Does my 4x4 work?
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More Turbo
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 531
Likes: 0
From: Atlanta, Georgia
Does my 4x4 work?
So I was on a little vacation to Florida and I went off road in a very sandy area. I kicked on the 4x4 high. The light on the dash came on and i felt an "engage" it seemed. I ventured into some deep sand and got stuck. As I was pumping the accelerator trying to get out, the back tires were spinning like crazy kicking sand everywhere...but the front tires were not doing anything! I was under the impression that all 4 tires should have been spinning but I may be wrong...any insight?
Also in addition, my truck does not go into 4x4 low...any one know what may cause this? Thanks,
cheers,
Also in addition, my truck does not go into 4x4 low...any one know what may cause this? Thanks,
cheers,
Token Redneck
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 9,331
Likes: 341
From: Breckenridge, TX
First thing to check is your hubs, and making sure they're locking in; if you have shift-on-the-fly, odds are they weren't. Search for any of the dozens of ESOF failure threads and make sure the hubs work, then move on to making sure the t-case actually engaged.
Conditions to set 4Lo are- trans in neutral, foot on the service brake. If this doesn't make it go in, maybe the solenoid on the t-case is having issues, or could be something else.
All 4 tires won't spin at once, you'll normally spin 2 on opposite corners, or 2 in the back and one in the front if you have a rear LS unit that's working. Stock LS sucks and tends to burn-out, or the oil has too much friction modifier in it. Search for LS failures to check that, but if both rears were going it's not dead yet.
Conditions to set 4Lo are- trans in neutral, foot on the service brake. If this doesn't make it go in, maybe the solenoid on the t-case is having issues, or could be something else.
All 4 tires won't spin at once, you'll normally spin 2 on opposite corners, or 2 in the back and one in the front if you have a rear LS unit that's working. Stock LS sucks and tends to burn-out, or the oil has too much friction modifier in it. Search for LS failures to check that, but if both rears were going it's not dead yet.
New User
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
From: SoCal
Hi! im new, but i was recently in big bear mountain when it snowed this past week....not enough to get stuck but enough to use the 4WD and lock the hubs...I did not have to use the 4WD the whole trip but i left the hubs locked when in 2WD, is that bad for the gears??? Also when i make sharp turns with the hubs locked, but in 2WD, the truck seemed to bounce, should i assume that is normal?
Lead Driver
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 8,180
Likes: 669
From: Scio, OR
Hi! im new, but i was recently in big bear mountain when it snowed this past week....not enough to get stuck but enough to use the 4WD and lock the hubs...I did not have to use the 4WD the whole trip but i left the hubs locked when in 2WD, is that bad for the gears??? Also when i make sharp turns with the hubs locked, but in 2WD, the truck seemed to bounce, should i assume that is normal?
No, it won't hurt to leave the hubs locked. I locked mine in November and will not unlock them until spring. I wouldn't normally do this, but my driver side auto hub is stuck locked and when I discovered this it was too cold to mess with it, so I'll leave them both locked and deal with it when it warms up. Some 4WD vehicles don't even have locking hubs, they are just permanently locked, and the axles and differentials take it just fine.
However, I would ask if you have auto hubs. If you do you should not have to lock them at all, they should lock themselves. If they aren't, they either need cleaned and lubed, replaced or the vacuum system needs fixed.
Also, a little bit of binding when the steering wheel is turned all the way is normal. If you have to turn that sharp, keep your speed as slow as you can and you'll be fine.
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