4X4 Urban Driving Suggestions for Newbie

Jeeps have a shift on the fly at any legal speed feature which is nice. I treat it just like any other shift, when I see a snow patch coming, I shift into 4x4, when I see it ending I shift back.

I also find making left turns at snowy intersections can be best done in

Another really 'big' gotcha is braking. The owners manual even says to stay off the brakes when in 4x4, use the gears to slow down. This goes for off road 'or' snow roads.

What happens when you hit the brakes hard is the front tires can skid, but the back ones keep on rolling due to the proportioning valve. This valve is to prevent rear wheel lockup which can cause uncontrolled 360's to occur.

Well, when you are in part time 4x4 which locks the axles, when you hit the brakes, all 4 wheels lock up which puts you going sideways faster than you can blink. That's why you see lots of 4x4's off the sides of ramps, they used the brakes instead of gearing down and coming into the corner under engine load instead of brake load.

I highly recommend an empty snowy parking lot for a test drive to see how it reacts.

Mike

OK I'll take that as a "No" for daily urban driving. I'm in the SoCal desert...so exnay on the snow but thanks anyway. We don't shovel snow- we just dream about it..

Skyslider

The part time system locks axles so a tire has to scuff or something 'will' break when the drivetrain winds up. I have blown U-joints from getting 'stuck' in 4x4 after the snow stopped (it wound up before I could shift) with no place to safely get off the road to get out of 4x4 by backing up and know folks that have exploded t-cases into pieces.

If you have a 'full time' 4x4, it can be used anytime you need more traction. It has a center slip point.

Mike

If you have the selec-trac transfer case then you can use 4x4 on the street whenever you like, as it has full time 4x4. If you have the comand-trac transfer case, you only have part time 4x4, which should only be used on very slipery road surfaces and at low speeds.

Regards, Bill Spiliotopoulos, '96XJ, '06TJ.

Why would you want to do that?

Because I live in a semi-rural community with varied desert terrain (lots of sandy soil) and grades. I was wondering when and where to engage the 4X4 other than snow or rain. To answer previous posters--I have no idea what type of 4X4 this 2008 Liberty is...

Skyslider

What does it say on the shifter handle?

Mike

Skyslider

Only on non-paved, non-sticky surfaces. Never on pavement, or hard packed roads.

That means you have the part time only system that is good for sand, snow or dirt, not pavement because it locks the two axles together. It has to scuff a tire in a turn like I was mentioning.

Mike

Got it. Thanks..

SS

It sounds to me like you really, really should have gotten the full time four wheel drive option. Set it, and forget it. Part time four wheel drive like you have is good for dirt, rocks, ice and snow. It will help you get up grades on dirt, but paved grades? shouldn't be needed. I commute 100 miles both ways two or three times a week on twisty, windy mountain roads, covered with ice half the year and with hair-raising dropoffs on either side. Although your four wheel drive can get you going on extremely slippery surfaces like ice or maybe very heavy rain, it can make things squirly if you haven't practiced much.

Cheers,

Earle