Those of you who feel it's OK to drive on dry pavement while locked in 4x4 need to sit down and read your owner's manuals. Every 4x4 I've owned for the past 40 years had warnings in the owners manuals to the effect that driving in 4x4 on dry pavement was harmful to the drivetrain! Only vehicles with a differential in the transfer case can do this safely.

Coincidentally, this past Friday I heard an awesome story that illustrates just what can happen if the advice in the owner's manual is not followed. One of the guys that delivers to my business arrived several days later than expected, and in a rental truck. When I asked him where he'd been, he related the following story. He drives a 1-ton 4x4 dually flatbed, and on this day as usual it was heavily loaded. When going up Emigrant Summit on I-80 in central Nevada he encountered slippery roads and 18-wheelers that were having problems going up the hill. So he eased it into 4x4, got by the mess and up over the mountain and headed on west - but he forgot to pull it back into 2 wheel drive. He was on flat, dry pavement about 50 miles west of Emigrant and moving with the flow of traffic at near 80 mph (speed limit is 75) when he heard this tremendous "bang". He said he just started to see pieces flying out from under the truck when the whole truck launched into the air and when it came down he had a heck of a time staying in control. Turns out the transfer case exploded - then the rear driveshaft dug into the pavement and launched the truck. Scared him half to death. The truck was hauled back to the dealer where they told him the cause of the failure was driving in 4x4 on dry pavement - but they couldn't believe the driveshaft didn't just fold up under all that weight when it hit the ground and instead acted as a pole vault.

So, I suppose you might be able to get away with it for a while if the truck is not loaded and there's enough tire slippage to relieve binding on the transfer case - but it ain't recommended!

 

[QUOTE=deserteagle56;19140- then the rear driveshaft dug into the pavement and launched the truck. Scared him half to death. The truck was hauled back to the dealer where they told him the cause of the failure was driving in 4x4 on dry pavement - but they couldn't believe the driveshaft didn't just fold up under all that weight when it hit the ground and instead acted as a pole vault.

[/QUOTE]

they did the driveshaft/pole vault trick on mythbusters- pretty cool to watch.

 

I did. All 9 of them for the last 18 years I have owned 4x4's. You should read each post in the whole thread. NONE of us said it was OK to do for extended periods, but if the road is sporadically wet, dry, ice, snow, I leave it in 4wd. If the road is dry for a foreseeable distance, it's in 2wd.

Dieselnick - You need to ease up an AH64ID. If you read his posts, he agree's that 4wd is needed and uses it. He just has an opinion that it is not the all powerful tool that most make it out to be. 4wd provides better control and directional stability, but there are too many people out there with 4wd's driving beyond their abilities because they think 4wd will save them.

His post's were civil with sound advice and opinions. You should try and post in the same manner.

The day I wrote about driving last week is a good example. As we came into Des Moines the traffic had slowed and I knew what it was. The road had gone to black ice. for the next 5 miles all I saw was accidents, the bulk of them being 4wd's that hit the concrete barriers separating the lanes. The 4wd's didn't cause the accidents, it was drivers that failed to recognize the conditions (And Iowa spraying the roads with calcium chloride instead of using salt and sand...).

 

Well stated DJ.

What I've been seeing lately is women driving way too fast in brand new SUV's. I'm not saying it's only women but EVERY time I've seen an SUV passing me since the Christmas break, or worse, crawling up my tail , it's been women. The prefect example of believing 4wd is going to save them. I'm not a basher (I like women ), I just doubt they, and all new SUV owners, have enough experience to recognize a 4x4's limitations.

4wd defintely helps with slippery roads but they will swing arond pretty fast if the back lets go and you let off the gas, actually worse than a 2wd. With the flood of SUV's hitting the market no wonder they are the ones we see in the ditch the most.

I had a buddy driving one of my trucks in 6-8" of snow, in 4hi, and pulled out to pass a semi doing 30. When the truck hit the mound on the center line he let off and generated a very tense moment. My hollerin "STEP INTO IT" repeatedly, saved a trip to the ditch. Lack of experience and a distorted sense of invincibility!!

Aahh..I miss they days when just us rednecks drove too fast in the snow .

Cya

 

Yep, I do the same... I use the fool out of my shift lever.

Thanks

 

like stated earlier- occasionally in the summer- i will put it in 4x4 for 4-5 miles to lube the front end (on a straight road) i have done this for 20 years. never a problem. i will continue to do this. if you are running down the highway on a nice dry day in july in 4x4 at 70mph for an extended period of time- yes, you are asking for problems

i had a 2001 toyota tacoma double cab. in the owners manual, it stated to put the truck in 4x4 for a short distance every month to lube the front end. with that said-toyota must know that 90% of their owners never take their trucks off road. they must also know that doing this every month-means they know that owners will be doing this in the summer months when there is no snow and that some owners live in states that never get snow!!

 

No need to do that on 03+, as everything turns all the time..

You want to see people get more heated about this than me than go to some of the toyota boards... I am a toyota guy as well...

Try to find a dirt road, you dont have to have snow.. just any low traction surface.

That is one thing I like about my 03 4runner, it has AWD (and PT 4wd) so I can put that in to keep it all lubed and working and run on the street.

 

i do need to put my truck 4x4 to lube the front end- i have dyna trac locking hubs. you are correct about finding dirt,etc- but we know that 90% of people won't do that

 

I was up in Springfield Mass one night in November, and leaing a party with a car load of drunks I was DD'ing, I had to kick it in to 4HI to get out of the parking lot. Well, I kinda forgot to take it out, and as I was crusing down Armory Streed in the industrial park trying to find the d*** highway, I was pulling some sweet drifts on the snow/ice. Got out onto the highway and cruised about 25 miles or so doing 70mph or so before I realized I was still in 4HI. Clutched in, shifted back to 2wd and continued on my merry way. Just changed the Xfer case fluid the other day and it didnt look any worse or any better than any other that Ive seen.

 

How were mine any more un-civil than him calling you stupid? PM sent.

Nick

 

Nice, you can also put it in 4wd and not worry about hurting anything, just leave the hubs unlocked... I did this all the time on my toyota... one day I would drive to work with the hubs locked, and one day with the xcase engaged...