have a 1st gen 4x4 auto trans. have steep dirt roads i travel on. truck runs out and brakes were not happy. was told it was ok to use 4h or 4l to gear down while leaving the locking hubs in the free position. is this legit or will i be damaging things. roads are hard packed gradd roads not normally requiring 4x4. any help would be appreciated.

 

You should be fine. I do that in my Scout with no problems. If my truck had manual hubs I'd do the same.

 

That won't hurt anything, but 4hi won't help you, it's the same ratio as 2wd. 4lo will give you a lower ratio, and help slow the truck down.

 

Shouldnt be an issue, the only thing you may want to watch is low range w/o the fronts locked may cause the rear to slide on you if you have a heavy load. Basically the compression braking will cause the tires to break loose and slide, easy to correct though...just bump the throttle.