Using 4WD

[kd5dwy]

I'm a little embarrased to have to ask this, but I bought my XJ less than a month ago and I didn't get a manual, so what is the proper way to engage and disengage 4wd?

I've been able to get into 4-hi by rolling along at about 5 MPH and pulling into 4-hi.

I can drop it back into 2-hi at any time and it seems to go right back to 2wd no problem. A friend told me I needed to roll in reverse a good distance to "release tension on the transfer case."

To go from 4-hi to neutral and 4-lo, I have to stop and drop the tranny into neutral. Pops right in and I KNOW this is working! Is there any problem running the tranny in drive (or anything other than 1st) while in 4-lo?

Stopping and putting the tranny in neutral again allows me to go to 4-hi and rolling along a little, I can pop it back into 2-hi.

I am able to shift through all ranges, but want to make sure I'm doing this correctly. Also, this is for a NP231 t-case.

I did a search for this, but couldn't find it.

[maine96xj]

your doing everything correct.and i cant see why you cant run 4 lo in drive...i do...just dont take it over around 5-10mph...it wont even shift into second by then anyways

[XJToivo]

Dude, for 4 hi, pull the lever. Shifting back into 2hi is as simple as pushing the lever to 2hi. For 4 lo, throw it into neutral and pull it all the way to 4lo, then continue on your way. Whatever your buddy told you about driving in reverse, um, no. Thats ridiculous.

[XJToivo]

your doing everything correct.and i cant see why you cant run 4 lo in drive...i do...just dont take it over around 5-10mph...it wont even shift into second by then anyways

You can drive as fast as you want to in 4lo, its just not the best thing in the world. For some normal trail rides that require 4lo in regular intervals, it makes sense to leave it in 4lo and drive from spot to spot. Irregular driving speeds of up to 20-25mph in 4lo wont hurt the transmission or transfer case. The trans will shift as normal if you put it in Drive.

[maine96xj]

You can drive as fast as you want to in 4lo

ok...take it on the highway in 4lo...have fun with that.

[maine96xj]

Whatever your buddy told you about driving in reverse, um, no. Thats ridiculous.

i had an 88 that wouldnt come out unless you put it in reverse...it says in the manual for my 4 wheeler to ALWAYS put it in reverse after deselecting 4wd

[XJToivo]

ok...take it on the highway in 4lo...have fun with that.
:twak: Don't be a jackass. Theres no reason to ONLY go 5-10 mph. Sure, going more than 15-20 is not a good idea. Trial riding around and hitting 20 sometimes is not going to grenade the tcase however. Obviously taking it onto the freeway or down pavement is just XXXXing dumb.

And don't misquote people. It makes you look dumb.

[XJToivo]

i had an 88 that wouldnt come out unless you put it in reverse...it says in the manual for my 4 wheeler to ALWAYS put it in reverse after deselecting 4wd
Your 4 wheeler and your 4 wheel drive VEHICLE are a hell of a lot different. I have NEVER seen any Jeep/truck/4wd in general need to go into reverse to be taken out of 4hi or 4lo. It makes no sense.

[casm]

I've been able to get into 4-hi by rolling along at about 5 MPH and pulling into 4-hi.

High-range 4WD can be engaged from 2HI at pretty much any speed. However, since you've got an NP231, I wouldn't recommend engaging 4WD (in either range) except on non-pavement surfaces.

I can drop it back into 2-hi at any time and it seems to go right back to 2wd no problem. A friend told me I needed to roll in reverse a good distance to "release tension on the transfer case."

Nope. Reversing's not required. It's fully shift-on-the-fly between 4HI ranges and 2HI.

To go from 4-hi to neutral and 4-lo, I have to stop and drop the tranny into neutral. Pops right in and I KNOW this is working!

That's fine; I've had to do the same in both of my XJs. Technically you can shift from 4HI to 4LO while moving at 2-3mph, but since it's damned near impossible to figure out exactly how fast that is, the way you're doing it is the best bet IMHO.

Is there any problem running the tranny in drive (or anything other than 1st) while in 4-lo?

