WRANGLER YJ - WHEN TO USE 4WD?

Never on just 'wet' pavement. There's no differential between the front and rear axles, so the tires have to be able to spin freely.

This is what happens if you drive on pavement with part time 4WD.:

Individual - when I answered in the other NG, this is what I meant by explosions. It is real. Don't do it. Tomes

I think you need a driver's manual. Go to a DC dealer and they can tell yo how to get one.

The four wheel drive on this vehicle is not meant for sustained use, not even on unpaved roads. The time to engage it is "just before you would get stuck if you didn't". Precisely how to determine when that is, depends on your local terrain and experience.

Earle

I use mine in 4x4 for hours at a time on the highway and for days and weeks at a time in the city and on 10 day bush runs.....

Mine has lasted since 1986.....

Mike

Amen, my '91 is used on Colorado 4X4 Roads (San Juan Mountains near and around Telluride and Ouray) for hours at a time. 4.0L, five speed, lifted 3

I agree with Mike concerning snow covered roads My previous 88YJ and 01TJ was just plain useless as a 2X4 on snow covered roads. A front wheel drive car performs better

But I agree with Earle, a dry unpaved road can still have too much traction to safely use 4X4. Now my Rubie with the limited slip almost doesn't really need 4X4 at all. (My first limited slip rear end) :-)

Mike Roma> I use mine in 4x4 for hours at a time on the highway and for days and

The problem with limited slip 2wd on slippery roads, is the tendency for the front and rear of the vehicle to exchange places, unless you use a light foot on the throttle. This is one of the things you learn, just after putting an Auburn Gear differential in your van, on encountering a freak May blizzard in the high country...

Earle

Hey i dont want to sound really dumb here but can someone tell me whats bad about using 4x4 even on dry roads. I am just wondering what it does to a vehical. Thanks

Your Wrangler has Part-Time 4WD regardless whether it is a stick or autobox. (Command -Trac)

Basically the front and rear driveshafts get locked together.

When you turn a corner, the front wheels travel a different distance than the rear wheels.

This means a wheel must scuff the ground in a corner or something 'will' break.

I actually find it easier in some snow conditions to drop to 2 wheel drive at city intersections when I am crossing traffic in a left turn. That scuff can get the tires up on top of the slush and you can just keep going straight. Once I am around the turn, I then drop back to

Mike

It's not a dumb question at all. It depends on what kind of 4WD you are running. Systems designed for "part time" driving lock the front and rear axles together. When you corner each wheel follows an arc with a different radius and travels different distances. This means that each wheel turns at a slightly different speed, which means that the axles turn at different speeds. If the difference cannot be released by skidding one (or more) tire the system will bind up -- or break, depending. The advantage is that on slippery surfaces even if one tire loses traction the other axle /must/ continue to turn, pulling you out. You'd have to completely lose traction under the dominant wheel on each axle to get stuck, since both axles are being driven at the same rate.

"Full time" systems incorporate some sort of differential between the axles, a system that allows the axles to turn at different rates, the same way that the differential between two wheels on the same axle works. This means that you can drive on dry hard surfaces without risking drive-line bind or failure.

Jeff via CarKB.com wrote: