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Shifting into 4wd, newbee?

4byfour

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Shelbyville, Ky
I've never owned or driven a 4wd before. I just purchased a 2000 sport IL-6 with 112k on it as my 16yrolds first vehicle.(no owners manual).
My stupid question is, what is the proper way to shift into 4wd(what speed).?
What is the difference btwn 4H-N-4L ? How should they be used.
thanks for your patience ande advice
 
I never shift on the move but if you were no more than 5mph. Place your regular gear shifter from drive to Neutral, then just shift the 4wd selector to where you want it and shift back to drive, pretty simple... coming out of 4wd go back to neutral, shift back to 2wd then back to drive.
 
2wd to 4H shift requires no stopping, etc. DO NOT SHIFT while spinning ANY tire!!!!!!! If you do, you'll blow up all sorts of expensive parts. Just don't do it. Say your cruising along about 20 MPH and are about to enter a sand pit, you'll want to shift to 4wd while you still have good traction.

4L is known as 4 Low, or Low range. This makes the vehicle go much slower by using the transfer case (t-case) to make higher amounts of torque (power need to tow/climb) This is accomplished by an extra set of gears in the t-case.

N on the transfer case is just like N in the transmission. No power is allowed to go through it. This is useful if the Jeep ever gets towed with ANY wheels on the ground.

If you have more questions, please feel free to ask, or send me a PM.
 
Thanks for the quick reply. I did not put regular shifter in neutral first. I was at a stop and pulled 4wd leaver up to first position to enguage, seemed like it engaged fine. When i went to disenguage 4wd, trans was NOT in neutral and the leaver went down ok and dash lite went out, but it remained in 4wd. I could not get it out, and i heard gears grinding when i shifted trans from Park to Drive.
Then the 4wd leaver seemed to jam in 4wd and WOULD NOT move to 2wd.
I finally put trans in neutral, and racked vehicle and the it unjamed, went into 2wd and all seems fine now.
What do you think i did wrong?
 
You didn't say anything about 4 full time and 4 part time, so it sounds like it's the NP231.

Don't use 4H and 4L on the street. Not even for snow and rain... Scratch that. Especially not for snow and rain. That locks the front and rear together, so any time both front and rear have traction and you're turning, that stress goes right into the drivetrain. And it can also break one or more tires loose, causing traction loss. 2WD is the only mode you can use on the road, unless it's just for getting unstuck.
 
You should have put the regular transmission in neutral first, then shifted the transfer case, then put the transmission in reverse. Back up about 10 feet, put the jeep in preferred gear and go as normal.

What you did was preload the drivetrain. Not good, but I'll bet you didn't hurt anything either.
 
You experienced a very common symptom of the NP231. It's a manually shifted mechanical gearbox, and loading the drivetrain keeps things meshed or prevents it when you want to change. No synchronizers like a transmission.

I've used 4H in the rain on slick streets, but the front u-joints will bind up on slow speed turns. It's not best for them. In the snow, 4H works great, just like it was designed. On patchy roads, use discretion, but I've run 4H on snow for years. It's why the vehicle was made, it's why I bought it, and why they sell 4WD in the snow belt.

You do need to be in neutral, stopped, to shift into 4L, and that still may take some pushing. Shifting into and out of drive with an automatic usually does it. You're just spinning the teeth into a new position that may mesh more easily.

Old hotrodders and truckers called it gearjamming, and with the 231, it still is.
 
winkosmosis said:
Don't use 4H and 4L on the street. Not even for snow and rain... Scratch that. Especially not for snow and rain.
This is partially wrong. It is perfectly acceptable to use 4H when there is snow on the ground...what would be the point of having a 4x4 in winter conditions otherwise?

It is correct however that it's not meant for dry, or even wet roads, unless you have the optional full time transfer case (will read 2H-4H-4FT-N-4L on the handle).

Edit: For going into 4 low, i've always read and been told that you need to be rolling at about 2-3mph, and have the transmission in Neutral while shifting. This method has always worked well for me on both the Jeeps, as well as the truck (anything with a shift-on-the-fly 4x4 like we have). Going in an out of 4H however you can be sitting still or moving. Once again however, it is called shift-on-the-fly and designed so that you don't have to be stopped if you need to shift into 4H for added traction.
 
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I've used 4H in the rain on slick streets, but the front u-joints will bind up on slow speed turns. It's not best for them. In the snow, 4H works great, just like it was designed. On patchy roads, use discretion, but I've run 4H on snow for years. It's why the vehicle was made, it's why I bought it, and why they sell 4WD in the snow belt.

You do need to be in neutral, stopped, to shift into 4L, and that still may take some pushing. Shifting into and out of drive with an automatic usually does it. You're just spinning the teeth into a new position that may mesh more easily.

X2

You can shfit from 2wd into 4Hi while moving. Just let off the throttle (to take the pressure off the drivetrain) and pull back. The same for going back to 2wd. I've used this method for years with no problems.
 
UNCC_99XJ said:
This is partially wrong. It is perfectly acceptable to use 4H when there is snow on the ground...what would be the point of having a 4x4 in winter conditions otherwise?

It is correct however that it's not meant for dry, or even wet roads, unless you have the optional full time transfer case (will read 2H-4H-4FT-N-4L on the handle).