Absolutely not. However: take care to not over-rev the engine, same as in high-range.

Stopping and putting the tranny in neutral again allows me to go to 4-hi and rolling along a little, I can pop it back into 2-hi.

Sounds about right. I usually stop, shift the transmission into neutral, then attempt the 4LO - 4HI shift; if it fails, I pop back into 4LO, roll forward a foot or so, and retry it. Either way, you're not doing anything wrong.

[XJToivo]

blah blah blah.. :yelclap::yelclap::yelclap: perfect!

[89Daytona]

Your 4 wheeler and your 4 wheel drive VEHICLE are a hell of a lot different. I have NEVER seen any Jeep/truck/4wd in general need to go into reverse to be taken out of 4hi or 4lo. It makes no sense.
I saw a label in a late 80s Ford Ranger on the sun visor that specifically told you to go into reverse to disengage the 4 wheel drive... I always thought that was kind of strange.

[Rob Mayercik]

Technically you can shift from 4HI to 4LO while moving at 2-3mph, but since it's damned near impossible to figure out exactly how fast that is, the way you're doing it is the best bet IMHO.

Agreed. Once in a while, though, I've found that the low-range synchronizers are a little happier if I can get the truck to roll ever so slightly as I'm going in or out of 4Lo.

Most of the time I don't need to be moving either.

Oh, and kd5dwy: if you'd like an owner's manual for your rig (BTW, what year?), call Chrysler - you should be able to buy one.

Rob

[kd5dwy]

Oh, and kd5dwy: if you'd like an owner's manual for your rig (BTW, what year?), call Chrysler - you should be able to buy one.


I have a stock '87. Thanks for the info - I'll check into getting a manual.

Thanks for all of the posts!

[rickoregon]

Sometimes, if the front and rear axles get "bound" on hard ground (where they can't slip), it's difficult to get some vehicles to shift out of four wheel drive. In those instances I've found that stopping the vehicle, then going in reverse a little helps - I can then shift it out of 4x4. That's been my experience. I've also found that if I've forgotten to take a rig our of four wheel drive and go out on the pavement, a good way to get the lever to shift out of four wheel drive, if it gets "stuck", is to drive at least one side of the vehicle off the pavement onto gravel shoulder and then shift.... FWIW, Rick

[a7273chargerguy]

Dude, for 4 hi, pull the lever. Shifting back into 2hi is as simple as pushing the lever to 2hi. For 4 lo, throw it into neutral and pull it all the way to 4lo, then continue on your way. Whatever your buddy told you about driving in reverse, um, no. Thats ridiculous.maybe with 4hi but with 4lo i ALWAYS reverse 10-15 ft to relieve tension.kinda the same when you pull your e-brake first then put it in park on a steep hill,to let stress of your cars internal workings.

[BBeach]

ok...take it on the highway in 4lo...have fun with that. You could go to like 55mph in 4LO, but itd be close to redlining in overdrive and the transfer case would probably heat up. ;)

[rockwerks]

You could go to like 55mph in 4LO, but itd be close to redlining in overdrive and the transfer case would probably heat up. ;)

You should always stop and neutral to put into 4 lo

ask me how I know?:doh:

[BCParker]

all this stopping and backing up 15 feet to disengage 4wd does not apply to the XJ.

on older vehicles with automatic HUBS you had to reverse to release the HUBS.

on XJs, the hubs are permanently locked (shift on the fly)

[UNCC_99XJ]

I have NEVER seen any Jeep/truck/4wd in general need to go into reverse to be taken out of 4hi or 4lo. It makes no sense.

My buddies mom's 2001 X-Terra has to be reversed to get it IN or OUT of 4hi.

[ihscoutlover]

Here is how my XJ makes the shift:

To shift into 4HI, I simply pull the lever back and the part-time light comes on. Drive normally.

To go from 2HI or 4HI to 4Low, I still pull the lever all the way back into 4Low.

