Stupid question?

Reason I'm asking, I just barely made it through a place the other day that was wet. It was a road between fields, solid but about an inch of mud on top. Bed was empty, but had it in 4WD. Slight upgrade but mostly flat.
I had to know, so went back with my VW station wagon (front WD) and drove right through forward and backwards.
The truck has 60k on it, so it can't be more than the second set of tires. Plenty of tread, but could it be that they just don't flex anymore enough to grip?
Pretty embarrassing to have all 4's spinning on flat ground.


Dave

 

Possibly the type of tread ??

 

Are you certain that the truck is all original? Sounds like mismatched gear ratios, front and rear.

Try it again in 2 wd.

 

No............ Let me be thick headed.
2wd wouldn't have cut it because it was empty. I'll try it with some weight when it gets wet again. I imagine it's straight from the factory though.

Is there a dummy proof test to check this out?

tires are listed as AT.

 

If it is, ''as from the factory'' there should be tags on the differentials that can be de-coded for determining the ratios.

"New means new, which implies nothing except age." So "straight from the factory" might be considered in the same way.

You could try putting it in 4wd on smooth hard dry pavement and see it if fights itself. In that situation it would be hard going if they were mismatched. Have you ever done this?

My guess IS a long shot anyway, but your problem IS difficult to explain.

 

What tires do you have specifically? Most of the factory tires are intended for on-road use and are next to useless in mud when new.. nevermind when worn down a bit. A pickup's heavy front end weight bias will handicap the vehicle in slippery conditions, it'll need 4WD to go where a FWD would.. assuming ground clearance isn't an issue. It's all about weight on the driving wheels.

 

No problems on hard ground. Tires are old and probably hard. I've traveled the same area with no problems in normal weather. It's just been extra wet lately. Just thought I'd be able to do a little better.

 

are the tires inflated to the high side of the rating?

 

Sir, Yes Sir!!!! I'd been hauling pretty good loads of gravel last fall. 60 psi.

Probably the big problem right there. Forgot about it.

Dave

 

Bdox,

WTF?

what would ever make you think its mis matched gears?
you must have one of those B.S. tech degrees......

He said nothing to indicate mismatch gears.

Sorry to slam you , I am in 3 different forums An I get tired of all the B.S. Techs out there.

 

I got 35" All Terrains on my flareside and got stuck in about 2 inches of mud. Embarrassing, I know. The tread packed full of mud and instead of making a mess of everything by spinning them fast enough to clean out I hadta lock in the hubs. Try spinning faster next time or get more aggresive tires is my .02

 

And what is your suggestion? Bdox was just throwing something out there. There is absolutely no reason to "slam" anyone on this forum for just making a suggestion. It isn't total BS either. It isn't like he suggested to check his air filter and his blinker fluid.

As far as the original post... I would say probably a combination of tire type and over-inflation on the part of you hauling gravel. If you lowered pressure you would probably have a better shot at going through like mentioned already.

 

First of all it is difficult to diagnose some problems over the computer.

I apologize for being so harsh.......

read the statment though:


dave said:
" Stupid question?

Reason I'm asking, I just barely made it through a place the other day that was wet. It was a road between fields, solid but about an inch of mud on top. Bed was empty, but had it in 4WD. Slight upgrade but mostly flat.
I had to know, so went back with my VW station wagon (front WD) and drove right through forward and backwards.
The truck has 60k on it, so it can't be more than the second set of tires. Plenty of tread, but could it be that they just don't flex anymore enough to grip?
Pretty embarrassing to have all 4's spinning on flat ground."



he never mentioned any of the tell tale signs of mismatched gears.

to me Bdox suggested something out of LEFT field.

"Sounds like mismatched gear ratios, front and rear. "

Hmmm. let me think...... so cuz it won't go through mud it must be because the gears don't match.


Great deduction.....

My suggestion would be to lower the air pressure to bout 20 psi,. Also Tread plays a GREAT factor (I have learned from personal experience, with mud tires in 2wd I can go through mud I couldn't hardly go though with crap tires in 4wd).

Also I would ask Dave if he has a working LS in the rear, It make a big difference.

I am sorry for being harsh, but come on.

 

Wow, you must be a super impotent person to be in 3 different fourms!

Thanks for your valuable input kid!

It's wonderful that you are not burdened by a degree of any sort which leaves your mind free to believe that your inability to understand what I say somehow makes you able to imagine that you are somehow superior. That is making the best possible outcome of a truly lame situation.

 

Bdox,

I am sorry I hurt your feelings, it was not my intentions.

As far as me being a kid...... Hmmm i WISH, those where the good ol days when gas was under a buck a gallon. I may not wrench on vehicles every day, but I did work in a garage for a while as a profession. ( I know It doesnt mean any thing right) I have worked on my fair share of vehicles, however I will admit that I dont know everything (never claimed to)

Please explain to me your reason for believing he had mis matched gears, maybe I am just looking at it from a different angle.

I will not bash you, what is the first thing that lead you to believe it was mis matched gears?