I had a 78 cj7 with a 304 with true duals(glasspacks and side pipes) , and no emission equipment what so ever, stock motorcraft 2 barrel, 3 speed manual trans. That thing was scary fast. Had such weight transfer, you could see the front end unload when you punched it. was very fun to drive. Too bad my lack of $$$ at the time and severe body cancer made me have to sell it. If I still had it, it would have a glass body.

 

If my memory serves me correctly, you should not engage or drive in 4HI over 55 mph. I think (?) it is in the owners manual.

 

What is the ingredient of the day?

Pay no attention if you don't get it.

 

Right after i had a new clutch put in that old 74 CJ I pulled out of a toll booth and punched it and i swear the front end lifted a foot off the ground. your right it was scary fast. and I heard stories of some guys droping in the AMC 401 Javelin motor in the old CJs OMG

 

I don't know if its in the manual or not but if it was I wish I had read it before running down the interstate at 70 in a blizzard. The truck handled ok and I kept it between the ditches alright however with the T case spinning so fast the lub got so spead out that it couldn't get to the output bearings which in turn ran dry and damaged it . Prognosis. $1800.00 for a new T case.
55 should be alright and now it just takes me a little longer to get home in a blizzard and a heck of a lot cheaper!

 

Tastes great...Less filling

 

That may be. However, my wife watches this show called the Iron Chef. This old Chairman guy selects the ingredient of the day. He always gives a background on said ingreient by saying, "If memory serves me correctly...."

That was all. Off topic I know. Sorry....

 

I agree 100% with your statement of discretion. Careful driving and common sense are the two things that will keep you on the road.

It is well known that a front wheel drive car will handle much better in the snow/ice than a rear wheel drive (traction control and other goodies not being used). So it would stand to reason that adding "front wheel drive" to a truck that is light in the rear (relatively speaking, of course) would help it handle better.

I personally would rather have 4 wheels pulling me at any speed on a slippery surface rather than just 2. The reason being is that if you are on snow and hit a particularly slick spot with the drive wheel(s) in 2x then you are more likely to slide. If 4 wheels are pulling when you hit that slippery spot then you have the other wheels to help pull/push the truck in the direction it should go.

Also, many cars now come with AWD due to the safety at all speeds. Subaru has been doing it for many years and now other car manufactures are getting in on it too. I think that says something.

Once again, not trying to argue or fight. This is just a good discussion.

 

Mwachel, the front wheel drive helps in snow, yes, but there are other factors involved, also. Have you ever driven a VW bug in the snow? The weight of the engine/transaxle over the drivers makes as much difference as the fwd. The only problem I ever had with the VW was the front end was so light, it would wash out at speed, while cornering. Sort of the opposite problem a truck has with the light rear. Once moving, I've never had a problem with the truck in 2 wheel, except maybe steep snow covered hills. Of course, I'm a half maniac and drive like it. FYI, the VW is killer in mud, too, until the floorpan hangs up. I've taken one into spots where the mud truck guys shook their heads wondering how I did it. Just keep it out of the ruts. Anyway, over 35 you should not need 4x4. And running locked hubs all winter wastes fuel. Have you ever tried to turn the front shaft by hand when under the truck? Think of the power it takes at, say, 50 mph. It's why the Dodges get such lousy fuel mileage.

 

camo4stealth,
I agree that there is no reason to keep your hubs locked all winter unless you use 4x4 on a daily basis. Needless wear and tear and the gas cost does go up.

As far as the driving over 35 in 4x4...well, I guess that is just a personal opinoion and everyone has to make there own choice. I would just rather be safe rather then sorry. I still think that all the auto makers that are putting AWD on their vehicles are doing it for safety reasons.

Now, someone mentioned earlier that they were driving 70 in a blizzard using 4x4 (I won't even begin to get into the reasoning behind that dangerous idea!) and I don't think going that fast in 4x4 is a good idea anytime due to the wear on the drive train. I would personally use 4x4 at 55 or slower depending on conditions.

To each his own. Common sense will hopefully prevail in dangerous driving conditions and people will just slow down a bit (in 4x4 or not).

Take it easy and drive safe!

 

I might as well add my opinion to the mix, since I've spent quite a bit of time going over 100mph in 4wd on slippery surfaces (including ice & snow).

Having it in 4wd does help at higher speeds...HOWEVER, if/when you do break the tires loose it can be a lot more difficult to bring the vehicle back under control. Well, not exactly more difficult, just a lot different than correcting a skid in 2wd - and if a person is only used to correcting skids in 2wd they might end up in the ditch. Also, I've found that running in 4wd tends to allow people to over-drive their ability - they don't realize just how slippery it is until they lose control, and by then it's too late. For these reasons, I usually recommend people not go over 30-40mph in 4wd...as others have said, if you need 4wd you probably shouldn't be driving very fast.

As far as the mechanical problems, I do think that driving too fast in 4wd can cause lube problems in the transfer case - but I'm not sure what exact speed is "too fast" and becomes harmful. I drove my F150 up to the speed limiter (105mph) in 4wd on a number of occasions, but the highest *sustained* speed in 4wd was probably 90-ish mph. I never had any t-case problems with that truck, but I sold it with only 55K miles on it...so perhaps the next owner will have problems with it. I'm planning to use my new 250 the same way (and hope to do some ice racing this winter), so I'll let you know if my transfer case explodes.

If I had to take a wild guess, I'd say that 55mph should be safe in 4wd...but anything faster and you might run into lube problems. The manual says not to shift into 4wd at more than 55mph, but doesn't really give a 'max speed' you can run while in 4wd. However, if you fry your t-case running 70mph in 4wd there is a good chance Ford wouldn't warranty it.

As far as leaving the hubs locked in all the time, that's not a problem - I've had trucks where the hubs were locked in constantly for several years without any issues, and a number of vehicles have hubs that are always locked in. You will cause a bit more wear, and will see your gas mileage drop - but it won't break anything.

LK

 

 

Yes. Your axles are locked together and in a turn you have two different axle speeds and 4 different wheel speeds. If you are on a surface with any traction, you will get chirping, clunking, jumping and if you do it right, broken parts.

 

I generally keep my hubs locked from December to March.I have a manual system.

There is no speed related restrictions in 4H. You can go as fast as you want. I have shifted into 4H as fast as 65MPH without any issues.

Don't let anyone tell you about the lack of prudence in using 4H at highway speeds. You decide what you need to do in any situation, let the keyboard commandos debate each other.

 

IMO, it's more important to not be in a spin-out, or hard turn, when engaging 4wd. Just like a diff lock, you don't want a major speed difference between shafts. I let off the throttle, shift, then get back on. I do this whether going down the road at 50mph, or spinning in 2wd not moving at all. Most our pickups have manual transfer cases, I'm not sure if this is necessary on the "shift on the fly" T-cases.