The directions on the back of the sun visor should describe the procedure that I use to go the other direction from each of the 4WD positions. Here goes:

To go from 4HI back into 2HI, I push the shift lever back into 2HI. The part-time light should go out on the dash indicating the transfer case has made the shift.

To go from 4Low to 2HI, I first put the tranny into neutral, and then push the shifter into Neutral, give the accelerator a slight push, to bring the engine RPM's up a bit, then into 4HI, I then shift the tranny back into a drive or reverse gear-depending on where I am, and then shift it into 2HI. Your visor should have the correct procedures on it.

I too didn't have an owner's manual, and thus had to figure some of this out. If you need further expanation, email me or PM me. In so far as the running of the XJ above about 45mph, I can assure you even in 4Hi on the street isn't good for the driveline components. Mine wouldn't go out of 4Hi, and at about 45mph it let out a loud "crunch" sound, and has otherwise been working fine since. Needless to say, the shifting has actually been better than it ever was. I also try to run synthetic fluid in mine which is also a 231 and I have yet to have any kind of failure. As far as I know, the XJ's and TJ/YJ's didn't have to be reversed, but I have found that sometimes the ease on components does work, but it is not supposed to have to be done. The hubs are permanently locked in, which causes the front driveshaft to spin all the time. When you go to 4WD, it applies the engine power to all the wheels, by locking the transfer case to the front driveshaft.

Jeff

[87manche]

all this nonsense about rangers and xterra's doesn't matter, so let's not even bring up other vehicles.

If you goto jeep's website and look at the 4wd instructions/explanation for the liberty you'll understand everything, as the t-cases are the same systems.

[BBeach]

You should always stop and neutral to put into 4 lo

ask me how I know?:doh:I didnt mean to engage it at that speed, you're supposed to do it at 2-3mph or so. As far as disengaging it, the only problem i would have is if im still hitting the gas i need to let off and you can hear it disengage.

[89Cherokee4x4]

On some Chevy's and GMCs you have to reverse to engage or disengage the 4wd.

[xjtrailrider]

I saw a label in a late 80s Ford Ranger on the sun visor that specifically told you to go into reverse to disengage the 4 wheel drive... I always thought that was kind of strange.

Ford auto-locking hubs do require that you go into reverse to disengage the hubs. I've owned 3 fullsize Broncs, 2 Exploders and 2 Rangers. This reverse unlock method is annoying, I like the live axle and T-case disconnect design of the Jeep much better.

[Matthew Currie]

If the tires are evenly inflated and evenly worn, and everything in the system is working as it should, you should be able to shift between 2 high and 4 high without stopping, backing, or even slowing down, and without feeling the transition. However, if the tires are uneven, or if the vacuum motor on a disconnect axle is working very weakly, or both, you might have to do something to take the tension off the drivetrain and allow both the transfer case and the axle disconnect to pop out. It either won't happen or it will happen late, and abruptly.

My 99 shifts back and forth like a champ, being young and healthy. The 95 occasionally delays the shift to 2WD and does it with a little bang unless I back off on the throttle and occasionally even put it into neutral. My old 87, even with new and even tires, never went back without a fight.

[csturboz]

I saw a label in a late 80s Ford Ranger on the sun visor that specifically told you to go into reverse to disengage the 4 wheel drive... I always thought that was kind of strange.

My roommates 93 ranger says that too... But i believe that its more to get the auto hubs unlocked?:dunno:

[clunk]

Mine is a little finnicky some times. NP242 selectrac.
when I shift into part time 4hi, the light comes on--everything engages right away.
when I shift into full time 4hi, sometimes the full time light will come, other times the part time light will come on, no rhyme or reason it'll just do whatever it feels like. it'll still engage into 4wd right away, just the light seems to take a while to make up it's mind.
when shifting into 4lo, part time light comes on and it engages normally.

I also find it a little "stiff" to shift, I assume this is just the linkage being crudded up, but I havn't really looked into it yet.
What would be causing this problem? I'm not worried about it as I really don't use the full-time 4hi, but I'm just curious why the lights would be wacky sometimes and fine other times?