2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission 4WD and highway speeds

[Wyomingcowboy]

Well, it's that time of year again, and Al Gore's global warming is proving to be a hoax, and we have frigid temps and icy highways. How many of you run in 4wd at hwy speeds? I ran a big part of the trip from Salt Lake back to Green River last night night in 4wd so I could stay on the road. How bad is this to do? I ran from 45-65 mph when in 4wd and kicked it out to go faster. (By the time I kicked it out I was on dry roads anyway. ) I put Amsoil ATF in the transfer case last spring when I did the rebuild.

What are your thoughts?

 

[Rattler]

As long as you are driving in conditions that allow for some slip, i don't see any problem. Randy

 

[BSeyler]

I just don't drive that fast (60 or more) with it locked in and on slick roads - not because I think it will hurt the drive train, but because I'm a believer in the old saying, "It's a whole lot better to be the first one arriving on the scene of the accident than to be the last one involved. " Just my 2 cents.

 

[BSMcCauley]

"It's a whole lot better to be the first one arriving on the scene of the accident than to be the last one involved. "

As long as conditions allow from some tire slip, there's no 4x4 speed restriction from a mechanical reliability point of view. However, road conditions like these generally call for a somewhat reduced speed anyway.

 

[Wyomingcowboy]

I do drive slower when the need is there. I have never been in an (ice/snow related)accident but with slick tires and no rear end weight I get squirrely sometimes. I get annoyed at the guys who drive as if the road is not slick at all, OR worse, they drive like the road itself is going to open up and swallow them so they drive waaayyy too slow and get a-holed by someone driving at prudent speeds. Ahh the perils of winter time driving.

Or how about the guys who put their flashers on when the whole damn line of traffic is stop and go??? Those retards are so frickin annoying when you have to sit behind them and watch their damn lights flicker on and off... ... . "OH! you are stopped on the interstate??? Just like evry other person for the last 3 miles??? Thanks so much for the flashers!!! I never would have seen the 3 mile long column of brake/tail/head lights!!!!"

Some of you know exactly what I mean!

 

[BSMcCauley]

Wyomingcowboy, I totally agree about the folks who are so overly cautious that they endanger everyone around them. "never been in an accident - CAUSED plenty - but never been IN one... "



I hate getting off the freeway in San Antonio, TX because attempting to get back on I always get stuck behind someone who thinks the "yield" sign means "full and complete stop". So here he is at a complete stop while the traffic's wizzing by at 60+ wondering how he's ever going to merge in!! So now I drop 'er back to a crawl at the bottom of the on-ramp and ignore the hand gestures in my rear-view and let the idot stopped at the end of the ramp get going. Then I nail it and don't have any trouble merging into the traffic since I'm close to their speed already. Then I check the rear-view and, sure enough, the guy who only moments before had been offering me the less-than-full-hand wave, instead of following me out onto the freeway, had instead stopped by the yield sign and was waiting for a mile of cars to go by before he'd finally have enough room to get in.

 

[David411]

Wyomingcowboy, I totally agree about the folks who are so overly cautious that they endanger everyone around them. "never been in an accident - CAUSED plenty - but never been IN one... "



I hate getting off the freeway in San Antonio, TX because attempting to get back on I always get stuck behind someone who thinks the "yield" sign means "full and complete stop". So here he is at a complete stop while the traffic's wizzing by at 60+ wondering how he's ever going to merge in!! So now I drop 'er back to a crawl at the bottom of the on-ramp and ignore the hand gestures in my rear-view and let the idot stopped at the end of the ramp get going. Then I nail it and don't have any trouble merging into the traffic since I'm close to their speed already. Then I check the rear-view and, sure enough, the guy who only moments before had been offering me the less-than-full-hand wave, instead of following me out onto the freeway, had instead stopped by the yield sign and was waiting for a mile of cars to go by before he'd finally have enough room to get in.

This annoys me to no damn end.

No body know how to merge any more.

I have never had to stop when merging except for once.

Yet I get blessed with some goof who thinks its better off stopping and waiting for a nice long break in traffic.

 

[Arctic Taco]

I usually run about 50 tops on snow packed roads or slower in slushy packed and or ground blizzard stuff. SSounds like more fun on the sno-chi mihn trail-I-80, careful don't bend your rig.

 

[BarryG]

I have no problem doing 50-60 in 4wd. Many times I have been caught on the western slope of Colorado and have to get home to the front range. Have driven 200-300 miles in 4wd at a time many times. In fact this past weekend drove about 175 miles from Cortez to just east of South Fork in 4wd and except for going over Wolf Creek pass(visibility was less than 100 feet and road conditions were pretty poor) I was pushing 50-55. Then the weather and roads got better slid it back into 2wd and kept heading home. Some times the roads are not all that bad but I use it anyway. I needed to get my transfer case rebuilt at 189k. Would it have lasted longer without going 50+ maybe but close to 200k is ok with me. The only thing I would suggest is keeping an eye on your transfer case fluid for heat issues. More than once I have changed mine and it didnt look the best color wise.

 

[Rattler]

They don't know what yield means here either. They don't look or slow down, they just try to ram you in the side because they won't yield to people who have the right of way. Randy

 

[BILLVO]

I Drove mine for about a month straight without taking it out of 4wd last winter, 130 miles a day comuting to and fro work at 65-70 mph.



It is not a problem.

