I just got a 1985 S10 Blazer 4x4. 2-Door with the 2.8L Auto 2BBL engine.

Now, how do I know if 4x4 is engadged? I was putting around my yard today in 4x2, 4x4H, and 4x4L. The only time that I noticed a difference was in 4x4L when I could really rev the engine but barely go anywhere.
Now, there is an inlcine that I was using to test out the 4x4. In 4 low and in 4 high, I couldn't make it up. 4 Low almost got me there, but the thing still stopped. What was also happening was that my rear tires were spinning and my front ones were not. Would this mean that 4x4 was not engadged?


How can I find out if 4x4 is really working? I was doing what the car manual was telling me to do to get 4x4 working, but I am not sure if the system works or not. Does it also have to be manually engadged?



This is my first 4x4 vehicle so I am not sure what is up.

 

Best bet is to lift all 4 corners of the vehicle, then start the truck engage the 4x4 and put it into drive (DO NOT STEP ON THE GAS). Have a friend check that the wheels rotate, the tires should rotate under normal idle conditions. Otherwise try it out on snow or sand and have a friend watch if the tires spin. You should able to feel a difference in the amount of gas you have to use to get it going and a shorter coasting difference (i.e 4x4lo takes more gas and doesn't coast as far).

 

Take lenny's advice about putting it up on stands and while in idle check the wheels for rotation!!

 

Ok, say the I do do this and the front tires do not spin. What would most likely be the cause of it not engadging? Also, would this be expensive to fix?

 

There could be a lot of reasons and a wide range of costs. Do the tests to find out if you even have a problem in the first placebefore you worry too much on how to fix it.

 

Or put your front wheels on loose terrain (gravel, sand..etc) and put the parking brake on, then step on the gas lightly. Have someone watch your front wheels of course, you're not actually trying to drive away