kingofdodge7131

Heres my question. the 4x4 on my truck, happeend to use it the other day, it has this problem thats especially bad on pavement.

When i go to turn corners the truck almost locks up. The front wheels just quit moving. sometimes they move but they squak like no other. Anyone have any idea on whats going on with that?

Scubasteve

This is normal as the tires on the front axle and the rear axle travel at a different speed when the truck is in a turn causing it to bind.

Try not to use the 4x4 on dry pavement and if you must keep your turns shallow to prevent this as it does cause some stress on the driveline.


Jason

mightynorseman

I found that the old 20-50 point turn keeps the front-end from binding when in 4x4 mode and on pavement, when on dirt, snow etc. the wheels skid, could be a problem if sliding is not wanted at a particular time. ( like when traversing a steep drop-off in the snow, it will peak your focus trust me!).

j-fox

The owners manual says DO NOT USE the 4X4 on dry pavement.
Is that what you are doing?
The transfer case is locked-- front to back- and the front end of your truck swings a larger radius in turns. This means the front tires must turn more times in comparison to the rear wheels.
You will break something doing this. Don't even do it on wet roads, snow packed is ok.
Now, if you have taken it out of 4X4 and it still does it, then you may have an issue. likely the front axle disconnect in stuck.

fschiola

My 1997 was doing something similar to this, like when coming out of our driveway in deep snow onto the highway that had been plowed. The driveway is up hill to the road. The shifter lever was in 2H and the light was out but the axle wasn't disconnecting. I found that the vacuum connectors by the cowling where loose. I put some small ring clamps on them and it cured the problem. It even fixed the trouble with the heater always blowing air from the defroster vents.

bert47

I have owned 4X4's since the late 1960s. I have been accused of being somewhat of an expert on repairs and rebuilds on GM's. I can tell you that you do not want to run your truck on dry asphalt in the 4X4 mode. The little differences in tire diameters (front to back) will place a tremendous strain on the internals of the transfer case. The late 1970's models with "full time 4WD" had a differential hub inside the transfer case that allowed for the continous adjustment of the front to rear differences. Same is true for the modern full time 4WD autos of today. If you don't have one of these, don't drive on dry pavement in 4WD. It's as if you chained one tire to the frame so it can't rotare and took off skidding to town. Your drive train will literally consume itself from the inside out.