 

[RLHannink]

If I'm going a long ways in slick conditions, I'll kick it out of 4 temporarily to let things unbind, on a straight easy stretch with no one around, and coast for a bit. Sometimes it takes several seconds before I feel it kick out, so I wonder how "bound up" it actually gets. With the cable lock engaged it goes back in easy.

 

[SRath]

With lockouts, if I anticipate needing 4wd, I lock them in and leave the t-case in 2hi until I hit the slick stuff or even "iffy" stuff, at which point i simply pop 'er into 4hi. Same with the dodge, except i don't have to lock the hubs, which i would MUCH prefer to be in charge of.

You can go as fast as you want in 4hi, especially in a straight line. But start taking curves and corners on dry pavement and you will definitely bind things up. Don't worry, the truck will give you plenty of steering feedback when it does not like being in 4wd.

Just remember, being able to "Go" is nowhere near as important as being able to "Stop", and 4wd won't help you do that at all.

It used to be that cars were the first ones in the ditch when roads got bad. Now it is the morons in 4x4 pickups and SUV's who think they are invincible. Flip; roll; and crash. Often taking others with them.

Four Wheel drive is NOT a substitute for driving skill and good judgment.

I got to watch the snow fly along with car, minivan, and human parts just a few hours ago. It happened right in front of me. Like slow-motion. 20-plus emergency vehicles and an hour and a half later, that lonely stretch of 2-lane US highway reopened and I was able to pass after the snowplow called to the scene plowed the remaining wreckage off the roadway. The rest of the in-a-big-hurry world went on it's ever-so-important way again. But there are going to be at least two families who will NOT have a Merry Christmas ever again. Of the 4 ambulances, only 1 left with lights and siren. All had their stretchers full...

The patch of wind-driven snow/ice was no more than 60 feet long. Neither vehicle slowed down the least little bit for it. Head-on. Dead-on.

 

[DieselDoghouse]

Having won (bragggg) several cart racing championships in standing water (yep- we're nuts about racin') I still agree with several posts above about driving prudence (no not your prom date!!) viz "the most important traction component is the nut behind the wheel" That said I have had to drive 4W up to 80 mph (medical/animal medical emergencies). I would be most concerned about the differential in effective tire diameter and effective tire traction—which would be significant: 1. if your front tire pressures were way lower than the rear 2. You were locked up on a surface so hard that 4W ISN'T needed! That said doing the above poor impersonation of ice racing remember: say good prayers, make every manuver well though out and s-l-o-w-l-y, don't anticipate that YOU can correct for others lack of planning—stay away from the pack. I LIKE first one the scene vs. last involved!!:-laf

 

[Ol'TrailDog]

Heck, I thought the whole idea of 4wheel drive was so you could drive twice as fast!

















































Actually, I usually drive like an ol' lady when 4x4 is needed.

 

[DGamelin]

I have driven from St Louis to upper MI using 4wd twice in the last two years, towing 16k or better. Only throwing it out in dry intersections or where its just not needed. 60 is max for me on the straights, and back it down for the cruves. I would take packed snow over salted slush any day. In this last big strom we just had I had to make a run all the way around lake Michigan not a real big load but lousy wether for loading in, 4 different stops. I used the 4wd so munch I think I had it in more then out, that was a slow run in that strom. Anyways you should be able to tell when you need to be out of 4wd. It goes in and out so easy, use it when you need it.



Tow Safe. and have fun!



_________________________

93 250 2wd xc 354 auto 268k

04. 5 3500 4wd qc dully 373 6speed 94k

 

[Extreme1]

You really never want to engage the T-case shifter when traveling at highway speeds no matter what the sales materials say.



I've run highway speeds in FWD if the roads will be bad where I'm going. After I installed the Bob V 2-low kit, I lock the T-case when I leave home and only engage the CAD when necessary.

 

[DGamelin]

They're designed to be shifted in and out of high range. They have syncroeds in them for that. You're not going to hurt them as long as you're traveling in a straight line when you do it. Let off the power a little so the drive trains not loaded when shiftting in. When you shift out a spring that is loaded will disengage the 4wd when the tension is off of the transfercase. I never run over 60 in 4wd and don't usually shift in over 55. I've never had an electric shift, don't like counting on them. The manual shift go in and out so smooth. If you have an abnormal amount of resistance something is already wrong don't force it. I couldn't count the number of transfercases we've rebuilt in the shop. It's usually stupidity, high hp, or just old age that does them in.



________________________

93 250 2wd xc 354 auto 268k

04. 5 3500 4wd qc dully 373 6 speed 94k

 

[fest3er]

They're designed to be shifted in and out of high range. ...

I've shifted mine in and out of 4WD up to 75 MPH many, many times, always with the drivetrain under 'neutral' load engaging and going from positive load to negative load and back to release when disengaging. 75 is crazy, you say? Ever driven down a decent highway and suddenly hit a stretch where the ruts are filled with water? I have, and it ain't fun when the front wheels stop turning. 4WD works wonders maintaining control under unexpectedly sub-par conditions.



Shifting from high to low or from low to high I have done numerous times as the manual states: under 15 MPH, shift with a smooth, steady, continuous motion.



275K miles and 12 years and nary a problem with the t-case.

 

[MAV1]

front diff loses fluid

Living in Nebraska, I have had need to run in 4 Hi as described above. The trouble I have is that at highway speeds, the front differential loses gear lube out of the vent tube. I don't know at what speed it occurs and could use some help/advise in this matter. The gear lube is Amsoil Severe Gear. I have checked the vent hose and it's one way cap, all is as it should be.
Why is this occurring??

Thanks, MAV