as you're not on a dry surface with plenty of traction, you should be good. 4x4 should only be engaged on surfaces with low traction.

 

Even if you turn as sharp as possible on dry pavement you should be fine. It's not like things just start breaking because you have more traction. Is stuff binding up and getting stressed? Yes, but there's some stout parts under there. I wouldn't drive around forever in 4wd on dry surfaces but it's not as big a deal as people act like.

 

Thank you

 

As long as you're on a low traction surface you should be ok. I personally try to avoid fully cranked turns if possible, but that's just me.

 

Another tip.........if ny 4x4 light is blinking after going back to 2wd, I'll sometimes come to a complete stop, put it in reverse and go backwards for about 30 feet. Then i shift back to drive and usually it's back in 2wd.