selecting 4 x 4

im new to the site so hi all!

I now have a 99 jeep cherokee 4.0l auto, and have never owned a 4 x 4 before so please forgive what must be the most stupid question of all time and that is no joke! I am totally clueless

I read the user manual that came with the car and as a result thought id give changing from 2wd to 4 part time, and 4 full time a go.

The user manual states the following

"To engage, shift transfer case lever from 2WD to 4 x 4 PART TIME while the vehicle is moving at any legal speed". Thats it, that is all it says.

The manual states the same for going from 2WD to 4 x 4 FULL TIME.

problem is when i done it first, i done it whilst stationary in drive,
for both? Then i tried it whilst moving at about 20 mph or so. It seemed to come on ok. It was only for a short time, maybe a few hundred yards that i done it for each. I dont recall going to 4LO and am almost certain that i didnt, i thought id done enough playing for one day.

If i had slipped it into 4LO whilst moving at that speed what would/should have happened and would i have known about it? Had i have done this, i didnt slip into neutral first.
The user manual states that going into 4LO the vehicle needs to put into neutral, be slowed to 2 or 3 mph before changing.


The reason i ask is because during the same journey i noticed that my a/c packed up, and when i got home i could hear a rattling sound coming from what i believe is the a/c compressor although i might be wrong. Its an inconsistant rattling noise, that does this whilst idling with the a/c on or off.
many thanks

A/C and 4WD are totally unrelated.

You would have known if you were in 4LO. You have to come to almost a complete stop and put the transmission in neutral before shifting the transfer case to 4LO.

As for shifting into 4HI Full and Part Time, yes, just pull the lever at any speed up to around 60mph. Remember though that you do not want to be in Part Time (4HI or 4LO) on dry pavement. If you are on dry pavement, just pull the lever right past Part Time and into Full Time in one motion.

Also just for a note when selecting 4LO, It's the Transmisson that it means "To be in Neutral". You can just pass right by neutral of the transfer case when entering 4LO.

o.k thats a relief, (for now!)
obviously i had a good idea they were unconnected, but i had a fear that somehow i had unknowingly destroyed something whilst changing gears that somehow affected the compressor making it rattle. OR i had destroyed something and it aint the compressor making the rattle at all but something else more serious.

many thanks

And I would add that you won't be using 4 LO on the road unless you are trying to pull someone out of a ditch and need extra low end grunt. It's great for max torque but you will have a very low top end. When running on the road in a low traction situation stick to 4 HIGH or full time 4 wheel drive.

And welcome to the wonderful world of 4 wheel drives!:cheers:

boot2thehead said:

And I would add that you won't be using 4 LO on the road unless you are trying to pull someone out of a ditch and need extra low end grunt. It's great for max torque but you will have a very low top end. When running on the road in a low traction situation stick to 4 HIGH or full time 4 wheel drive.

And welcome to the wonderful world of 4 wheel drives!:cheers:

Click to expand...

On the road in low traction, just use 4WD full time.