I have 88 5.8 f250 4x4 c6 tranny 8800#gvw
lock or free hubs on front. ( i know how they work)
2wd 4hi 4lo shifter on floor. Door tag indicates 3.55 rear. PO said switched to 4.10
Pulled an older couple that the snow on side of road pulled their truck in deep (Michigan)
I backed up tailgate to tailgate hook strap the road was hard pack snow i have 350 pounds weight in bed towards tailgate. My truck in 4hi was a nice easy slow pull out no jerking my tires never broke loose. They wanted to pay said no they driving a newer (NICE f250 4x4) no way brother.

Now sitting home trying to figure out difference between 4hi and 4 low. Would there have been a benefit to use 4low in this instance?
I understand low not for higher speeds had the truck for 18 years and have never even shifted it to low.
Tow a 3500# camper with weight distribution anti sway actually always 2wd have never used 4wd towing camper.
i want to understand if the difference between 4hi or 4low changes gear ratios an actual gear reduction within the transfer case causing
More torque?
Does it change how the torque converter locks?
distribute more or less power to front or back in low?
i have a older 95 jeep grand cherro4x4
Thought 20 years ago im going to shift it into 4low sitting in the driveway.
Drove it down the block and it wouldn't shift from 1st to 2nd gear automatically auto tranny.
so i thought 4low just keeps you in low like you had shifted to low or 1. no auto shifting. So thinking this tried to shift jeepy tc from low Back to all time 4wd it was not happy grinding. Pulled over shut it off shifted everything back and it was fine.
so this has discouraged me from shifting my ford to low.
the only time i shift ford from 2wd drive to 4hi is in neutral very low speed or usually stopped

 

4 low adds another reduction in the transfer case. I'm not sure for your model, but a 2.46+/- reduction might be a good guess.

As such, it allows more torque to the axles.

Distribution is still 50/50 as with any locking transfer case. Only cases with some kind of differential and clutch system can do a split other than 50/50.

It does not change how the TC locks, IF you have a locking TC, which you don't. In normal conditions, you would never go fast enough in low range to get the TC to lock. EDIT no TC lock on C6, see post 5, I should have caught that.....

4 low does nothing to the main transmission in your case. Speed is limited due to the reduction.

Shifting in and out of 4 low is best done at a stop, and if needed, letting the vehicle roll slightly while the shift is completed.

Pulling a stuck vehicle might work easier in 4 low, but it sounds like it worked fine.

 

Yes 4low adds a 2.69:1 gear reduction. A neat feature of a truck with manual hubs is that the t-case can be shifted into low range without locking the hubs, this can be useful for certain things on dry pavement where 4wd would cause binding in the drivetrain.
No it has nothing to do with the trans.
No front and back always receive the same torque.
Nope.. something wrong with that truck, the trans should operate normally but all shifts will happen quicker and the top speed is lower.

Read the user manual or look at the back of the drivers sun visor. Because of the gear reduction that 4low adds the vehicle must always be stationary with the trans in neutral when shifting into and out of low range. Unlike a transmission these gears are not synchro meshed and are not designed for shifting on the fly.
The t-case can be shifted both ways in and out of 4hi on the fly at any speed as long as all four wheels are turning the same speed. I have personally done this at 2-lane highway speed on many occasions.

 

Very clear answers
will remember Not having to locks hubs for 4low sometimes think oh man i gotta get out to lock.
during winter i pretty much stay locked.
But man this truck is a gas hog

 

Yes

No but that is a moot question because your transmission doesn’t have a lockup torque converter.

 

As far as when it's a good idea to use low range, obviously any time you want to go slower would be one answer. When rock crawling (I know you're probably not doing that) hitting rocks at a high speed like 2 mph can break things. Slowing down by using low range helps a lot.

Another time is when you don't want to slip your torque converter as much. You can't shift between low and high range on the fly, so I'm not talking about getting a heavy load started in normal driving. But pulling a boat up a steep ramp or something is easier if you don't have to give it so much throttle

Backing up a trailer is a time both effects are useful. It's usually easier to control the speed by just riding the brake and not needing to touch the gas at all in low range.

 

if you have had your truck for 18 years and never put it in 4 low, my bet is it will not go in due to corrosion on the shifter pieces.
top speed for your truck in 4 low will be about 25-30 MPH.

 

Yeah. Pretty amazing what a TC does to what i thought it did.
was looking at shifter thinking about trying low but going to wait.
Truck has become temporarily my daily driver.
Was only used to pull camper, home improvements small stuff.
Kids grew up no more camping.
Bought and live on a couple acres next to national forest.
So for 13 years just used for cutting wood next to house prob less than 200 miles a year. 5-6 cord get me through winter.
I keep thinking what i pay in auto insurance and plate fees i could almost pay for the firewood i need. But i really like cutting wood and it keeps my 60 yo body moving.
When it gets warm again I'll try shifting tc after a fluid change.
Truck has 174k

 

It’s really no different than a changing gears in a manual transmission. You’d have to explain that to me. What does new or or fluid have to do with moving the transfer case lever to 4low? What you could do is spray the linkage with something like PB Blaster.

 

yeah it finally warmed up to 28 today bored transfer case.
bolt plug didn't want to come out. Sprayed pb laster waited another day. Bought a gallon pb for cheap at big box store. Plug out sprayed as much pb into and around inside of TC as could trying to find linkages hopefully it works. Pb really smells bad. Still haven't shifted to low on tc. This appears to be more than i need, which is why i bought the truck. The superbeast.

 

Linkage is on the outside of the transfer case. Should look similar to this

 

Do you have the **** with the shift pattern on top of your shift lever? To go from 4Hii to 4 Lo I believe you have to pull toward you and then pull down at the same time. Sorry if this has already been mentioned. The shift linkage similar to the picture posted under 11 will be on the drivers side and of course hooked to the transfer case shift lever.

 

You sprayed PB Blaster inside the transfer case?

 

agreed, that is a no-no. if youdid, drain it rite away and refill with automatic trans fluid.

 

Yeah nice and clean now.
having issues in this area.
As said before used for firewood a lot of scrub oak which is pretty easily just run down.
a bigger stick got jammed into tranny linkage so now shift indicator on dash is off drive looks more like neutral. As all gears are off.
speedometer quit working. Everything on tc looks good intact.
reverse lights dont work. Bulbs good from what i read reverse light switch in this area tc tranny linkage area.
none of this is urgent.
When it gets warmer i dig in there. Maybe