Is this a no no?

I've gone back and read previous posts on the subject and the vast majority of them say DON'T use 4X4 mode on *DRY* pavement.

I was out today in the snow and although it wasn't accumlating I put it into 4WD and drove in a sharp left direction from a stand still and felt the truck lurch a few times. I stopped and put it back into 2WD.

I've never even tested the 4X4 before and wanted to make sure it worked, which it apparently does, for when the heavy snow comes.

But I thought you could use it on wet pavement.

Even the manual says not to use 4WD on "DRY" hard surfaces.

It says nothing about wet hard surfaces and that's a little ambigous IMO.

Anyone know if you're not supposed to drive in 4WD on wet pavement?

Thanks,

DT.

 

A good sign that you're not supposed to be in four wheel drive is when the steering wheel jerks. If it does that, one side is not slipping enough and you are binding up the drive line.

 

Don't use it till it is "slippery"...

 

I would run in it 4 high if your driving on a broken snow floor but for just wet pavement i wouldnt run 4high. To much bind. These rigs are nose heavy which in turn makes the front really bite in. Wait till it gets greasy for 4wd. Cheers!

 

4wd on dry surface...what’s that....

Dieseldude4x4 said it best....If your just going straight, like pulling something and you don't want any tire slip it would be ok, but once you start to turn you will notice that it wants to bind and pull the wheel out of your hand, don't do that....

when your going in a straight line the both tires spin at the same speed, when you go to turn one needs to slip...if it doesn’t slip it starts to bind


I run a lot of rocks with my Jeep, mostly dry rocks...I'm locked front and back if I try to turn on dry ground the jeep wants to go straight ahead...a lot of the spots that I get into you NEED all four tires spinning and grabbing or you will not get out of it...

 

Looks like everyone answered your question. But also be careful in 4wd on glare Ice... on tight turns I've had the front tires break loose from the binding everyone mentioned and it wants to go straight....you then you have to play with the throttle carefully to get it to go close to the right direction or get into 2H.

 

So it all boils down to not needing 4WD unless conditions are super, super bad.

I drove a Jeep for 10 years, which had 4WD that locked the two axles the same way the Ram does, but I never detected (doesn't mean it didn't happen) the same symptoms (steering wheel jerking, etc.) on hard surfaces.

I suspect that's because the Jeep had a much shorter wheelbase.

I was mostly concered that I had damaged something on the truck from driving at ~4 MPH for the 10-15 feet I had felt the steering wheel jerk back and forth.

From what I've read it doesn't sound like it's a big deal as long as you don't do it on a regular basis.

 

Full time 4wd vehicles like your Jeep have a differential between the front and rear axles. The "on demand" 4wd on your Dodge has no differential between the axles which causes the binding as the front wheels have to go farther in a turn than the rear wheels.

 

No Wannadiesel, my Jeep was a 1978 CJ-7 with manual locking hubs.

Same as the Ram, the two axles became one in 4WD.

 

was your jeep open diff front and rear? if so then you only had 2wd anyway...one front, one back....

you dodge may have a "trac-loc" style rear, witch will make the "feeling" worse

 

Both front wheels had the manual dial you turn to lock the hub to the axle.

If you engaged the tranny into 4WD and left the front hubs unlocked, everything (including the front axle) would turn EXCEPT the two front wheels.

To full enage the system you had to lock the hubs as well.

 

I understand that....

what I'm asking is did you have any form of lockers in your differentials...

if not then you only had one front tire under power and one rear tire under power, you can steer a "un-locked" vehicle in 4wd ALOT easier than you can when you have "lockers" or even a good limited slip rear, with both tires on an axle under power it naturally wants to go straight, when you try to turn it one needs to slip….

 

I have always run my trucks in 4WD when there is snow or ice on the ground. However if you are making sharp turns on anything other than REALLY slippery ground you will feel the bind and realease jerking that you speak of. If its pure ice, the tires will just spin a bit without you feeling it through the steering wheel.
Basically if I can skid my shoe on the ground I will use 4X4. I would not use it on wet (like rain) conditions, unless I was trying to drag race an inferior truck. If I am unsure of the conditions I will drive in 4X4 but turn it back to 2WD once in a while in a straight line to realease any binding that may be going on, and always to make a sharp turn in a parking lot etc. I have never lost a transfer case or axel in any of my trucks.
Of course this is JMHO.

 

I am surprised that none of the responders stated that the front and rear differentials are different. The front front diff if slightly taller than the rear. Like 3.54 front and 3.55 rear. This is required because in 4 wheel drive, the front axle must be boss or you will soon discover the back of the vehicle out drag racing the front down the road. For you jeep owners that have full time 4 wheel drive, this difference is absorbed within the viscous coupling. For everyone else, this creates a great deal of scrub and in dry conditions, the least this will do is eat your tires. So, only use 4 wheel drive in greasy conditions.