Hey guys. So my new Jeep is the first 4x4 vehicle I have owned and driven. I had a few basics questions about how some of the stuff works.

When driving on the dirt, when I switch from 2wd to 4hi, I don't notice any immediate difference, the Jeep just keeps going feeling exactly the same. Is it normal to not feel any changes, like the front axle engage or anything? I can definitely feel the difference in 4lo, but nothing really in 4hi.

Sometimes when I start my Jeep, the 4wd light turn on, and stays on till I start moving, then turns off, the entire time in 2wd. I have also noticed that it turned on once randomly when I was driving. I turned the Jeep off and then back on and it was gone. Is it also normal for it to take 5-10 seconds for the light to turn on/off when switching drive modes?

Thanks for any help you guys can give!

 

yes, this is normal when you go to 4HI as nothing really changes other than the fact that your front axle is engage. when you go to 4LO, your transfercase physically shifts to a lower gear ratio.

when this occured, were you in 4wd and then shifted back into 2wd with the engine off?

 

Thanks for the quick reply wayoflife. Good to know that everything seems to be working right.

When I had the issue with the light, I didn't do any switching of the T-case. It was in 2wd the entire time, from startup, till the light came on, and during restart. The night before I had removed my center console to do some wiring, and in order to get the knob off the selector I had shifted it to from 2wd to 4lo and back, all with the Jeep turned off. Could that have caused any problems?

 

As long as nothing engaged and you weren't moving, I don't see how that could hurt...

And when you switch to four high, if you feel real carefully, you can tell the acceration is smoother, because in 2wd, your back axle forces your Jeep to slightly lurch forward, then settle down. In 4wd, both axles push the same, and the front one makes you feel like your jeep is being "pulled" rather than your rear axle pushing you....

 

If you're on sand or loose dirt, you won't really notice much. If you're on grass or packed dirt or pavement, you can definately feel the steering stiffen up because the axle is engaged. You're not supposed to engage on pavement, by the way. I will say that this Jeep is by far one of the smoothest 4X4 vehicles I've ever had.

 

not supposed to engage on pavement? so what am I supposed to do if it is just really cold and the roads are somewhat icy and I wanna run 4wd? I have to pull it on the grass or something? I'm new to this...I have never heard of that one before

 

I have to be honest. Ive hit some steep downslopes, slid out a bit on the sand and rock hills, and climbed some small steps. Ive never been in 4lo. Is this going to jack my JK up?

Now mind you, I dont count anythingive done as extreme wheelin'. I just thought if she could handle it, she could handle it..



BTW - Not a Newb anymore!

 

Just to clarify, 4wd should only be engaged on surfaces where you could loose traction. 4wd on dry pavement and even wet pavement should be avoided as the tires have no problem gripping these surfaces. As far as ice on pavement goes, 4wd can be used as it is not a "sticky" surface that you can readily find traction. However, if you encounter roads that have no snow, and are solid ice on pavement, I would reconsider even driving on those at all... that could be very dangerous. Most roads I have seen with ice just have patches of ice, for this, I would not use 4wd since you still are driving on the majority of dry/non ice pavement. For me, when driving in varying terrain, I always look to the terrain that will provide the most traction and think if it is ok to run 4wd on that surface.

 

I don't plan on running 4wd all that often on the streets, I will probably only use it when it is very cold and rain/hail and or snow...obviously depends on how clear the roads are. And obviously I will be running my 4wd when I am off road.

This is my first Jeep I just picked her up Saturday 2008 Wrangler Unlimited Sahara: Dual Tops, MyGiG, Side Airbags, Remote Start, Auto, 3:73, Black Exterior/black tops, grey YES interior.

What is the proper way to engage 4wd with an Auto. I have noticed that just putting it in 4wd is easy (pulling it back one) but it doesn't seem to want to go into the other gears 4lo, N, 4hi....Does the vehicle need to be off to engage the others? I don't wanna f it up and I don't want to be the idiot my first time at the trail who doesn't even know how to engage 4lo. lol

 

Your supposed to use 4wd anything in offroad situations like mud..rocks..gravel...this allows the wheels to slip independent of each other. On DRY pavement the wheels are forced to move on at the same rate. So going straight is ok because all the wheels travel the same path. However, when you turn the steering wheel.. the outside and inside wheels travel different paths. This leads to driveline binding and big problems.

The proper way to engage 4WD hi is simply to engage it while in Drive at any speed below 55mph...to engage 4WD lo simply engage 4WD hi then change transmission to Neutral.. now you can shift from 4WD hi to N... make sure to be rolling forward about 3mph (not faster then 5mph) and carefully engage 4WD lo... then shift the transmission into Drive.