I put it in 4x4 last night for the first time (besides my test drive)-I was spinning out and fishtailing all over the place (freezing rain)before that. Anyway, when I got to the grocery store and went to park, making a sharp turn, it acted like I was driving over boulders or something. It was fine with the normal driving, this only happened with the sharp turns into and out of parking spots. It was like it was off balance and bouncing-the weirdest thing. Doesn't that sound like something bent? It was in an accident on the right front.

I forgot why this happends but its not a problem or anything. It just has to do with having 4 wheels going.

I am sure someone here can go into more detail on why.

Normal operation. The transfer locks the front and rear axles forcing one wheel on each axle to turnthe same speeds. While doing short radius turns as in a parking lot, you will get that rocky feeling as one wheel slips to try to keep speed with the other. Your best bet would be to disengage the 4wd for parking maneuvers.

**EDIT - editted per Hanr3's excellent explaination in another thread.

i would only use 4wd when it is slippery enough that the front tires can slip to avoid that binding.

Oh thank God!! I will disengage the 4wd before I get to a parking space next time. I thought for sure something was wrong!!!Thank you guys!

We had taken my old '97 Ram to a hockey game in Rochester last winter and it was snowing like crazy on the way there. Got into the parking garage and never really had to make any sharp turns until we found a spot. I almost smacked the next car in line because I forgot that I still had it in 4wd. The front end was jumping all over the place. Ofcourse, that thing had some pretty big tires on it as well, which contributes to the 'jump-y-ness' (it's a technical term)! LOL>

Dont use 4wdr on dry roads. It cuases the drivetrain to bind up, even on straight roads it will bind up, just takes longer. Ask my wife, takes her about 40 minutes.

The fix. Put it back into 2wdr and go backwards, or drive over a spillery surface like ice, snow, dirt, pebbles, grass, etc.

If you let the binding go too long you will break something.

ok so when you say dry roads....as in paved roads??? cause sometimes dirt roads are wet..but not like wet...and they are slippery...so I kick it into 4 wheel drive so I don't spin my ass out on the corners...(I tend to think I am in nascar) is that a way to kill the 4wd??? otherwise I only use it when my back end it slipping aorund like in slushy weather..or when there is a mountain of snow in my drive way to crawl over....and when you say "bind up" does it stop moving? how do you tell?? (full of questions I know)






|||

Dry roads as in, regular driving conditions on a nice sunny day.

When I tow my boat I always put it in 4wd and 3rd gear nomatter what condition the weather is in. If not you can blow your tranny pulling or towing. I have never heard that you can mess up your truck up just driving 4wd in normal conditions. Does anybody know more on that?

Have a read through my post on ivannj's thread HERE (http://www.blazerforum.com/m_9003/tm.htm).

If you really find it a problem, you should buy my 2000 Blazer, it has auto-4wd that only kicks in when you need it. hehehe

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=192572763

thanks for answering all my unanswered questio!ns....as to why that shiney little button on my dash turns my truck into supper dirt destroying batmobile off roader!
woo hoo!

ORIGINAL: Paddle_grl

ok so when you say dry roads....as in paved roads??? cause sometimes dirt roads are wet..but not like wet...and they are slippery...so I kick it into 4 wheel drive so I don't spin my ass out on the corners...(I tend to think I am in nascar) is that a way to kill the 4wd??? otherwise I only use it when my back end it slipping aorund like in slushy weather..or when there is a mountain of snow in my drive way to crawl over....and when you say "bind up" does it stop moving? how do you tell?? (full of questions I know)


|||


Yes paved roads.
Never drive in 4wdr on paved dry roads. That is how you kill your drivetrain. Things in there don't like all the forces and tend to break little things like gears. Unfortunately, those little gears are not cheap to replace. The gears themselfs run about $140. Plus you need new bearings and seals, add in another $40 or so. Then add in a couple hundred in labor charges to have them installed. Imporperly installed gears will grind themselves to death in a thouseand miles. Plus make a whole lot or noise in the process. IT is possible to break an axle shaft, or u-joint as well.

Yes, use 4wdr in slushy weather. Don't get me wrong, you can drive in 4wdr on dry roads for a limited time, however the longer you do it the worse the wear and tear. This is not one of those instant breaks like dropping the tranny in reverse on the insterstate.

Bind up. Yes and no it will or will not stop moving. The deal is this. It will bind and it will become harder and harder for the truck to drive, eventually, it will stop moving. Unfortunately at this point you have reached total failure and something just broke. $$$$ to get it fixed.

How do you tell if it is binding. If you are driving on a dry PAVED road, you will usually hear a hollowing noise, or the steering gets harder, or the tires make funny noises, or the steering gets jerky. Those are all signs it is binding up.

ORIGINAL: ivannj

When I tow my boat I always put it in 4wd and 3rd gear nomatter what condition the weather is in. If not you can blow your tranny pulling or towing. I have never heard that you can mess up your truck up just driving 4wd in normal conditions. Does anybody know more on that?


This is exactly how you do blow your tranny up. Heat is the number one killer of transmissions. Driving in 4wdr generates tons of heat. Towing also generates tons of heat. Doing both of those at the same time is like a time bomb waiting to go off. Your only saving grace so far is your in 3dr gear. Hopefully you haven't cooked your tranny fluid yet. I HIGHLY recommend you don't drive in 4wdr while towing, especially at highway speeds. IT is OK to get the boat out of the water, or back to the main road. But once you hit a dry paved road, shift out of 4wdr. The only time to drive in 4wdr on a paved road is when it is covered in snow or another slippery surface, like a heavy rain.

I certainly hope you have an external tranny cooler, if not ADD one. I also HIGHLY recommend you drop your tranny pan and replace the 4-5 quarts of tranny fluid that drain out. I prefer to install a drain plug in the tranny pan and drain out the 4-5 quarts of tranny fluid once per year. This simple thing will make your tranny live a lot longer life.

If you want to know more about how a tranny works, post up.