well, I just bought "Rogue" my 91 chevy s-10 Blazer, and she's awesome. Lots of miles, rust, and character! I've never had a 4x4 vehicle and so many peeps are telling me different things! I have great need of front breaks, all, she's a-grinding...yuk, just can't afford them til next paycheck, so I limit driving. I thought if I put it in 4 wheel, that the stress from the front breaks will give me more time til I get the breaks done, but my neibor says I can only engage during inclement weather... sounds off, but I don't want to mess her up! I also have no idea how to engage properly...( no, don't say it, I'm a girly- girl) I just love her and am excited driving her and would def buy another Blazin' Beauty!!!! Any help is appreciated!!jb

 

Well, brakes work with a 70/30ish ratio, 70% up front and 30% in the rear, using 4x4 wont do anything for the brakes. HOWEVER you can downshift( yes even in an automatic) to engine brake it so you dont have to use/rely on your bad brakes.

Im not sure about the inclimate weather thing, I know that it helps to have slick/wet ground when using the 4x4,but, im again not sure on this since I only use my 4x4 on my 92 completely off-road. Ive never even had to use it in the snow yet and I live in chicago.


Engaging is easy, I usually put it in neutral or park to engage mine into 4 lo or 4 hi so it doesnt grind. I do suggest if you are going to keep it for a while to eliminate the vacuum 4x4 system and get a POSI-LOK style cable( you do not need to spend 120 bucks on a posi-lok when you can get a farm impliment throttle cable for 20 bucks.)

 

They say only in inclement weather because the wheels and axles will bind up if the wheels can't slip on the driving surface. You can feel it by taking a tight turn at slow speed with 4wd engaged

 

you can ruin your transfer case if you use 4x4 on a surface where the front wheels cant slip a little bit.

your transfer case might look like this if you do

 

I was concerned with the same thing on the highway. I used 4hi because we had freezing rain......but it was in patches on the road, so I would hit a section for maybe 5k with no ice......didnt seem to bother it at 80k

 

to the original poster, welcome.
anticipate stopping and coast/downshift.

4x4 on dry pavement is bad, very, very bad.

I dont have the time to type it all up.
How Stuff Works does a good job, however you have to go through the whole thing.
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/four-wheel-drive.htm

Now once your done with that you will understand this.
All four tires travel different distances in a turn. When in 4x4 the front and rear axles are moving at teh same speed. However if your truck is turing (corner) then the front and rear axles are actually going at different speeds. One dry pavement your tires are not allowed to slip, thus the drivetrain binds up, mechanically the front and rear axles are locked together, and yes you can break your t-case in half. This is why you must use it on slippery surfaces, unless you have autotrack. Autotrack is not a true 50% split of power from front to rear axles. It varies and why you can have it on dry pavement. The down side is it will act like a tire with no traction, the axle with no traction gets all the power, hence stuck. Yes you can drive on pavement while the 4x4 is engaged, however the longer you do it, and the greater the turns the faster it will bind up.

Lets say your driving in town with a bunch of turns and in 4x4, your drivetrain will bind up sooner then if you where on the interstate where the truns are gradual. Sooner being miles driven. My wife has driven our truck for 60 minutes on the interstate before she called me to tell me its makeing a god awefull noise. She rented a car and left the truck at a service station for the weekend. Fortunately the mechanic realized it was in 4x4 and popped it into 2wdr and drove it through the grass to free up the binding. The good man didn't charge her for it either.