as everyone knows, I don't know much, but I'm trying, and I think, putting myself in learning situations anyway.

So this afternoon, I had somewhere between 700 and 1000 pounds in the bed, heading uphill (maybe a 15-20 degree slope) on a wet, muddy (that's slit mud, btw) sort of road with plenty of grooves/potholes... had it in 4wd, of course... and when I hit this particularly slimy part, I started spinning.

I finally got through after about 5 or 6 back-and-forths, but what I'm posting about is: when I was spinning, I was hearing what I thought was gravel being kicked up into the fenders and steps, but maybe it was something with the 4wd....

and my father-in-law who was in the truck behind me said that he didn't see the back tires turning (!) when the front was spinning like mad.

Then of course, when I got back down the mountain, I had huge torque lock issues, and was cranking on the shifter to get it back into 2wd, and that gravel-ly sound sort of sounded familiar.

how worried should I be?
Tys

 

how was it when you got it into 2wd? do you have power to the rear? sometimes the NP205's in theese trucks are a pain to get back into 2 HI.

Bob

 

Agreed..the 205 is not shift-friendly, by any means. I HAVE to take the hubs out and get the truck on level ground, in neutral with no load on the rear driveshaft in order to shift out of 4L. 4H to 2H can be almost as tricky. I Take a close look at all the linkage under there..it's a pretty hokey setup and you may have to fuss with it to get things to engage properly.

 

The transfer case does shift into the front drive low range "first" if that makes any sense. So if your linkage is messed up, or the shifter isn't all the way forward, you can have front wheel drive only.

It must have all been engaged by the time you tried to take it out, though. FWIW, I can normally shift the x-fer by burping the accelerator, occasionally I have to reverse directions and burp the accelerator . . .

 

when I got back down the mountain, I stopped on basically flat ground, put it in neutral, and ground about a pound of gears trying to get it out of 4L and back to 2H. it was painful.

at first the lever wouldn't move, then I got it 'out' of 4L, but it wouldn't go past N into 2h or 4h. then for a bit, I couldn't even get it back into 4L.

I got it back into 4L, reversed a bit, and somehow managed to get it into 2H.

when I did, I seemed to have normal function.

Alec, are you saying that because it was such a bear to get out of 4L, it must have been engaged?

Am I even barking up the right tree here? All 4 wheels *should* have been spinning as I was sliding/sitting in the mud, correct? there isn't some odd speed issue or something that would have left the back-right tire sitting still while I was digging a trench with the fronts?

This last experience was about my 6th total 4wd experience. thanks for the answers,
Tys

 

No, with out lockers or limited slip only one font and one rear tire will spin.

When going through nuetral in the tcase leave the trans in gear and push the clutch. With the trans in Nuetral it seems to be more likely to spin causing lots of grinding. If you get stuck in that position again just turn the engine off. It would have went right in.

Best thing to do for me is with the truck rolling a few MPH let off the throttle grab the shifter and pull it through the ranges quickly. It is kind of an aquired skill to shift right. Going between 2H and 4H is easy put the lockouts in first then while driving slowly let off the throttle while pulling on the shifter and it will shift.

 

I've found it's easiest to get on the throttle a little, then let off and shift out of 4H simultaneously. And isnt it great when 4WD actually only turns 2 wheels?

 

The owner's manual states that you will want to move the shift lever with a deliberate smooth motion to prevent gear grinding. Sometimes it will. As for all four wheels pulling, it is like Andy says, what you get is one wheel pulling from the front and one wheel pulling from behind if you have open differentals. To get more power to the slipping wheels try appling a little brake as you apply power. This will force some of the power to the weak side.

 

Sorry,

I just noticed that you have an auto tranny . . . So, the auto should be in neutral and the truck standing still when you shift the transfer case. If you had the transmission in drive, then the transfer case would have been under load, and not necessarily "bound-up" between the front and rear axles when you shifted out of 4 low. I don't know if I am telling you what you already know or not here . . .

As for the wheels spinning, 4x4 means at least one wheel on the front axle and one on the rear will spin. If BOTH on the rear were dead, it wasn't all the way in 4 low. If only one was stationary, that is normal, (unless you have a locking or limited slip differential, but that has nothing to do with the transfer case).

So -- does any of this make sense?

 

Alec, yes, thanks. I guess I'll just have to keep practicing. I'll tell you though, I was freaked out by how I thought I really screwed something up when I couldn't get it from N to 2H.

I like that brake and power idea when I'm stuck. Thanks.

Tys

 

Brakes can be the "poor mans" locking diff. Burned a set of rear shoes off every six months on my Jeep till I got lockers Gotta ride them pretty hard.

DOH, didn't notice the auto trans.

 

tyssniffen, hey i'd take a look at your linkage undernieth as someone stated.... someone will have to post it cause i don't know exactly what needs to be done, but from what i remember there were 3 bolts and you are supposed to loosen them up and slide the braket towards the engine? i think that's what i was told, someone help me with this.

 

it says something on the visor about not having your foot on the brake when shifting because it can cause a "torque lock" situation. a couple times i tried to shift with my foot on the brake and it ground the gears. every time it happened i just let go of the brake and it shifted smoothly.