4wd and pavement
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New User
Joined: Jun 2003
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From: Southern WV
4wd and pavement
Does anyone have any idea why the Ford manual says not to drive on dry pavement while in 4wd? Winter here in WV and you can go from a snowy side road to a cleared one and you don't have time to put in park and switch back. Will this cause problems?
Laughing Gas
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,019
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From: Georgetown, Ky
The book says to only drive non paved roads because the loose material (gravel, dirt, sand, Mud, Snow) will take up any difference in the driveline between the front and the back, with the soft surface the wheels can slip if they need to and you wont relaly notice it.
btw something similar to that is in Chiltons Manuals
btw something similar to that is in Chiltons Manuals
Posting Guru
Joined: May 2002
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From: Southwestern Michigan
Re: 4wd and pavement
Originally posted by kmorg
you can go from a snowy side road to a cleared one and you don't have time to put in park and switch back.
you can go from a snowy side road to a cleared one and you don't have time to put in park and switch back.
Lead Driver
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 9,236
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From: Senoia, GA
The reason is b/c the when you turn, one wheel is spinning a lil faster than the other (the outside tire) and so to compensate for this something has to give...usually a tire but if it has a really good grip on the road/surface it could very easily break u-joints or even shafts if they are the smaller D30's or something.
no one says you can't....I have had to in the past but only in extreme situations where I had no choice and I babied it! It is just really strenuous on the drivetrain. Now if you are going down a straight line like a drag strip it wouldn't hurt anything!
92 f150300six-
no man, this is for 4-wheel drive period lo and hi
mine seems to shift into 4-lo on the fly
just throw it up in neutral, pull the stick back...and voila! 4-lo...then you gotta hold on to the dash so you don't bust your head when you pull it down in 1st gear, lol!
-jason-
no one says you can't....I have had to in the past but only in extreme situations where I had no choice and I babied it! It is just really strenuous on the drivetrain. Now if you are going down a straight line like a drag strip it wouldn't hurt anything!
92 f150300six-
no man, this is for 4-wheel drive period lo and hi
mine seems to shift into 4-lo on the fly
just throw it up in neutral, pull the stick back...and voila! 4-lo...then you gotta hold on to the dash so you don't bust your head when you pull it down in 1st gear, lol!-jason-
Posting Guru
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From: Houston, Texas
Originally posted by fishmanndotcom
The reason is b/c the when you turn, one wheel is spinning a lil faster than the other (the outside tire) and so to compensate for this something has to give...usually a tire but if it has a really good grip on the road/surface it could very easily break u-joints or even shafts if they are the smaller D30's or something.
The reason is b/c the when you turn, one wheel is spinning a lil faster than the other (the outside tire) and so to compensate for this something has to give...usually a tire but if it has a really good grip on the road/surface it could very easily break u-joints or even shafts if they are the smaller D30's or something.
Posting Guru
Joined: Feb 2003
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From: Roseburg OR.
The reason is not because one tire on an axle turns faster than another. This happens in 2wd. The reason is that an entire axle (the front) travels a longer distance than the rear which always cuts the corner a little. This results in binding at the transfer case because the transfer case in our trucks locks the front and rear driveshafts together making them turn the same speed. This pressure is relieved by the tires being able to slip slightly on loose surfaces.
The np203 which was mentioned earlier has a built in differential which allows the front and rear driveshafts to turn different speeds when not in the "lock" position. If you don't believe me jack up the front of any np203 equiped rig and it won't move until you put it in lock. Me and a buddy learned this by taking his front driveline out so we could do burnouts and found that the truck wouldn't move. It just sent all the power to the (missing) front driveline like an open differential which is exactly what it is when not in the lock position (either high or low lock).
The np203 which was mentioned earlier has a built in differential which allows the front and rear driveshafts to turn different speeds when not in the "lock" position. If you don't believe me jack up the front of any np203 equiped rig and it won't move until you put it in lock. Me and a buddy learned this by taking his front driveline out so we could do burnouts and found that the truck wouldn't move. It just sent all the power to the (missing) front driveline like an open differential which is exactly what it is when not in the lock position (either high or low lock).
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Freshman User
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so without the transfer case moving the driveshafts at different speeds, the front axle moves slower than the rear? is that what your saying? im wondering what this means:
"The reason is that an entire axle (the front) travels a longer distance than the rear"
maybe im thinkin too much on it, but just sounded interesting,
just wondrin
"The reason is that an entire axle (the front) travels a longer distance than the rear"
maybe im thinkin too much on it, but just sounded interesting,
just wondrin
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Lead Driver
Joined: May 2000
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From: Senoia, GA
Originally posted by RRMike
The reason is not because one tire on an axle turns faster than another. This happens in 2wd. The reason is that an entire axle (the front) travels a longer distance than the rear which always cuts the corner a little. This results in binding at the transfer case because the transfer case in our trucks locks the front and rear driveshafts together making them turn the same speed. This pressure is relieved by the tires being able to slip slightly on loose surfaces.
The reason is not because one tire on an axle turns faster than another. This happens in 2wd. The reason is that an entire axle (the front) travels a longer distance than the rear which always cuts the corner a little. This results in binding at the transfer case because the transfer case in our trucks locks the front and rear driveshafts together making them turn the same speed. This pressure is relieved by the tires being able to slip slightly on loose surfaces.
-jason-
Posting Guru
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From: Houston, Texas
Originally posted by sasnaker
so without the transfer case moving the driveshafts at different speeds, the front axle moves slower than the rear? is that what your saying? im wondering what this means:
"The reason is that an entire axle (the front) travels a longer distance than the rear"
maybe im thinkin too much on it, but just sounded interesting,
just wondrin
so without the transfer case moving the driveshafts at different speeds, the front axle moves slower than the rear? is that what your saying? im wondering what this means:
"The reason is that an entire axle (the front) travels a longer distance than the rear"
maybe im thinkin too much on it, but just sounded interesting,
just wondrin
Post Fiend
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 14,947
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From: Topsfield, MA
Also, tires with different air pressure and weight load turn at different RPMs, so just driving in a straight line will cause some driveline binding. You'll feel the binding if you try and turn the wheel. It's just simply the fact that the front and rear tires turn at slightly different speeds, and are locked together through the transfer case. The only "give" is when the pressure binds up, and the force makes the tire slip on the ground. That's what relieves the pressure. When on dry pavement, the tires have too much traction for the "binding force" to overcome. Something has to give, and if not the tires slipping, then probably the trasfer case chain will break first.
New User
Joined: Nov 2003
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I am new to 4WD, but I also had this problem when I first bought my truck and was driving on extremely wet pavement, with some standing water. On the highway, it worked great. But when I started to park, I felt like I was riding a bucking bronco, since the tires still were new and had a strong grip on the road. I hope I didn't ruin anything up front now that I read this. I was told by the Ford Dealer that it was due to the inner outer tire spinning different speeds. Should I have my 4WD checked or is this normal when steering at slow speeds with it engaged?
Last edited by Kristopher529; Dec 28, 2003 at 03:10 PM.