Pulls to the right when in 4 wheel

I dont know much about jeeps. This is my first one and I've had it since december. The 4wd worked fine last time I used it. It's always been reluctant to go into full time 4wd, but it always at least got into 4wd. The other night it was raining pretty bad, and I havent driven it in 4wd in a month or so, so I decided to put it in full time and drive home. Well, it starts making a loud noise and pulling to the right and of course saying its in part time 4wd, not full time. Any ideas wats going on? Can I fix this easily? Is it gonna hurt anythign to drive it in 2wd like this?

EDIT: Forgot to mention that this is a 95 Cherokee Sport 2dr.

Check everything inthe front end at the wheel assembly. Sounds like a U-joint on the right hand side.
If your t-case is not shifting into the proper 4WD mode then the linkage is the most likely culprit. Crawl under the drivers side and look for the rod that goes to the T-case. I'm willing to bet that it's got worn out bushings and isn't putting the selector arm in the right positions to match the detents in the console. Mine was so sloppy that N on the console was actually part time.

95RedCherokee said:

I dont know much about jeeps. This is my first one and I've had it since december. The 4wd worked fine last time I used it. It's always been reluctant to go into full time 4wd, but it always at least got into 4wd.

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Are the tires in good shape? Mismatched tires can cause problems going in/out of 4wd... even a bad mismatch of PRESSURE would likely do it. This is because the tires would be rotating at different speeds. Not a good idea when they're mechanically connected....

Den

The front tires are new. the rear are worn, but it never had a problem before this with 4wd. I'm get under it tomorrow and check it out.

I got time to check it out a week ago and the linkage looked solid and felt solid. A few days later, I put it in 4 wheel with no problems at all. I also drove it in full time the other day and it did fine. Maybe it just didnt engage all teh way or something....oh well..

Don't the front wheels engage using vacuum-powered collars? What if one of the collars was malf, and only one of your front wheels was driving? That would explain a pull to one side.

dmstumpf..... there is one collar. If there is NO locker in the front and the
vacuum disconnect was malfunctioning, all the torque would go to the side of least resistance(long-side half shaft) and there would be NO power being applied to the driver's side, making it look like there is only 2wd.

I'll echo Lodi Jim and add that Jeeps with Full Time 4-Wheel Drive (NP242 Transfer Case) don't have the vacuume disconnect. My guess is that traction was too good for the unit to shift from part time 4x4 (first shift position) to full eime 4x4 (second position).

From my experience, if you're on anything but gravel or snow, only shift going straight. Lifting from the accellerator sometimes helps it shift through the positions too.

I actually recently figured out that if I let it roll a little bit, it helps it to change modes of 4wd. It used to be damn near impossible to get into full time, but now I just stop, put it in neutral and shift it in, and it goes right in. Sometimes it still have trouble going out of part time to full time, but if I mess with it fora minute, it works. Took it for a lil dry dirt doughnuts in full time yesterday. Pretty fun! I need to go offroading again soon!!!

Check your tires for wear. If you haven't rotated tires recently and rears are shallower than fronts, you'll have problems engaging and especially disengaging. Mismatched diameters will put tension on the drivetrain and the first effect of this is usually to make it hard to disengage.