Edit: For going into 4 low, i've always read and been told that you need to be rolling at about 2-3mph, and have the transmission in Neutral while shifting. This method has always worked well for me on both the Jeeps, as well as the truck (anything with a shift-on-the-fly 4x4 like we have). Going in an out of 4H however you can be sitting still or moving. Once again however, it is called shift-on-the-fly and designed so that you don't have to be stopped if you need to shift into 4H for added traction.

I don't know what the point is, that's why I don't understand why Jeep sold any vehicles without a full time. If you're driving on snow only it would be fine, but not for patches of snow with patches of dirt in between. And on ice I reckon it would be worse too because ice is a hard surface, so any difference between front and rear speed will cause the tires to break loose
 
Going to into 4h I just shift the Tcase into it(going under 45mph) and back out, never shifting the trans or stopping.

For 4L, go 2-3mph shift the trans into N then give a nice pull on the Tcase(dont baby it). It always shifts right in just fine for me, going back out the same way.
 
winkosmosis said:
I don't know what the point is, that's why I don't understand why Jeep sold any vehicles without a full time. If you're driving on snow only it would be fine, but not for patches of snow with patches of dirt in between. And on ice I reckon it would be worse too because ice is a hard surface, so any difference between front and rear speed will cause the tires to break loose

ice is NOT a "hard surface." by hardend surface, its refering to a hardened road surface like concrete or asphalt where the tires have plenty of traction. 4wd should only be used on surfaces where extra traction is required such as dirt(not just a dirt road), sand, mud, snow and slush. there needs to be a little bit of give to the surface to keep the drivetrain from binding up especially in turns.

our jeeps are shift on the fly jeeps as stated by prior posts. so there is no need to shift into neutral to shift into or out of 4H. i have had the issue of the jeep not wanting to go into or out of 4H. I have made it a habit of letting off the gas right after shifting it and that seems to work for me.
 
Good advice here.

I shift my NP231 (command-trac) into 4HI while moving before I hit any thing with reduce traction. Since I live at the beach, I shift in to 4HI abot 50 feet before the sand. Keep in mind, DON"T do this an pavement. I shift into 4HI on the gravel portion of the beach approach.

For 4LO I get a good 5 (NO MORE THAN 10) MPH roll and ease it in. There may some grinding, but it should go in just fine......

I don't run in 4LO unless I need the extra torque, generally when I am beach combing up by the dunes.


If you have the Selectrac (full time) transfer case (which it sounds liek you do not have), you can run 4 Full time anytime you please, just beware that it will cost you at the pump.....
 
On some the 231's it's a fact that when you put it in neutral it locks all 4 wheels together in neutral. Not all 231's are like this though, it might only be the early ones.
 
Blaine B. said:
On some the 231's it's a fact that when you put it in neutral it locks all 4 wheels together in neutral. Not all 231's are like this though, it might only be the early ones.

yeah!!! wait, what???
 
Blaine B. said:
On some the 231's it's a fact that when you put it in neutral it locks all 4 wheels together in neutral. Not all 231's are like this though, it might only be the early ones.

What are you talking about? I've never heard of any transfer case doing this!
 
nobody ran out to refer to their windsheild visor sticker for this one?

4HI can be engaged at any legal speed.. general practice is to keep it under 45 mph. thats the shift-on-the-fly part. designed for rainy or snowy driving where you may see a slippery spot ahead of you and want the added traction. in this case just ease off the gas pedal and pull the lever into position. then back on the gas. should be a near-invisible transition between gears. with a manual transmission push the clutch as well.

4LO is best to come to a complete stop, transmission in neutral, pull the lever all the way back in 1 motion. this should also be seemless. IF it doesnt go with a solid tug on the shifter try it again. unless the linkage is bent or out of adjustment you shouldnt normally have a problem with this. if it does "bind" or resist you may need to drive ahead a few feet and try again. you "can" shift into 4LO at 2 - 3 mph but that is seldom neccesary. if you need to do this every time there is something wrong and you need to have it addressed properly.

shifting out of these 4WD settings is essentially the same steps. the more you do it the more comfortable you will be with it. just a few things you should NEVER do..
NEVER shift into or out of any 4WD setting while applying power to the wheels in gear.
NEVER shift into or out of 4LO while traveling more than a VERY SLOW ROLL. this WILL do damage.
the shift mechanism is designed so that you wont accidentally engage or disengage any gear. or go "too far" into the wrong gear.
enjoy the new Jeep!!
 
poorboy_616 said:
Good advice here.

I shift my NP231 (command-trac) into 4HI while moving before I hit any thing with reduce traction. Since I live at the beach, I shift in to 4HI abot 50 feet before the sand. Keep in mind, DON"T do this an pavement. I shift into 4HI on the gravel portion of the beach approach.

For 4LO I get a good 5 (NO MORE THAN 10) MPH roll and ease it in. There may some grinding, but it should go in just fine......

I don't run in 4LO unless I need the extra torque, generally when I am beach combing up by the dunes.


If you have the Selectrac (full time) transfer case (which it sounds liek you do not have), you can run 4 Full time anytime you please, just beware that it will cost you at the pump.....


Using 4 full time shouldn't use any more gas. The same parts are all turning, it's just that in 2WD, the road is what turns the front drivetrain
 
Blaine B. said:
On some the 231's it's a fact that when you put it in neutral it locks all 4 wheels together in neutral. Not all 231's are like this though, it might only be the early ones.


FAIL!!!!


No neutral is nuetral. No wheels locked together, if they lock, then somethings wrong......
 
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