I have a bone stock 2001 XJ 4.0L with auto transmission and NP231 transfer case that I bought a year ago and I'm still learning about it.
I use it primarily as a DD but when we go camping/exploring I am often towing a small 1500# trailer to the campspot, then unhitch and go find some interesting dirt roads to explore. I drive those roads in order to go to interesting places -- scenery, views, old mines, ghost towns, whatever. I am *not* trying to find the worst road and see if I can make it through -- that's why the Jeep isn't lifted and I have no plans of doing so.
On a recent trip I was driving down a steep canyon that had a well-graded road of small rocks, and was in 3rd gear 4LO. The biggest problems were that 3rd was too fast -- I'm working on that -- and the fact that the front and rear driveshafts were locked together made the switchback turns very messy. The turns were tight enough that the steering wheel was all the way to the lock so I was getting a lot of cogging from the front axle U-joints. It was not only hard on the Jeep but it also tended to push me wider in the turns, and there wasn't much room to spare.
So I thought replacing the NP231 with an NP242 would take care of that problem, but I see that the NP242 has an open diff between the front and rear drivelines only when it is in 4HI - Full time, but not in 4LO. So it appears that with the NP242 I should use low gear and 4HI-Full Time in order to get around the switchbacks better.
I asked a friend about switching to 2HI just before the turns but he warned me that if I did so and found the turn so tight that I needed to back up, I would be stuck in 2HI and have poor traction while trying to back uphill. Sounds ugly to me!
So what, if anything, should I change on my XJ or in my driving to do a better job on a steep downhill road comprised of small loose stones and with many tight switchbacks?
Thanks!
I use it primarily as a DD but when we go camping/exploring I am often towing a small 1500# trailer to the campspot, then unhitch and go find some interesting dirt roads to explore. I drive those roads in order to go to interesting places -- scenery, views, old mines, ghost towns, whatever. I am *not* trying to find the worst road and see if I can make it through -- that's why the Jeep isn't lifted and I have no plans of doing so.
On a recent trip I was driving down a steep canyon that had a well-graded road of small rocks, and was in 3rd gear 4LO. The biggest problems were that 3rd was too fast -- I'm working on that -- and the fact that the front and rear driveshafts were locked together made the switchback turns very messy. The turns were tight enough that the steering wheel was all the way to the lock so I was getting a lot of cogging from the front axle U-joints. It was not only hard on the Jeep but it also tended to push me wider in the turns, and there wasn't much room to spare.
So I thought replacing the NP231 with an NP242 would take care of that problem, but I see that the NP242 has an open diff between the front and rear drivelines only when it is in 4HI - Full time, but not in 4LO. So it appears that with the NP242 I should use low gear and 4HI-Full Time in order to get around the switchbacks better.
I asked a friend about switching to 2HI just before the turns but he warned me that if I did so and found the turn so tight that I needed to back up, I would be stuck in 2HI and have poor traction while trying to back uphill. Sounds ugly to me!
So what, if anything, should I change on my XJ or in my driving to do a better job on a steep downhill road comprised of small loose stones and with many tight switchbacks?
Thanks!